How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Insider risk costs an average of $19.5 million per year, and companies with an insider risk management program save $8.2 million annually, according to the Ponemon 2026 Cost of Insider Risks Global Report sponsored by DTEX.
- The only tools here with published prices are Teramind (from $14 per user per month, annual) and ActivTrak (free plan, paid from $10 per worker per month); everything else is quote-based.
- For SMBs, start with Teramind for deep monitoring with real prices or ActivTrak for a free workforce-visibility baseline; the enterprise platforms (Veriato, DTEX, Proofpoint, Forcepoint, Exabeam) are built for security teams with bigger budgets.
- Syteca, formerly Ekran System, is now a privileged access management platform with user monitoring, so buy it for privileged-user oversight rather than general employee monitoring.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
Teramind | SMBs and mid-market companies wanting deep monitoring with transparent pricing | $14/user/month (Starter, billed annually; $15 month to month; 5-seat minimum) | Free trial (7 days cloud, 14 days on-prem, per reviewers) |
ActivTrak | Teams that want free workforce visibility before committing to a security platform | $0 (free plan); paid plans from $10/worker/month | Yes (free plan with basic activity visibility for up to 3 people, 30 days of data history) |
Veriato | Enterprises wanting AI-driven behavioral risk scoring across security, HR and compliance | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
DTEX | Enterprises and government agencies wanting privacy-by-design insider risk management | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
Proofpoint Insider Threat Management | Organizations already on Proofpoint that want insider visibility across endpoint, email, cloud and web | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
Syteca | Privileged user monitoring and access control in one platform | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
Forcepoint | Data-centric organizations that want DLP and insider threat from one vendor | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
Exabeam | SOC teams that want insider threat detection inside their SIEM | See website (custom quote) | No (demo only) |
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The best insider threat software
Insider risk now costs organizations an average of $19.5 million a year, according to the Ponemon 2026 Cost of Insider Risks Global Report sponsored by DTEX, and companies running an insider risk management program save $8.2 million annually. Proofpoint's own research adds that 76 percent of data loss events are caused by just 1 percent of users. The market splits into two camps: endpoint monitoring tools that record what users do, and behavior analytics platforms that score who is risky. These eight tools cover both, with the actual pricing each vendor publishes.
#1
Teramind
Best for: SMBs and mid-market companies wanting deep monitoring with transparent pricing
Visit teramind.co
Starting price$14/user/month (Starter, billed annually; $15 month to month; 5-seat minimum)
Free planFree trial (7 days cloud, 14 days on-prem, per reviewers)
Teramind is the rare insider threat vendor that publishes its prices. Starter at $14 per user per month (annual) covers live view, screen recording and website and app tracking; UAM at $28 adds keystroke logging, email and file monitoring, risk scoring and anomaly detection; DLP at $32 adds content-based rules, clipboard monitoring and automatic blocking; Enterprise is custom-quoted with the OCR engine, unlimited behavior rules and premium support. It deploys in the cloud or on-premise, which matters for regulated industries.
The catches are the seat minimum and the tier ladder. Every plan requires at least five seats, so a three-person shop pays for five. The monitoring depth that makes Teramind famous, keystrokes and OCR search of screen content, starts at UAM and Enterprise respectively. And this level of visibility demands a clear employee monitoring policy, since privacy expectations differ by jurisdiction. For an SMB that wants real insider threat capability with a price it can see before the sales call, Teramind is the first tool to evaluate.
What we like- Published per-seat pricing across four tiers (Starter $14, UAM $28, DLP $32 annual
- Enterprise custom)
- Keystroke logging, session recording, risk scoring and anomaly detection
- Cloud or on-premise deployment with OCR-based search on Enterprise
Watch out for- Five-seat minimum on every plan, so small teams pay for empty seats
- The OCR and advanced data detection buyers often want sit on the custom-quoted Enterprise tier
- Deep monitoring raises employee privacy questions that need policy work
#2
ActivTrak
Best for: Teams that want free workforce visibility before committing to a security platform
Visit activtrak.com
Starting price$0 (free plan); paid plans from $10/worker/month
Free planYes (free plan with basic activity visibility for up to 3 people, 30 days of data history)
ActivTrak comes at insider risk from the productivity side. The free plan gives basic activity visibility for up to three people with 30 days of data history, which is enough to baseline a small team's work patterns at no cost. Paid plans at $10, $15 and $17 per worker per month add schedule adherence, productivity optimization, workload balance, burnout signals, and compliance alarms including mouse-jiggler detection, USB and file transfer detection, and sensitive content detection.
