Data Loss Prevention Tools for Small Business: 6 Options Compared

Data loss prevention (DLP) tools find sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, card and bank details, health records and client files, and control where it can go: they can warn the sender, require encryption, block an outside share, or stop a copy to a USB drive or an AI chatbot. For a small business, judge a DLP tool on the exits it covers (email, cloud storage, chat, laptops and browsers), how accurately it recognizes your data, and how much tuning it needs before it stops crying wolf. Start with what you own: Microsoft 365 Business Premium already includes DLP for Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive.

The six products below are described from their vendors' own pages, checked October 2026, and listed in no particular order. Disclosure: NetSys designs and runs Microsoft Purview DLP for clients; no vendor paid for a mention. For the questions owners ask before starting, read our data loss prevention FAQ. This guide is for choosing a product.

What should a DLP tool cover?

Sensitive data leaves a small business through a handful of exits. Map each one to a tool before you compare brands:

• Email: an attachment or a pasted list sent outside the company.
• Cloud storage and sharing: a SharePoint, OneDrive or Google Drive link open to anyone, or a file shared with a personal account.
• Chat: Teams, Slack or Google Chat messages carrying account numbers.
• Laptops: copies to USB drives, printing and uploads to personal cloud storage. This is endpoint DLP, and it needs an agent on each computer.
• Browsers and AI apps: sensitive text pasted into ChatGPT or another chatbot. Our guide to AI governance tools covers the controls built for that exit.

Then check recognition and response: built-in detectors for common identifiers, custom patterns for your own client or matter numbers, an audit-only mode for testing, and policy tips that coach the person before anything is blocked.

How do the six DLP tools compare?

Prices are published figures or quote-based as noted, as of October 2026. Effort to run is our engineering judgment of the ongoing work.

What is each DLP tool good at?

Microsoft Purview DLP

For a Microsoft 365 business, Microsoft Purview is the starting point because part of it is already licensed. Microsoft's service description lists DLP for Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive in Business Premium, E3 and E5. DLP for Teams chats and endpoint DLP, which watches files on Windows 10, Windows 11 and macOS devices, sit in the higher Purview tier: Microsoft 365 E5, or for Business Premium tenants the Purview Suite add-on, which Microsoft lists at $10.00 per user per month paid yearly for up to 300 users, as of October 2026. Some browser and network protections are billed pay-as-you-go. Purview's advantage is that labels and policies follow documents across Microsoft 365; its cost is design and tuning time.

Google Workspace DLP

Google Workspace DLP checks Drive files, Gmail and Chat against rules you write, using Google's predefined detectors or your own. The catch for small businesses is the edition. Google lists DLP for Drive, Gmail and Chat on Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, while Business Standard and Business Plus get only a Drive data protection insights report. A Google office on a Business edition has to upgrade, or use a third-party tool that connects to Drive and Gmail.

Netwrix Endpoint Protector

Netwrix Endpoint Protector, formerly sold by CoSoSys, focuses on the computer. It controls USB drives and more than 45 other peripheral types, inspects content leaving through applications, browsers, email, webmail and AI tools, and scans files at rest, across Windows, macOS and Linux on both x86 and ARM processors. It runs as SaaS or as an on-premises virtual appliance. Licensing is a subscription per module and per computer, with the Device Control module required, and Netwrix's documentation describes a one-time 30-day trial covering all modules on 50 computers. Prices are on request, and Netwrix offers self-service checkout to organizations with up to 150 employees. It suits a Google Workspace office or a mixed fleet that Purview's endpoint DLP does not reach.

Safetica

Safetica combines DLP with insider-risk visibility: data, email and external-device policies, application and website policies, and audits of Microsoft 365 and Google data flows. Unlike the other third-party vendors here, Safetica publishes prices, starting at $72 per user per year for Standard, $96 for Premium and $144 for Enterprise in the cloud, with an on-premises edition by quote. The client runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, Windows Server 2019 and later, and macOS 12 and later. Its activity-auditing features are useful in an investigation, so agree with staff and counsel what will be monitored before you switch them on.

Nightfall

Nightfall is built for cloud-first companies. Its Foundation edition connects by API to apps including Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365 and ChatGPT Enterprise, integrates with Gmail and Exchange Online, and adds an endpoint agent for Windows and Mac that inspects data leaving the device for any app, including unapproved AI tools. The agents deploy through the MDM you already run, such as Intune, Jamf or Iru. Pricing depends on users and data volume, and instead of a self-serve trial Nightfall offers a free seven-day proof of value.

Forcepoint DLP

Forcepoint DLP is the most enterprise-oriented option here. It applies one policy across endpoints, web, cloud apps, email and AI, runs as SaaS or on-premises, and its cloud endpoint agent covers Windows and Mac. A regulated mid-sized firm with a security lead can justify it; a 20-person office usually cannot, because the policy design and review work grows with the product's reach. Pricing is by request.

