# Mimecast Alternatives in 2026: Keep Engage, Add SMS, Voice and Callback Source: https://keepnetlabs.com/blog/keepnet-mimecast-alternative Published: 2026-08-27 Updated: 2026-10-15 Author: Ozan Ucar, Founder and CEO of Keepnet Category: Security Awareness Training > Looking at Mimecast alternatives? You may not need to replace Engage. Keepnet adds SMS, voice and callback simulation alongside your Mimecast program. You do not have to replace Mimecast to close the gap. Most teams searching for a Mimecast alternative are not unhappy with Engage. They have found that their program stops where email stops. **One scoping note first**. Mimecast is a large product family, and Keepnet is not an alternative to most of it. The secure email gateway, archiving, data retention and DMARC analysis sit outside what Keepnet does, and if you run them there is no reason to change. This comparison covers one module of that family: Mimecast Engage, the security awareness training and phishing simulation product. The question that brings people here is narrow. Where do the attacks that never arrive by email get tested, and where do they get reported? ## What Does Mimecast Engage Do Well? Engage is built around risk scoring, and that is a real strength. The Human Risk Command Center assigns training from an individual risk score, and Watchlist Manager regroups people as that score moves. If your program needs a defensible answer to who is risky and why, Engage gives you one. SAFE Phish is the second. A real campaign that reached your organisation can be de-weaponised and turned into a simulation, so the test uses the lure your people actually received instead of a generic template. Engage also ships an AI template generator and more than 200 training modules in 27 languages. On channels, be precise. Engage runs email simulations and can place a QR code inside an email template, reporting scans separately from clicks. That is QR inside the email, which is useful, but it is not a separate channel. ## Why Teams Look for a Mimecast Alternative Three reasons come up most often. **The simulation stops at email**. Engage describes an email arriving in the inbox. A text message sent to an employee phone, a call placed to their number, a callback number they dial, an MFA prompt they approve, a synthetic voice in a meeting: none of these appear as simulated channels. That matters because the untested channel is the one people fail more often. In the 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, the median click rate is about 1.4 percent on email simulations and about 2 percent on phone-centric ones (Verizon, 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, 2026, p. 50). **Reporting lives in Outlook**. The reporting path runs through a desktop add-in. When the suspicious message is an SMS or a missed call, there is no button on the device where it landed, so the incident ends as a screenshot in a chat window or never reaches the security team at all. **The strongest features assume the rest of the stack**. SAFE Phish works because Mimecast already sees your mail flow. If you do not run the Mimecast gateway, or you plan to move off it, that advantage weakens with it. ## How Keepnet Is Different Keepnet runs simulations on six channels from one platform: email, voice, SMS, QR, callback and deepfake. Each channel produces its own susceptibility report, so a team that looks strong on email can still see where it is not. Voice simulations place an actual call to the employee own phone, from one of your local numbers, with a two way AI conversation rather than a recording. See [vishing simulation](https://keepnetlabs.com/products/vishing). SMS and QR simulations reach the device directly, and each is measured on its own. See [smishing simulation](https://keepnetlabs.com/products/smishing-simulator) and [quishing simulation](https://keepnetlabs.com/products/quishing-simulator). Callback phishing is its own channel. The employee dials the number and speaks to an agent, and what happens after the dial is measured rather than assumed. See [callback phishing simulation](https://keepnetlabs.com/products/callback-phishing). Your Mimecast gateway can be tested as well. [Email Threat Simulator](https://keepnetlabs.com/products/email-threat-simulator) sends benign versions of current attacks through your existing controls and reports what got through. That is a measurement of the gateway, not a replacement for it. Every product can be bought on its own. The full platform is optional, so a team that only needs the phone channel can start there and keep Engage doing email. The platform is SCORM compatible, so training content you already licence runs inside your own LMS with tracking intact. Employees can report a suspicious SMS or call from the phone itself. [Keepnet Reporter](https://keepnetlabs.com/sms-and-call-reporter-app) puts the report button where the attack actually lands, and the report joins the same pipeline as email reports. ![Diagram showing six simulation channels, each with its own susceptibility score: email, voice, SMS, QR code, callback and deepfake, all feeding into one reporting workflow.](https://timely-benefit-e63d540317.media.strapiapp.com/keepnet_per_channel_susceptibility_96cdf9fcb2.png) *Susceptibility measured per channel, not as a single organization wide average.