12+ Data Loss Prevention / DLP Software in 2024

As security threats rise in every industry, companies need to better protect their corporate data. However, with the ever-evolving threat of data breaches, it can be challenging to maintain a strong level of defense. Data loss prevention or DLP software helps businesses safeguard their confidential data with greater efficiency.

This article compares the top DLP software on the market and provides criteria for security managers to select the right option for their business.

Comparing the top DLP software on the market

Table 1. Comparison based on market presence criteria

* The data was gathered from leading B2B review platforms.

Table 2. Comparison based on features criteria

** The prices vary based on the customers’ needs.

*** Thin client: A minimal and lightweight software layer specifically designed to manage a network-based computing environment.

**** Cloud deployment is provided by all products. VDI: Virtual desktop infrastructure.

Requirements for inclusion in the table:

• Total user reviews: 30+
• 75+ employees

Sorting: Vendors with links to their websites are sponsors of AIMultiple and are listed at the top. Remaining products are ranked based on their total numbers of reviews.

User review-based analysis of each DLP software vendor

This section offers an analysis of each of the DLP vendors based on user reviews from platforms like G2, Gartner, Trustradius, and Capterra.

1. Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys

Headquartered in North Carolina, Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys also offers an automated Data Loss Prevention solution aimed at monitoring and controlling data transfers from endpoints. The company also focuses on device control, mobile device management, and content-aware protection services.

Pros and cons

• A customer highly rates the DLP product for its granularity, effective group administration, fast updates, and unique panic mode, with minor suggestions for more external involvement and demonstrations of best practices.¹

• The customer review praises CoSoSys’ EPP for effectively managing data security, highlighting the exceptional support and knowledge of the implementation team, as well as the helpful and patient customer service, while noting the expected need for fine-tuning during deployment.²

2. Trellix DLP (McAfee)

Based in the United States, Trellix DLP claims to offer DLP and other endpoint protection solutions by identifying, monitoring, and securing sensitive information across different platforms, including endpoints and networks.

Pros and cons​

• While customers found it effective as an overall security solution, they mentioned that it does not deliver on many of its marketed features.³
• Customers highlighted dissatisfaction with support delays and the lack of a data restoration option after purging DLP incidents, despite customizable workflow and classification features.⁴

See Trellix alternatives for more.

3. Acronis Cyber Protect

Acronis, based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, claims to offer a range of data protection solutions, including (as listed on its website):

• Endpoint security
• Data loss prevention (DLP)
• Disaster recovery
• Email security
• File sync and share​.

Pros and cons

• While customers found its DLP solution effective, they faced challenges with compatibility since it only supports Windows.⁵
• Customer were not satisfied with its data backup features.⁶

See Acronis alternatives.

4. Sophos Intercept X

Sophos is a British cybersecurity company headquartered in Abingdon, England. It was launched in 1985 and has since then has been operating in the global cybersecurity market. One of its key products is Intercept X, which includes a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution aimed at protecting sensitive information from being accessed, used, or shared inappropriately.

Pros and cons

• Multiple user reviews suggest that while Sophos offers an effective DLP solution, its weak customer service outweighs the platform’s performance. Additionally, users show concerns regarding the stability of its engine and the frequent updates and subsequent endpoint reboots that disrupt live operations.^{7 8}

• While users found the system easy to install, they were not happy with the prices of the product.⁹

• The review highlights issues with the software, including disruptions to the user experience, problems handling VBA and other business macros, frequent false positives, and inadequate metrics, inquiry, and reporting features.¹⁰

5. Safetica DLP

Safetica claims to provide a DLP solution aimed at preventing sensitive data from leaving the company unintentionally. Alongside its DLP offering, Safetica also offers solutions for monitoring and controlling user activity and data flow within organizations.

Pros and cons

• A customer faced issues with Safetica DLP’s MacOS ecosystem.¹¹
• The customer appreciates Safetica’s functionality and support but criticizes its complicated interface and the inconvenient division of features between the Safetica Console and Websafetica, with promised improvements in this area not yet realized.¹²

6. Teramind DLP

Based in Florida, Teramind also claims to offer a DLP solution focusing on user behavior analytics, providing insights into user activities and potential data breaches. The company also offers employee monitoring, insider threat detection, and user activity tracking solutions.