DLP selection checklist

1. Name the data first. List the few data types whose loss would force a breach notification or cost you a client, and test each tool against samples of them.
2. Map exits to coverage. Check email, sharing, chat, endpoints and browsers against the plan you would actually buy, not the full product.
3. Insist on audit mode. Run every policy silently for a few weeks to find false positives before anyone is blocked.
4. Check the user experience. Policy tips and override-with-reason keep work moving; hard blocks belong on a short list you approve.
5. Count every computer. Endpoint DLP needs an agent on each Windows and Mac device, deployed and kept current through your MDM.
6. Ask who reviews alerts. A DLP alert nobody reads is only a log entry. Decide who triages, how often and what they may do.
7. Confirm the evidence. If you answer to HIPAA, the FTC Safeguards Rule, NYDFS or a cyber insurer, check that the reports show what was detected, warned and blocked.

What drives DLP pricing?

• The billing unit. Per user (Microsoft, Safetica), per computer and module (Netwrix), or users plus data volume (Nightfall).
• The licensing step. In Microsoft 365, email and file DLP come with Business Premium, but Teams chat and endpoint DLP need the Purview Suite add-on or E5, and some browser and network DLP is billed pay-as-you-go.
• Cloud scanning. Scanning stored data is often metered or tiered: Nightfall sells data-at-rest scanning in packs measured in terabytes a year, and Safetica leaves in-cloud content analysis out of its Standard plan.
• Deployment. On-premises editions add a server to run and patch.
• Labor. Discovery, classification, policy design, a few weeks in audit mode, tuning, and a monthly review of alerts and overrides. For a small business this is often larger than the license.

When should an IT provider run DLP for you?

Many DLP rollouts fail the same way: a policy written to catch everything floods staff with blocks and gets switched off. The product is rarely the problem. A provider earns its fee by narrowing the scope to the data that matters and tuning before enforcing.

Our data loss prevention service runs on Microsoft Purview. We start with a content scan that shows where sensitive data already sits in SharePoint, OneDrive and mailboxes, design sensitivity labels with encryption and sharing limits on the top tiers, and apply DLP to email, files, Teams and endpoints as your licensing allows. Every policy runs in audit mode first, then shows plain-language policy tips with justified overrides; only a short list of high-risk actions that you approve is blocked outright. We review alerts and overrides monthly and package the evidence for HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, NYDFS, PCI DSS and cyber insurance reviews.

For managed clients, DLP design, tuning and ongoing management are part of the month-to-month managed agreement. Businesses with their own IT staff can engage a fixed-scope rollout, quoted after the discovery scan.

Book a call with a NetSys engineer to find out which exits your current licenses already cover, and bring the name of your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is data loss prevention software?

Data loss prevention software inspects content in email, files, chat and on devices for sensitive information, then applies rules to it: log it, warn the person, require encryption or block the action. It recognizes data with pattern detectors for things like Social Security and card numbers, with custom patterns for your own identifiers, and in some products with labels that a person or a classifier has applied to a document.

What are data loss prevention tools?

They fall into four groups. Suite DLP is built into Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace and covers mail and cloud files. Endpoint DLP and device control, such as Netwrix Endpoint Protector and Safetica, run as an agent on each computer. SaaS DLP, such as Nightfall, connects to cloud apps by API. Platform DLP, such as Forcepoint, applies one policy across endpoints, web, cloud and email. Many businesses pair suite DLP with one of the others.

Does Microsoft 365 include data loss prevention?

Partly. Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5 include Purview DLP for Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive. DLP for Teams chats and endpoint DLP on Windows and Mac require Microsoft 365 E5 or a Purview add-on; for Business Premium tenants Microsoft sells the Purview Suite at $10.00 per user per month paid yearly, as of October 2026. Business Basic and Business Standard are not on Microsoft's list for these DLP policies.

Is there open-source DLP software?

The open-source projects we would point a small business to are developer libraries, not finished DLP products. Microsoft's Presidio, released under the MIT license, detects and masks personal information in text and images inside applications you build. For mail, files and laptops, the practical low-cost route is the DLP already included in your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace plan, set up carefully.

How much does DLP software cost for a small business?

Anywhere from nothing extra to a real line item. Email and file DLP is included in Business Premium, and Google's Enterprise editions include DLP rules. Safetica publishes cloud plans from $72 per user per year, and Microsoft's Purview Suite add-on is $10.00 per user per month. Netwrix, Nightfall and Forcepoint quote by computers, users or data volume. Budget separately for setup and tuning time.

Sources and further reading

• Microsoft Purview service description: DLP licensing by location, checked October 2026.
• Microsoft security add-ons for Business Premium and Microsoft Purview licensing guidance, checked October 2026.
• Google Workspace: Compare Enterprise editions and Compare Business editions.
• Netwrix Endpoint Protector and its licensing documentation, checked October 2026.
• Safetica pricing and system requirements, checked October 2026.
• Nightfall pricing and release notes, checked October 2026.
• Forcepoint DLP and Forcepoint Data Security Cloud features.
• Microsoft Presidio on GitHub.