Why Choose
IRONSCALES over INKY
Choosing an email security platform shapes how well you protect your organization, and for MSPs, every client you manage. This page compares IRONSCALES and INKY with current information so you can make that call clearly.
In October 2025, Kaseya acquired INKY and folded it into the Kaseya 365 User bundle, replacing its prior email product, Graphus, which is scheduled for decommission by June 2027. Evaluate INKY today and you are evaluating a module inside the Kaseya platform. IRONSCALES is an independent, dedicated email security company trusted by 17,000+ organizations and 3,500+ MSP partners.
IRONSCALES connects to M365 and GWS through native API integration, staying out of the mail path so messages arrive unmodified. Adaptive AI builds behavioral baselines for every user, sharpened by a crowdsourced network of 35,000+ threat hunters. The platform runs the full portfolio from one console: inbound defense, ATO protection, Human Risk Management with SAT and phishing simulation, deepfake protection, DMARC management, email encryption, and Themis, an agentic AI virtual SOC that cuts incident response from 30 minutes to 30 seconds. Deployment takes three minutes. No transport rules or mail rerouting.
Pros:
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API-Native, On-Delivery and Post-Delivery: A native API connection to M365 and GWS inspects mail as it arrives and keeps analyzing it after delivery. A message that turns malicious later still gets caught and pulled from every affected inbox, with no infrastructure sitting in the mail path.
- The full portfolio from one console, no strings: Inbound protection, Account Takeover defense, phishing simulations, SAT, deepfake protection, hosted DMARC, and encryption run from a single console, billed monthly with no minimums and no multi-year contracts.
Cons:
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Initial learning period: Adaptive AI relies on a short ramp to build per-user behavioral baselines and social graphs, so detection sharpens over the first days of deployment rather than arriving fully tuned on day one.
INKY deploys inline: in steady state, mail routes through INKY via M365 connectors and mail-flow rules for analysis before delivery, so INKY sits in the live mail path and can hold, quarantine, or release a message before it reaches the inbox. During onboarding it first runs a journaling-based monitoring phase. Because the inline layer fails open, an INKY outage delivers mail unscanned rather than delaying it, and rewriting delivered messages with banners can affect downstream DKIM and DMARC authentication. SAT runs through BullPhish ID, a separate Kaseya product. DLP, encryption, and DMARC sit behind the paid INKY Pro tier.
Pros:
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Pre-delivery inline inspection: Because INKY analyzes mail before it reaches the inbox, it can hold and block a threat at the delivery stage, which appeals to heavily regulated industries that require mail to be stopped before it ever lands.
- Strong computer vision: INKY is effective at QR-code phishing detection and malicious attachment scanning.
Cons:
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Fail-open coverage gap: INKY sits inline in front of the mailbox and, by its own setup guide, fails open. If INKY has an issue, mail bypasses it and delivers unscanned, so an outage becomes a protection gap rather than a delivery delay.
- Banner blindness: A banner lands on essentially every inspected message, by INKY's own figures roughly 85% to 90% of them neutral, which trains users to tune out the warnings that matter.