Pros and cons

• Safetica DLP offers a range of features, including robust security options and screen recording. However, its user interface is not intuitive, and it lacks flexibility. Additionally, customer support is underwhelming, and many features may be superfluous for some users.¹³
• A customer review commented about Teramind’s positive user monitoring capabilities but also pointed out that its DLP feature needs improvement and lacks Linux support.¹⁴

Check out Teramind alternatives.

7. Symantec DLP by Broadcom

Symantec is now a part of Broadcom and is headquartered in California. The company claims to offer a DLP solution that focuses on protecting sensitive information across multiple channels and environments. Its other cybersecurity products include endpoint security, web and email security, and identity protection solutions.

Pros and cons

• The customer praises Symantec DLP for security and user education but identifies difficulties in configuration and limitations in its Network Prevent features.¹⁵
• According to a review from TrustRadius, Symantec DLP effectively protects social security numbers across the enterprise. However, the customer also stated that sometimes the platform flags files that are not part of the scope.¹⁶

Here is a comparison of the top Symantec DLP alternatives.

8. Digital Guardian Endpoint DLP

Digital Guardian, part of Fortra, claims to offer endpoint data loss prevention to protect confidential business data. Its DLP suite also includes solutions for network and cloud data protection, as well as data discovery, catering to a wide range of business sizes.

Pros and cons

• The reviewer appreciates Digital Guardian for its data protection and analytics abilities but criticizes its complexity in setup and configuration, requiring substantial technical knowledge.¹⁷

See alternatives to Digital Guardian for more.

9. Proofpoint Information Protection

Proofpoint Enterprise DLP is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. It claims to offer a DLP product along with other endpoint protection solutions. Here is a list of its offerings as mentioned on its website:

Pros and cons

• Customers stated its inability to perform large-scale EDM and IDM fingerprinting, coupled with opaque Smart Identifiers, obstructs incident reviewers from pinpointing email block causes, emphasizing pattern versus data analysis.¹⁸

See Proofpoint alternatives for more.

10. Microsoft Purview DLP

Microsoft Purview claims to offer a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution aimed at protecting sensitive information across environments.

Pros and cons

• Microsoft Purview’s DLP solution simplifies access to important data within a company and enhances data governance. While the solution is effective, some of its downsides include a high price, weak customer support, and a complex platform.¹⁹
• While Microsoft Purview integrates easily with the Microsoft ecosystem, its DLP product has major gaps, policy customization is limited, reporting features are weak, and the support is poor.²⁰

11. Forcepoint data loss prevention (DLP)

Based in Austin, Texas, Forcepoint claims to offer a Data Loss Prevention solution with different tools aimed at protecting sensitive data across networks, endpoints, and cloud environments. Its solutions also include cybersecurity products, including cloud security, network security, and insider threat solutions.

Pros and cons

• A customer liked Forcepoint DLP’s strong policies, incident detection, ease of use, and effectiveness in web and endpoint protection, but criticized its lack of device control features and support for Linux operating systems like CentOS and Ubuntu.²¹
• A customer found its DLP product’s interface user-friendly but criticized its ineffective machine learning and OCR features, as well as poor customer support.²²

Here is a comparison of the top Forcepoint DLP alternatives.

12. Incydr by Code42

Based in Minnesota, Incydr by Code42 also claims to offer DLP software targeting insider risks, focusing on data leak detection and response. Besides this, Incydr offers additional services for secure file sharing, legal hold, and cloud-based data security.

Pros and cons

• The customer review acknowledges the Incydr’s DLP product’s functionality but criticizes its weaker Linux workstation support, daunting user interface, and lack of granularity. The customer also found the pricing of its DLP solution to be reasonable.²³

13. Cyberhaven DLP

Founded in 2016 and based in Palo Alto, California, Cyberhaven is another player in the DLP software market. The company offers a data loss prevention product along with insider risk management and cloud data security solutions.

Pros and cons

• While the user found its interface easy to use, it also sometimes faced slowdowns from its DLP solution.²⁴
• The user appreciates the product’s visibility, trace flows, and the ability to export incident reports easily. However, the software can be CPU intensive and previously had a slow cloud portal, although this has been resolved. The customer also suggests enhancing the incident dashboard to better handle large data events that create numerous incidents.²⁵

Rationale for AIMultiple’s criteria in preparing this shortlist

This section offers the key criteria that companies can use to narrow down their options while searching for the right DLP tool for their business.

Market presence

1. Number of reviews

The volume of reviews for a DLP vendor is a key indicator of its user base and, therefore, the maturity of its solution.

