CASE FILE // PC-2026-04
Status: Open


Filing 05.05.00Field 27 APR 2026Classification PublicStatus Open

SoSafe cost: quote-only, priced per user per year on a degressive model

SoSafe is the Cologne-based phishing-training platform that has grown rapidly across Western Europe since 2018. It publishes no per-user list price: it is sold by custom quote, positioned between KnowBe4 and Hoxhunt and particularly attractive for organisations under GDPR, NIS2, or German BSI cyber-framework expectations.

Exhibit A

SoSafe pricing structure and competitive position


SoSafe does not publish a per-user list price. It is sold quote-only, per user per year on a degressive model (the per-user rate falls as user count rises), with the quote driven by user count, tier, region, and contract term. The competitive position is shaped by two structural factors. First, SoSafe's German-engineering, EU-native data processing posture is structurally attractive for European buyers in a way that the US-headquartered competitors cannot easily match without additional configuration. Second, SoSafe is generally positioned below Hoxhunt at equivalent functional tiers, which makes it the natural EU-native alternative for buyers who want EU-default data residency without paying the Hoxhunt premium.

Because SoSafe publishes no rate, the only way to establish its price for your organisation is a direct quote. Buyer-data aggregators report per-user figures, but these are unverified inputs to your own negotiation rather than a benchmark, and data quality for SoSafe in the US market is thinner than for the US-headquartered competitors because the US installed base is smaller. Treat any specific per-user number as provisional until it is in your quote.[SoSafe does not publish a list price (quote-only, confirmed via vendor and third-party marketplaces, checked August 2026)]

Exhibit B

The German base and the BSI framework alignment

REFERENCE

SoSafe was founded in Cologne in 2018 and has grown rapidly across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and broader Western Europe. The German base is a meaningful product-positioning factor because German enterprises and the German federal government look to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) IT-Grundschutz framework as the de-facto cyber-control baseline. SoSafe's product alignment with BSI expectations (in content coverage, in user-data-handling practices, in reporting depth for BSI-conformant audits) makes the platform the dominant phishing-training choice in the German federal market and a strong choice for German-regulated industry.

The implication for non-German buyers is contextual. For US-headquartered firms with German or broader EU operations, SoSafe's BSI-aligned posture is useful for the EU-region deployment but less so for the US deployment. Many multi-region buyers run SoSafe in the EU and a US-headquartered alternative (KnowBe4 or Proofpoint PSAT) in the US, which produces some operational fragmentation but optimises per-region fit. For US-only firms without EU operations the German-base positioning does not apply and the comparative-evaluation focus should be on per-user pricing, content-library coverage, and feature mix versus the dominant US alternatives.

The content library is broader in European languages than the US-headquartered competitors. German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, and other major European-language coverage is well-developed; smaller European languages (Czech, Hungarian, Greek, Nordic languages) have meaningful coverage that competing vendors frequently lack. The multi-language depth is one of SoSafe's strongest distinguishing capabilities and is particularly valuable for European-headquartered firms with multi-national workforce composition.[BSI IT-Grundschutz framework + SoSafe product literature 2024-2025]

Exhibit C

Illustrative annual spend by organisation size


Organisation sizeUsersAt $25/user (illustrative)At $50/user (illustrative)
Mid-market500$12,500$25,000
Mid-market2,000$50,000$100,000
Upper mid-market5,000$125,000$250,000
Enterprise10,000$250,000$500,000
Large enterprise25,000$625,000$1,250,000
Global enterprise50,000$1,250,000$2,500,000

SoSafe publishes no per-user rate, so this table is a scaling model, not a price list: it multiplies user count by two illustrative rates to bracket a range. Locate your quoted per-user rate between the columns (or substitute it directly). SoSafe's degressive model means larger deployments negotiate below the per-user rate that smaller ones pay, so the right-hand column overstates spend at the high-user-count rows. EU-region deals and US-region deals frequently price differently, so quote each region separately for multi-region deployments.[Illustrative scaling model (user count x illustrative rate); SoSafe does not publish per-user rates]

Exhibit D

The EU regulatory tailwind: NIS2, DORA, GDPR enforcement


SoSafe has benefited from a sustained European regulatory tailwind through 2023-2026. The EU NIS2 directive, transposed into national law across EU member states through 2024-2025, requires designated essential and important entities to implement cyber-security risk management measures including awareness training. The compliance bar implicit in NIS2 has driven demand for awareness-training platforms across European mid-market and enterprise segments that previously deferred the investment.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), applicable from January 2025 to EU financial-services entities and their critical third-party ICT providers, adds an additional regulatory layer that includes awareness-training expectations. DORA's third-party-risk-management provisions also create demand for awareness-training-vendor due-diligence which favours vendors who can demonstrate GDPR-native posture and EU-data-residency by default. SoSafe is structurally well-positioned for this demand.