Be clear about what it is not. ActivTrak does not do keystroke logging, screen recording is gated behind add-ons, and there is no DLP policy engine for blocking exfiltration. It tells you who is disengaged, overloaded or behaving oddly, which catches the human precursors to insider incidents, but it will not reconstruct a data theft after the fact. For an SMB that suspects it has a people problem rather than a confirmed exfiltration problem, the free plan is a sensible starting point before buying a Teramind or Veriato.
What we like- A genuinely free plan for up to 3 people
- Paid tiers at $10, $15 and $17 per worker per month with published pricing
- Burnout, workload balance and AI adoption analytics plus compliance alarms like mouse-jiggler and USB detection
Watch out for- A workforce analytics tool first, not a forensic insider threat platform
- Screenshots, live screen view and detailed activity capture require paid add-ons
- No keystroke logging or DLP-grade blocking
#3
Veriato
Best for: Enterprises wanting AI-driven behavioral risk scoring across security, HR and compliance
Visit veriato.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
Veriato has been in this market longer than almost anyone, founded in 1998 as SpectorSoft and renamed in 2016. Its current platform centers on behavioral visibility: 130-plus behavioral signals tracked in real time, AI-powered risk scoring that adapts to individual users, sentiment analysis across communications, and dashboards for security, HR, legal, compliance and leadership. It splits into Veriato IRM for security teams at enterprise scale and Veriato UAM for HR, operations and IT.
This is an enterprise buy through and through. There is no published pricing and no free tier, and the implementation is a project, not a signup. The monitoring depth, keystrokes, screen recording, communications analysis, demands a solid acceptable-use policy and legal review, especially outside the US. For a large organization that wants one platform serving both the SOC and HR with behavioral evidence, Veriato is a proven choice.
What we like- More than 25 years in insider risk management, one of the category's pioneers
- Tracks 130-plus behavioral signals in real time with AI-powered risk scoring and sentiment analysis
- Cloud or on-premise deployment with Microsoft 365 and API integrations
Watch out for- No published pricing, everything is quote-based
- An enterprise platform with enterprise implementation effort
- The depth of monitoring needs careful privacy governance
#4
DTEX
Best for: Enterprises and government agencies wanting privacy-by-design insider risk management
Visit dtexsystems.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
DTEX takes a distinctive position: insider risk management built on metadata rather than full content capture, with patented pseudonymization that strips personal identifiers from activity data. The InTERCEPT platform combines insider risk management, user and entity behavior analytics, digital forensics and risk-adaptive DLP in one cloud-native system. It is the first FedRAMP-authorized user activity monitoring solution, which explains its traction in government, and it now extends to AI risk management for agentic workflows.
The trade-off is accessibility. There is no published pricing and the product is aimed squarely at enterprises and public sector organizations, so SMBs will find the sales process heavy. The metadata-first approach is a genuine privacy advantage over keystroke-logging competitors, but it also means less forensic detail in some scenarios. For a large or regulated organization that needs insider risk capability its privacy team will approve, DTEX is the strongest privacy story in this set.
What we like- Unifies insider risk management, DLP, UEBA and user activity monitoring in one lightweight platform
- Patented pseudonymization removes personal identifiers from activity data
- First FedRAMP-authorized UAM solution, with AI risk management for agent activity
Watch out for- No published pricing and enterprise annual minimums reported by third parties
- Aimed at large organizations and government, not SMBs
- The platform's breadth means a longer evaluation
#5
Proofpoint Insider Threat Management
Best for: Organizations already on Proofpoint that want insider visibility across endpoint, email, cloud and web
Visit proofpoint.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
Proofpoint Insider Threat Management grew out of ObserveIT and now sits inside Proofpoint's information protection family. Its pitch is cross-channel context: it correlates user activity and data movement across endpoints, browsers, cloud, email and web, then prioritizes users by combining behavior, identity, data and motive rather than firing isolated alerts. Adaptive monitoring means everyday users get lighter observation while high-risk users, such as departing employees, get deeper collection automatically.
Proofpoint's own numbers frame the problem: 58 percent of organizations cite careless users and third parties as leading causes of data loss, and 76 percent of data loss events come from just 1 percent of users. The platform answers with timelines, forensic evidence and adaptive data protection. Pricing is quote-only, and while it can be bought standalone, the economics favor organizations already invested in Proofpoint's email and data security products. For a Proofpoint shop, it is the natural insider threat layer; for everyone else, evaluate it against DTEX and Veriato on a demo.