2. User ratings

High user ratings from B2B platforms like G2 and TrustRadius indicate user satisfaction.

3. Number of employees

A larger number of employees is correlated with more mature solutions.

Guidelines for selecting a DLP

1. Understand pricing

Understanding the pricing structure of DLP software involves examining usage-based pricing, annual subscriptions, and custom pricing options. The costs should align with the organization’s budget, data protection requirements and should grow reasonably as the organization grows

2. Take advantage of the free trial

Most DLP solutions offer free trials, which allow hands-on experience with the DLP tool to assess its suitability in protecting data across multiple systems, including unstructured data and cloud DLP needs. If the vendor doesn’t offer a free trial, a demo can help understand the software’s capabilities in content inspection, adhering to DLP policies, and meeting specific data loss prevention criteria.

3. Supported OS (operating system)

OS compatibility determines the effectiveness of the DLP software within the customer’s existing IT infrastructure. Organizations may use a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, Linux, thin client, or others, and ensuring that the chosen DLP solution is fully compatible with these systems is essential to protect against data breaches. Incompatible software can lead to inadequate protection, increased vulnerabilities, and potential disruptions in business operations.

4. Deployment options

When selecting a DLP tool, it is vital for customers to review the vendor’s deployment options—such as on-premise, cloud, SaaS, or VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)—since these choices directly impact the solution’s integration, management, and scalability within their environment.

Why is it important to use a DLP software?

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software helps protect sensitive data such as financial data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information, and intellectual property.

1. Data protection from external threats

DLP solutions are designed to prevent data breaches and data leaks, thereby safeguarding this sensitive data. By utilizing data classification and exact data match techniques, DLP tools ensure that critical information is not inadvertently exposed or accessed by unauthorized parties.

2. Regulatory compliance and auditing requirements

In an era where privacy regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, DLP technology helps organizations maintain compliance with these laws. Compliance and auditing requirements can vary significantly depending on the industry and location, but many DLP solutions, including those from vendors like McAfee Enterprise and Trellix DLP Endpoint, are equipped to handle a diverse range of standards. These solutions aid in content review and enforce DLP policies based on set criteria, crucial for complying with regulations and avoiding potential legal consequences and fines.

3. Preventing data loss and mitigating insider threats

Data loss can occur not just through external attacks but also due to insider threats, whether malicious or accidental. DLP software solutions like Digital Guardian and Endpoint Protector offer comprehensive monitoring of data movement within an organization’s network, including multiple systems and cloud storage. This includes tracking user activity to prevent insider threats and accidental data loss. By providing data visibility and controlling data exfiltration, DLP tools play a pivotal role in preserving the integrity of the organization’s data and protecting against potential data breaches.

To learn more about the best practices of DLP.

Transparency statement

AIMultiple serves numerous emerging tech companies, including the ones linked in this article.

FAQs for DLP software

Further reading

• 25+ Application Security Statistics and Trends
• Cybersecurity Risk Management
• Top 10 Hexnode Alternatives Based on 10,800+ Reviews
• Top 10 RMM Software: Analysis From 7,700+ Reviews

If you need help finding a vendor or have any questions, feel free to contact us:

External resources

• 1. Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 2. Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 3. Trelliz customer review 1. Capterra. Accessed: 12/March/2024.
• 4. Trelliz customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 12/March/2024.
• 5. Acronis customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 12/Mar/2024.
• 6. Acronis customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 12/Mar/2024.
• 7. Sophos negative review 1. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 8. Sophos negative review 2. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 9. Sophos negative review 3. Gartner. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 10. Sophos negative review 4. Gartner. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 11. Safetica review 1 regarding issues with MAC OS. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024
• 12. Safetica customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 13. Teramind customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 14. Teramind customer review 2. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 15. Symantec customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 16. Symantec customer review 2. TrustRadius. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 17. Digital Guardian Endpoint DLP customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 12/March/2024.
• 18. Proofpoint customer review 1. Gartner. Accessed: 12/Feb/2024.
• 19. Microsoft purview customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 20. Microsoft purview customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 23/April/2024.
• 21. Forcepoint customer review 1. G2. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 22. Forcepoint customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 24/Jan/2024.
• 23. Incydr by Code42 customer review 1. Gartner. Accessed: 24/April/2024.
• 24. Cyberhaven customer review 1. Gartner. Accessed: 24/April/2024.
• 25. Cyberhaven customer review 2. Gartner. Accessed: 23/April/2024.