GDPR enforcement through 2023-2025 has continued to produce material fines for inadequate data-handling practices, with cyber-event-driven enforcement actions a meaningful share of total enforcement. The fine schedule (up to 4% of annual global turnover under Article 83(5)) means that any cyber-control choice that affects post-event regulator-relationship dynamics is consequential. EU-native vendors are perceived (correctly or not) as carrying less regulator-relationship risk than US-headquartered vendors in EU-data-handling contexts. The perception drives a structural pricing-and-procurement advantage for SoSafe in European enterprise procurement that is unlikely to fade through the near-term.[EU NIS2 (Directive 2022/2555) + DORA (Regulation 2022/2554) + GDPR enforcement docket 2023-2025]

Exhibit E

The behaviour-change methodology and content approach


SoSafe's methodology places relatively more emphasis on positive-reinforcement behavioural-change than the gamification-light approaches of older awareness-training platforms. The platform delivers short-format training interventions (typically 2-5 minutes) immediately after a user interacts with a simulation, with feedback framed as learning rather than failure. The approach is theoretically grounded in behavioural-science research on habit formation and aligns with the methodology direction that Hoxhunt also emphasises (though through somewhat different product-design choices).

The practical impact on click-rate reduction over time is broadly comparable to other major awareness-training platforms. Published outcomes show 40 to 60 percent reduction in baseline-bulk-phishing click rates over 18 to 24 months of sustained program use, in line with KnowBe4 and Proofpoint PSAT figures. Reduction against AI-grade phishing is materially lower (as it is for all training platforms) and the strongest defence remains pairing awareness training with phishing-resistant MFA, behavioural email security, and a documented incident-response capability.

SoSafe's content authoring is done in-house by a team based in Cologne and other EU offices, which produces content that resonates well with European workforce culture and language norms. US buyers occasionally report that the SoSafe content feels less culturally-tuned to US workforce contexts than KnowBe4 or Proofpoint PSAT content, which is unsurprising given the vendor origin. Multi-region buyers should evaluate content fit in each region separately rather than assuming uniform applicability across the workforce.[SoSafe product literature 2024-2025 + Forrester Wave Security Awareness Training 2024 EMEA section]

Exhibit F

What buyers should ask before signing the SoSafe contract


Is EU-hosted or US-hosted the right deployment?

Default is EU-hosted. For US-only operations or US-government contracts, request US-hosted; confirm operational maturity at the US-hosting tier.

What is the per-user pricing including volume discount?

Compare against KnowBe4 Diamond and Hoxhunt enterprise at the same volume. SoSafe typically prices between the two; the discount-curve slope matters for multi-region commitments.

Which European languages are covered to your standard?

SoSafe has broader European-language coverage than US-headquartered competitors but content quality varies by language. Spot-check content in your primary deployment languages.

What is the BSI / NIS2 / DORA conformance reporting?

If you are subject to BSI IT-Grundschutz, NIS2, or DORA, SoSafe's conformance-reporting depth is a real differentiator. Confirm the reporting templates available.

What is the customer-success engagement?

SoSafe customer-success is typically higher-touch than KnowBe4. Confirm engagement level included at offered tier.

What is the multi-year discount and renewal-price posture?

3-year and 5-year commitments yield meaningful discount. Confirm renewal-price cap to avoid auto-renewal at list price.

Exhibit G

Frequently filed questions

ON RECORD

How much does SoSafe cost?[open]

SoSafe does not publish a list price. It is quote-only, sold per user per year on a degressive model, with the quote driven by user count, tier, region, and contract term. Positioned between KnowBe4 and Hoxhunt at equivalent tiers. Aggregator-reported per-user figures exist but are unverified; treat any number as provisional until it is in your quote.

Where is SoSafe based?[open]

Cologne, Germany. Founded 2018. Default deployment is EU-hosted. GDPR-native by design.

How does SoSafe compare to Hoxhunt?[open]

Both are sold by quote, so compare matched-scope quotes rather than list prices. SoSafe is generally positioned below Hoxhunt at equivalent tiers. Both emphasise EU-native data processing. Hoxhunt has stronger AI-content simulation and per-user behaviour-tracking depth; SoSafe has broader European-language content-library coverage.

Is SoSafe relevant for US buyers?[open]

For US-headquartered firms with EU operations, yes. For US-only firms without EU operations, the German-base positioning does not apply and US-headquartered alternatives may be more culturally-tuned.

What is the BSI framework relevance?[open]

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) IT-Grundschutz framework is the de-facto cyber-control baseline for German enterprises and federal government. SoSafe alignment is a real differentiator in the German market.

Does SoSafe have a US-hosted option?[open]

Yes, on request. Default is EU-hosted. Bulk of customers use the EU-hosted default.

Is SoSafe effective?[open]

Yes. Click-rate reduction outcomes consistent with the industry benchmark of 40-60% over 24 months. Reduction against AI-grade phishing is lower (as it is for all training platforms).

Updated 2026-04-27