* ## Keepnet vs Mimecast Engage: What to Compare **Keepnet compared with Mimecast Engage** | Dimension | Keepnet | What to check on any alternative | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Simulation channels | Email, voice, SMS, QR, callback, MFA fatigue and deepfake, each with its own susceptibility report | Engage documents email simulations, with QR codes placed inside email templates. Ask which channels report separately | | Voice simulation | A real call to the employee own phone from one of your local numbers, with a two way AI conversation | Is the phone attack simulated as a call, or as an email that mentions a phone number | | SMS simulation | Its own channel, sent to the device, measured on its own | Is SMS simulated at all, or only described in training content | | Callback phishing | Its own channel: the employee dials and speaks to an agent | Is anything measured after the employee dials | | Mobile reporting | A report button on the phone for SMS and calls, feeding the same pipeline as email reports | Where does an employee report a text message or a call | | Gateway dependency | Runs next to any email security, including Mimecast and Microsoft | Do the strongest features require you to also buy the gateway | | Risk scoring | Per channel susceptibility plus an overall human risk score | Does the score cover channels beyond email | | Content delivery | SCORM compatible, runs inside your own LMS with tracking intact | Can you keep your existing LMS | | Buying model | Every product can be bought on its own, the platform is optional | Can you start with one channel | ## Can You Run Keepnet Alongside Mimecast? Yes, and for Mimecast accounts this is usually the sensible order. Keep the gateway and Engage where they are, add the channels that are not being tested, and compare the numbers after one cycle. Nothing has to be switched off for that comparison to be fair. ## Which Mimecast Alternative Fits Your Reason? **If the reason is the phone**, look for a platform that places a real call and sends a real text, and that reports each channel separately. A phone number inside an email is not a phone simulation. **If the reason is reporting**, ask where an employee reports a suspicious SMS or a missed call, and whether that report reaches the same queue as email reports. **If the reason is stack independence**, check which capabilities survive if you change your email gateway next year, and which ones quietly depend on it. **If the reason is content**, be honest that Engage has a large library. Ask instead whether the content can be adapted by role, language and region, and whether it runs in the LMS you already own. ## See It on Your Own Environment The fastest way to compare is a short pilot on the channel you are not testing today. One voice campaign and one SMS campaign on a small group will tell you more than any feature table, including this one. [Book a demo](https://keepnetlabs.com/get-demo) and we will set it up on your own users. For a wider view, see our [comparison of security awareness training platforms](https://keepnetlabs.com/blog/top-security-awareness-training-solutions), the [Proofpoint](https://keepnetlabs.com/blog/keepnet-proofpoint-alternative) and [KnowBe4](https://keepnetlabs.com/blog/keepnet-a-modern-multi-channel-knowbe4-alternative) comparisons, and the [mobile phishing visibility gap](https://keepnetlabs.com/whitepapers/mobile-phishing-visibility-gap) whitepaper. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Mimecast Engage? Mimecast Engage is the security awareness training and phishing simulation product inside the Mimecast family. It centres on risk scoring through the Human Risk Command Center, with a library of more than 200 training modules in 27 languages. ### Does Mimecast Engage simulate SMS and voice attacks? Mimecast documents email simulations, and QR codes can be placed inside an email template with scans reported separately. Text messages sent to a phone, calls placed to a number and callback flows are not documented as simulated channels. ### What is SAFE Phish? SAFE Phish takes a real phishing campaign that reached your organisation, removes the payload and turns it into a training exercise, so the simulation uses a lure your people actually received rather than a generic template. ### Can Keepnet run alongside Mimecast? Yes. Keepnet does not replace an email gateway and does not need one. Most Mimecast accounts keep Engage for email and add the channels that are not being tested, then compare the numbers after one cycle. ### Which channels does Keepnet simulate? Email, voice, SMS, QR, callback, MFA fatigue and deepfake, from one platform, with a separate susceptibility report for each channel. ### Is the voice simulation a real phone call? Yes. The call is placed to the employee own phone from one of your local numbers, and the conversation is two way rather than a recording. ### Why does the phone channel matter? It is the channel people fail more often. In the 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, the median click rate is about 1.4 percent on email simulations and about 2 percent on phone-centric ones (Verizon, 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, 2026, p. 50). ### How do employees report a suspicious text message or call? Keepnet Reporter puts a report button on the phone itself, and those reports join the same pipeline as email reports rather than arriving as screenshots. ### Do we have to replace our LMS? No. The platform is SCORM compatible, so courses run inside the LMS you already use with tracking intact. ### Do we have to buy the whole platform? No. Every product can be bought on its own, so a team that only needs the phone channel can start there.