What we like- Combines endpoint, email, cloud and web signals with behavioral context in one platform
- Adaptive monitoring adjusts depth based on user risk
- Privacy-by-design controls with anonymization and role-based access
Watch out for- No published pricing
- Best value sits inside the wider Proofpoint information protection suite, which is an enterprise commitment
- The ObserveIT heritage means an endpoint agent to deploy and manage
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
Syteca is the current name of the product long known as Ekran System, and the rebrand reflects a shift: it is now a privileged access management platform with insider threat monitoring built in, rather than a pure employee monitoring tool. It discovers privileged accounts, vaults passwords, controls session access with approval workflows, and records user sessions with metadata search for forensic review. Real-time alerts can trigger automated responses such as warning messages, process termination or user blocking.
Buy it for the right job. If your insider risk centers on administrators, vendors and third parties with privileged access, the PAM-plus-monitoring combination is exactly the control set you need. If you want to monitor a 200-person sales floor, Teramind or ActivTrak fit better. There is no published pricing, and the rebrand means you should search both names when reading reviews. For privileged-user oversight with session evidence, Syteca is a focused and proven option.
What we like- Combines privileged access management with user activity monitoring, session recording and real-time alerts
- Privileged account discovery, password vaulting and session approval workflows
- Included in the Gartner 2025 Market Guide for Insider Risk Management Solutions
Watch out for- Rebranded from Ekran System to Syteca, so older reviews and comparisons use the old name
- No published pricing
- The PAM focus makes it heavier than needed for general employee monitoring
#7
Forcepoint
Best for: Data-centric organizations that want DLP and insider threat from one vendor
Visit forcepoint.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
Forcepoint approaches insider risk from the data side. Its Insider Threat product monitors user activity across endpoints, builds behavioral baselines, scores and prioritizes the riskiest users, and pairs that with DLP controls that stop exfiltration across email, web, cloud and AI channels. The company's current platform push centers on data security for AI usage, which extends the same policy engine to prompts, responses and agent activity.
This is an enterprise platform sold as part of a wider data security story. There is no published pricing, no free tier and no self-serve trial; expect a sales-led evaluation. The strength is consolidation: one vendor, one policy framework across DLP, insider threat and AI data security. The weakness for SMBs is everything else: cost, complexity and implementation effort. For a mid-market or enterprise security team standardizing on Forcepoint for DLP, adding Insider Threat is the path of least resistance.
What we like- Insider Threat product with user activity monitoring, behavior analytics, risk scoring and DLP in one portfolio
- Long enterprise and government track record
- Data-aware policies that adjust as user risk changes
Watch out for- No published pricing and an enterprise sales motion
- The portfolio is broad, so insider threat is one module among many
- Implementation is a project, not a trial
#8
Exabeam
Best for: SOC teams that want insider threat detection inside their SIEM
Visit exabeam.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo (demo only)
Exabeam is the odd one out here, and deliberately so: it is a security operations platform, not an endpoint monitoring agent. Its New-Scale platform combines SIEM, user and entity behavior analytics and AI agents that help analysts triage and investigate. Insider threat is a first-class use case, with behavioral models that baseline normal activity and flag compromised credentials, malicious insiders and, now, misbehaving AI agents through Agent Behavior Analytics.
The buying logic is different from the rest of this list. You do not buy Exabeam to watch employee screens; you buy it when your SOC needs behavior-driven detection across the whole environment, with insider threat as one of several outcomes. That makes it the most expensive and most capable option here, and the wrong one for a 30-person company. For a security team already running or replacing a SIEM, Exabeam's insider threat coverage is a reason to shortlist it against the standalone UEBA vendors.
What we like- UEBA and behavior analytics built into a cloud-native SIEM, including Agent Behavior Analytics for AI agents
- Multi-agent AI (Nova) assists detection, investigation and response
- Recognized as a SIEM leader with insider threat as a core use case
Watch out for- No published pricing
- A SIEM purchase, not a point monitoring tool, so the scope and cost are larger
- Overkill if you only need endpoint user monitoring
Endpoint monitoring vs behavior analytics: two different jobs
These tools split into two philosophies, and buying the wrong one wastes a year. Endpoint monitoring tools (Teramind, Veriato, Syteca) install an agent on the device and record what the user does: screens, keystrokes, files, applications. They produce evidence. When you need to prove what happened in an HR investigation or a forensic review, this is the category you want.
