MXGate vs Proofpoint
These two do not do the same job. Proofpoint is a broad enterprise platform that covers data loss prevention and awareness training alongside email security. MXGate does one job: it keeps your mail flowing safely and landing in the inbox. The right question is not which is better, but which one you need.
Short answer If you have a security team and are building an entire platform including data loss prevention and user training, choose Proofpoint. If your problem is spam, phishing and outbound mail not being delivered, and you want your data to stay in Turkey and the price to be visible up front, choose MXGate. Comparing the two at the same scale does neither of them justice.
Getting the result without building a platform
In most organisations the email problem does not come from a missing platform but from three concrete things: spam and phishing arrive, outbound mail does not, and nobody can see where the problem is. MXGate solves those three, and needs neither a security team nor a six-month project to do it.
You see the price up front
Plan prices are published on the site, billed monthly, with no commitment required. You know what you will pay without waiting on a quote process for budget approval.
Live within days
Inbound is redirected with the MX record and outbound with the server’s outgoing mail setting. No mailbox is migrated, no user learns a new interface, no agent is installed.
Your data never leaves Turkey
Traffic is processed in an in-country data center. Because there is no transfer abroad, you do not have to run a separate permission process under the transfer provisions of KVKK.
Turkish support with nobody in between
A support request reaches the technical team directly. Explaining a delivery problem and getting a result involves neither a language barrier nor waiting on a partner.
The panel carries your brand
The customer-facing interface and notifications can carry your own brand, and per-domain access lets you hand part of the support load to the customer.
Every message is on the record
Which message went where, at which second, and how the receiving server replied is visible in the panel. You find the answer without setting up a separate SIEM project.
Side by side, where is the difference?
The rows below are not a feature list; they are about scale, the way you buy and the legal framework. These do not change with a release note, they are set by contract.
| Point | MXGate | Proofpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Inbound and outbound email security, reputation management, logging and archiving | Email security plus data loss prevention, identity threat defence, e-discovery and awareness training |
| Pricing | Plan prices are published on the site; billed monthly with no commitment | No published price list; quotes come through the sales team, usually on an annual commitment |
| Time to deploy | An MX record and a server setting; no mailbox migration, no agent | Run as an enterprise-scale project; the wider the scope, the longer the rollout |
| Where data is processed | In-country data center; traffic stays in Turkey | Infrastructure outside Turkey (US-based provider) |
| KVKK compliance | Contract in Turkish under the KVKK framework; no question of transfer permission, with processing and retention terms provided in writing | A transfer abroad requires a separate legal assessment under KVKK |
| Support language and contact | Turkish, directly with the technical team, with no layer in between | English; through enterprise support tiers and in most cases a partner |
| Who it is designed for | Organisations without their own security team, hosting companies and software firms | Large enterprises with their own security team and budget |
| Published performance figures | A high catch rate is published; it is not independently verifiable | A high catch rate is published; it is not independently verifiable |
The organisational facts in the Proofpoint column come from the company’s own announcements (founded in Sunnyvale in 2002; acquired by Thoma Bravo for approximately 12.3 billion dollars in 2021). The scope and pricing rows rest on what each side publishes. Performance figures are not compared, because neither side’s published values are independently verifiable.
Are you buying a platform, or solving a problem?
That is the real question in this comparison. Both are filed under email security, but their scope, and therefore their cost, rollout time and the team they require, are very different.
Who do you sign with, in which language and under which law?
An email security service sees the content of every message coming into and leaving your organisation. That makes the choice not just technical but a data controller’s decision, and in an audit you will be asked to justify it.
The transfer question never arises
Traffic is processed in Turkey and stays in Turkey. Because there is no transfer abroad, you do not have to run a separate permission or undertaking process under the transfer provisions of KVKK.
The contract is in Turkish and direct
The contract, the invoice and the SLA relationship are set up directly with MXGate. You do not have to read the terms out of a partner’s package conditions or an English master agreement.
Written evidence for audits
The purpose, duration and retention terms of processing are shared in writing for your audits. In the public sector, finance and healthcare this is usually a tender or audit requirement rather than a preference.
Which one, in which situation?
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If you have your own security team and an enterprise budgetIf you want to manage data loss prevention, identity threat defence and awareness training under one roof, the broad platform makes sense. In that case, Proofpoint.
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If your problem is spam, phishing and mail that is not deliveredIf you want to solve those three without building a platform, a gateway with a deliberately narrow scope goes live faster and needs no team to run. In that case, MXGate.
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If your data has to stay in TurkeyIn the public sector, finance and healthcare this is usually a tender or audit requirement rather than a preference. A transfer abroad requires a separate assessment under KVKK. In that case, MXGate.
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If you need to know the budget up frontWith a service that publishes its price list you see what you will pay without waiting on a quote process, and monthly billing removes the commitment risk. In that case, MXGate.
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If you want the platform at head office and a separate route in-countryThe two can also be used together. Because inbound is redirected with the MX record and outbound with a server setting, the services can be split per domain or per server.
Questions from teams running an evaluation
I am looking for a Proofpoint alternative — can MXGate replace it?
It depends on what you are looking for. If you mean the security of the mail flow, that is filtering spam, viruses and phishing on inbound traffic and inspection and reputation management on outbound, then yes, MXGate does that job. But if you use Proofpoint for data loss prevention, identity threat defence or user awareness training, MXGate does not replace those; its scope is deliberately limited to mail flow.
Which company owns Proofpoint?
Proofpoint was founded in 2002 in Sunnyvale, California by Eric Hahn, the former CTO of Netscape. It went public in 2012. In 2021 it was acquired by the investment firm Thoma Bravo for approximately 12.3 billion dollars and taken private; today it sits in the Thoma Bravo portfolio.
How do the prices compare?
They cannot be compared directly, because Proofpoint does not publish a price list; a quote is produced through its sales team, usually on an annual commitment and a user count. MXGate publishes its plan prices on its site, bills monthly and asks for no commitment. When comparing, count not only the licence fee but also the staff time you will spend on setup, training and administration.
Where is my data processed?
With MXGate, traffic is processed in an in-country data center and stays in Turkey; the processing and retention terms are shared in writing for your audits. Proofpoint is a US-based provider and its infrastructure is outside Turkey. Because transferring data abroad requires a separate legal assessment under KVKK, this distinction can be decisive, particularly in the public sector, finance and healthcare.
Can we use both together?
Yes, and it is not an unusual arrangement. Some organisations run the broad platform at head office while preferring to send outbound mail from subsidiaries or in-country servers through a separate gateway. Because inbound is redirected with the MX record and outbound with a server setting, the two services can be split per domain or per server.
See it on your own traffic first
You can start without waiting on a quote process. Redirect your MX record, see for yourself within a few days what is quarantined and what reaches the inbox, and decide from your own records rather than a presentation.