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Features
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| API-native email security with real-time AI detection and automated remediation. | Inline email protection via connectors and transport rules, with AI and computer vision detection. | |
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Inbound Email Protection
Inspect and detect inbound email attacks
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API-Based Cloud Email Integration
Native API integration with M365 & GWS avoiding MX record or SMTP Journaling changes
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No Fail-Open Coverage Gap
Protection runs at the mailbox and continues even during a vendor outage
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Deployment in Minutes
3-minute deployment across end users and/or multiple tenants
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Non-Disruptive DMARC Integrity
Maintains DMARC compliance without altering MX records or SMTP transport rules, preserving original email authentication headers and ensuring seamless email flows
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AI-Powered Advanced Phishing Protection (ATO, BEC, VIP attacks)
Uses AI and machine learning to create baselines and detect anomalous activity & malicious intent
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Continuous Mailbox Behavioral Analysis
Monitor and analyze email behavior patterns in real-time to detect anomalies and potential threats
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Inline Inspection Only |
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URL/Link Inspection
Automatically analyze links in emails to detect and block malicious content, protecting against malware and ransomware
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Attachment Inspection
Automatically scans attachments in emails to detect and block malicious content, protecting against malware and ransomware
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Adaptive AI (Human-in-the-Loop)
Incorporates human insights and feedback from employees and admins to continuously train and update machine learning models
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Social Graphing
AI machine learning models to learn normal communication patterns of all users for baseline analysis |
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Computer Vision
Uses advanced image recognition to detect phishing by analyzing visual elements of phishing landing pages
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Security Awareness Training
Empower employees with interactive training modules to enhance their understanding of cybersecurity threats and best practices
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Phishing Simulation Testing
Conduct realistic phishing simulations to train employees on recognizing and avoiding phishing attacks
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GPT-Powered Spear Phishing Simulation
Use GPT and behavioral analysis to create personalized phishing simulations for each employee
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Crowdsourced Threat Intelligence
Leverage real-time insights from a global network of security experts to enhance threat detection and stay ahead of emerging email attacks
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Dynamic Inbox Banners (warning/guidance)
Customizable alert banners in emails highlight potential threats, providing visual warnings and enhancing user awareness and security
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Report Phishing Button
Enables users to quickly flag and report suspicious emails for further analysis, enhancing threat detection and response
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GenAI Inbox Assistant
Gen AI security assistant for real-time guidance on email safety and security, helping employees make informed decisions
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Manual MX Record, YARA Rule Updates
Requires manual updates to MX records and YARA rules for configuration and threat detection, ensuring accurate email routing and custom threat identification
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Connectors & Transport Rules |
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DMARC Monitoring
Reads the reports domains receive and shows you who is sending as you and whether messages pass authentication
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DMARC Management
Hosts and configures the DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records for you and drives the policy to enforcement (quarantine or reject), so spoofed mail is actually stopped rather than just observed
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Email Archiving
Stores and preserves email data for compliance, legal purposes, and long-term retention (now standard with most M365 plans)
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Email Encryption
Protects email content by converting it into unreadable code (now included with most M365 plans)
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Native Mobile App for Incident Response
Incident investigation & one-click remediation on-the-go
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MSP Features |
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Multi-Tenant Support
Easily manage multiple sites or clients, ideal for organizations with disparate locations and MSP partners
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Reporting & Investigation Depth
Ability to pull in-depth reports on multiple time frames ranging from days to years.
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Two Years | Limited - Six Months |
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Application API Support
Seamlessly integrate with your security stack or ITSM software, enhancing your security posture and workflow efficiency
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Multi-Year Contractual Obligation
An upfront yearly contractual obligation required for email security services
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Usage-Based Billing
Charges based on the actual volume of usage, allowing flexible and scalable cost management aligned with the level of service consumption
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Monthly Billing
Payment model providing flexibility and the ability to adjust or cancel services as needed
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Customized Packages
Tailored bundles to meet the specific needs of MSPs, accommodating various technology stacks and client requirements
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Two Packages |
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Architecture
IRONSCALES connects through APIs alone, so mail never touches its infrastructure.
INKY sits inline and fails open, so an outage delivers mail unscanned and with a banner on nearly every message.
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Self-Learning
IRONSCALES Adaptive AI retrains on verdicts from 35,000+ threat hunters.
INKY's GenAI intent analysis is available but only lives in the paid Pro tier, with no comparable network documented.
Platform or Bundle
IRONSCALES covers the full chain in one console.
INKY reserves GenAI, DLP, encryption, and DMARC for Pro, and hands simulation and SAT to a separate product.
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Threat Remediation
IRONSCALES automates 99%+ of remediation and cuts response to 30 seconds.
INKY clears threats per message and in bulk, so removing them from every inbox leans on manual action rather than automated clustering.
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Advanced Threat Protection
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SOC Automation
Slash the time your team spends remediating email incidents from 30 minutes per incident to 30 seconds.
Our Adaptive AI scans every email for malicious indicators. When it finds a threat, it doesn’t just block it, it automatically finds and remediates all others like it in your environment.
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SIMULATIONS & TRAINING
Triple the email security awareness of your workforce and transform your employees into a crucial line of phishing defense. We make it dead simple to sharpen your employees' understanding of real-world threats with:
- Phishing simulation testing
- Security awareness training (SAT)
- Dynamic email banners
...and a GPT-powered chat assistant
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What our MSP and MSSP Partners Say
"IRONSCALES has completely changed how I manage email security for 28 clients. It enables me to efficiently secure their email while offering a centralized platform that provides transparency into my decision-making process.”
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