Material Security
Unified detection and response for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 security
Material Security delivers unified D&R across email, files, and accounts for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 — a genuine step up from siloed legacy gateways. Its OAuth Remediation Agent and MCP Server are forward-looking differentiators. However, the cloud-only scope and per-user pricing price out SMBs and hybrid on-prem shops.
- Security teams wanting unified D&R across email, files, and accounts in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Organizations looking to replace legacy email gateways with a cloud-native platform
- Enterprises needing automated remediation to reduce manual security workload
- Teams managing OAuth app risks and shadow IT in cloud workspaces
- Small businesses with limited budget for enterprise security platforms
- On-premises email environments not using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Organizations that already have comprehensive email security and don't need file/account protection
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Skip Material Security if you need to secure on-premises email servers or hybrid environments not running Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
Annual billing is required for the published prices; monthly billing may cost more.
Material Security's pricing is per-user per-month with annual billing, starting at $4/user/month for Essentials and $6/user/month for Advanced. This is competitive compared to legacy email gateways that often cost $10-20/user/month but may be expensive for small teams. The ATO Resilience add-on at $3/user/month adds value for organizations concerned about account takeover. Enterprise plans are custom.
In short
Material Security — Unified detection and response for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 security. Best for Security teams wanting unified D&R across email, files, and accounts in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, Organizations looking to replace legacy email gateways with a cloud-native platform, Enterprises needing automated remediation to reduce manual security workload. Plans from $3/mo.
Viability Score
How likely is Material Security to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Automated detection and remediation for email threats
- File sharing permission management and data sprawl reduction
- Identity-based threat detection for cloud accounts
- Posture management and configuration drift monitoring
- OAuth Remediation Agent to stop malicious apps
- MCP Server for AI agent integration
- Automated incident containment for compromised accounts
- Sensitive content detection in email and files
- Message-level controls for account takeover attacks
- Password reset and MFA gap detection
- Immutable audit logs
- Single-tenant deployments
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified operations
- Dedicated incident response team
- Integration with security ecosystem via APIs and hooks
About Material Security
Material Security is a cloud-native detection and response (D&R) platform built specifically for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. It stops advanced email threats that bypass native controls, secures sensitive files by managing sharing permissions, and detects risky account behavior. The platform offers automated detection and remediation across email, files, and accounts, plus an OAuth Remediation Agent to stop malicious OAuth apps and an MCP Server for AI agent integration. Material is purpose-built for cloud workspaces, unlike legacy email gateways retrofitted for modern environments. It provides holistic visibility and automated response, reducing the need for multiple point solutions. Pricing starts at $4/user/month (billed annually) for Essentials and $6/user/month for Advanced, plus a shared drive size fee. An ATO Resilience add-on costs an additional $3/user/month. Enterprise plans are custom-priced.
Behind the Verdict
Material Security is a strong choice for mid-to-large enterprises on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 wanting unified detection and response across email, files, and accounts. Automated remediations reduce manual toil, but the cloud-only scope and per-user pricing may be prohibitive for SMBs or hybrid on-prem environments. Compared to legacy email gateways like Proofpoint or Mimecast, Material offers deeper cloud integration; but it lacks their on-prem support.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Material Security actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You receive an alert about a phishing email that bypassed native M365 controls. With Material, you can automatically remediate the email from all inboxes, block similar messages, and review the incident in a single dashboard.
Outcome: The threat is contained within minutes without manual effort, reducing exposure and analyst workload.
You notice an increase in sensitive files shared externally via Google Drive. Material's file security feature automatically classifies and restricts sharing permissions for files containing PII or confidential data.
Outcome: Data leakage risk is reduced, and compliance with data protection policies is enforced automatically.
You need to understand your organization's OAuth app risks. Material's OAuth Remediation Agent scans all installed apps, identifies malicious or over-privileged ones, and can automatically remove them.
Outcome: You gain immediate visibility into shadow IT and reduce the attack surface from third-party apps.
Use Cases
- Detect and auto-remediate phishing emails that evade native filters
- Identify and restrict malicious OAuth apps in your Google Workspace
- Automatically classify and restrict sensitive files shared externally via Google Drive
- Monitor user accounts for compromised credentials and unusual behavior
- Enable AI agents to triage and handle workspace security incidents via Material's MCP Server
- Operationalize Google's native security tools for better visibility and control
Limitations
- Pricing requires annual billing and additional fees for shared drive storage; no self-service tiers.
- The platform depends entirely on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 — it cannot protect other types of infrastructure.
- Advanced automation features like the MCP Server are newly announced (2026) and may have limited real-world deployment.
- There is no free tier; a free scorecard is offered instead.
as of 2026-07-01
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Material Security tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Essentials
$4/user/month (billed annually) plus fee based on Shared
Ideal for
Small to mid-sized teams needing automated email and identity threat detection without data classification features.
What this tier adds
Starting tier at $4/user/month (annual); includes identity threat detection, posture management, and basic detection across email, files, and config.
Advanced
$6/user/month (billed annually) plus fee based on Shared
Ideal for
Organizations needing data discovery, classification, and governance for sensitive content in email and files.
What this tier adds
Adds all Essentials features plus improper sharing detection, sensitive content monitoring, expanded data discovery, and enhanced identity threat detections.
ATO Resilience (add-on)
+$3/user/month (billed annually)
Ideal for
Organizations wanting to strengthen account takeover defenses on top of Essentials or Advanced.
What this tier adds
Add-on for $3/user/month (annual) providing message-level ATO containment, password resets, MFA gap detection, and anomalous behavior monitoring.
ATO Resilience (stand-alone)
$5/user/month (billed annually)
Ideal for
Organizations that only need ATO protection without other Material platform features.
What this tier adds
Stand-alone license at $5/user/month (annual) with same ATO features, no requirement for other tiers.
Enterprise
Custom
Ideal for
Large enterprises needing custom pricing, single-tenant deployment, and dedicated support.
What this tier adds
Custom pricing and features tailored to organizational needs.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Material Security's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Material Security's pricing is per-user per-month with annual billing, starting at $4/user/month for Essentials and $6/user/month for Advanced. This is competitive compared to legacy email gateways that often cost $10-20/user/month but may be expensive for small teams. The ATO Resilience add-on at $3/user/month adds value for organizations concerned about account takeover. Enterprise plans are custom.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Material Security — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
For a typical organization with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, initial setup takes about 30 minutes using OAuth-based integration. Full deployment, including configuring policies and onboarding all users, can take a few hours to a day. The platform provides guided setup and automated detection rules that work out of the box, so you start seeing value quickly.
Switching to or from Material Security
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From legacy email gateway (Proofpoint/Mimecast): Material integrates via API with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, allowing you to replace the gateway while retaining archives.
- →From Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Enable Material alongside Defender initially, then transition policies gradually.
- →From Google native security tools: Material enhances existing controls without full migration, acting as a supplement.
- ↗To another cloud security platform: Export audit logs and incident data via API; no proprietary format lock-in.
- ↗To Splunk or SIEM: Material's immutable audit logs can be forwarded to your SIEM for long-term analysis.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Official links
Tools that pair well with Material Security
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Material Security, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
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