Behavior analytics platforms (DTEX, Exabeam, and the analytics layer of Proofpoint and Forcepoint) ingest signals from many sources and score who is risky. They produce prioritization. When your problem is too many alerts and too few analysts, this is the category you want. ActivTrak sits in a third lane, workforce analytics, which surfaces disengagement and overload rather than security events.
Match the tool to the question you are actually asking. "What did this person do last Tuesday" is an endpoint monitoring question. "Which of our 5,000 users should we look at first" is a behavior analytics question. "Is my team burning out" is a workforce analytics question. Several vendors here sell both, which is convenient but also a reason to be precise in the demo about which capability you are evaluating.
How to buy insider threat software without overbuying
Start with the incident you are trying to prevent, not the feature list. A company worried about source code walking out the door needs DLP and file monitoring (Teramind DLP, Forcepoint, DTEX). A company worried about a departing executive needs user risk scoring and adaptive monitoring (Proofpoint, Veriato). A company worried about vendor access needs privileged session monitoring (Syteca). Write the scenario down before the first demo, or every vendor will sell you their whole platform.
Then check the three things that actually determine fit. First, deployment: cloud is faster, on-premise keeps data in your walls, and regulated buyers should ask about both. Second, privacy and legal: employee monitoring law varies by jurisdiction, and tools that log keystrokes or record screens need an acceptable-use policy and legal review before rollout. Third, the real price: only Teramind and ActivTrak publish prices, so for the other six, get the per-user annual cost, the minimum seat count and the implementation fee in writing before comparing.
Finally, pilot before you commit. Run two finalists on a small group for 30 days, measure alert volume and false positives, and check whether the reports answer your scenario. Insider threat tools live or die on tuning, and a pilot is the only way to see the tuning burden before you sign a multi-year contract.
How we chose
We started with the searches security buyers run: insider threat software, insider risk management software and user activity monitoring software. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own homepage, confirmed the official URL from the browser address bar after redirects, and checked the vendor's own pricing page for published prices. Where a vendor publishes no price, we wrote "See website" rather than repeating a review site's estimate. We verified that each product is still sold today under its current name, which is how Ekran System became Syteca, and we checked feature claims against the vendors' own product pages. Tools that are pure DLP, pure SIEM without an insider use case, or discontinued were left out.
Frequently asked questions
What is insider threat software?
Software that detects, investigates and prevents data loss or sabotage by people inside the organization: employees, contractors and third parties. It combines user activity monitoring (what people do on endpoints) with behavior analytics (scoring who is risky) and, in some products, data loss prevention (blocking exfiltration).
How much does insider threat software cost?
Only two vendors here publish prices: Teramind from $14 per user per month (annual, 5-seat minimum) and ActivTrak from $10 per worker per month with a free plan. Veriato, DTEX, Proofpoint, Syteca, Forcepoint and Exabeam are quote-based; expect enterprise pricing with annual commitments.
Is employee monitoring legal?
It depends on the jurisdiction. Laws governing workplace monitoring, consent and data privacy differ across US states and differ sharply in the EU, UK and Canada. Before deploying keystroke logging or screen recording, have legal review your acceptable-use policy and consider privacy-by-design options like DTEX's pseudonymization.
What is the difference between insider threat management and DLP?
DLP (data loss prevention) controls data movement: it classifies sensitive files and blocks or alerts on exfiltration. Insider threat management watches people: it monitors behavior, scores risk and investigates intent. Several tools here do both, but a pure DLP product will not tell you which user is about to go rogue.
Which insider threat tool is best for a small business?
Teramind, because it publishes real prices starting at $14 per user per month and offers both cloud and on-premise deployment. ActivTrak's free plan is a good no-cost starting point for workforce visibility, but it is not a forensic monitoring tool. The other six are built and priced for larger organizations.
Do I need an agent on every endpoint?
For monitoring tools like Teramind, Veriato and Syteca, yes: the agent is how they capture screens, keystrokes and file activity. For behavior analytics platforms like Exabeam and DTEX, much of the signal comes from logs and integrations, so endpoint coverage can be lighter. Ask each vendor what breaks if an endpoint has no agent.
Sources we checked (10)
- https://teramind.co/
- https://www.teramind.co/blog/proofpoint-vs-teramind/
- https://activtrak.com/
- https://activtrak.com/pricing
- https://veriato.com/
- https://dtexsystems.com/
- https://www.proofpoint.com/us/products/information-protection/insider-threat-management
- https://ekransystem.com/
- https://forcepoint.com/
- https://exabeam.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
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Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.