Microsoft Purview alternative
A Microsoft Purview Alternative When Nobody Has Time to Configure It
Microsoft Purview Suite runs $12 per user a month, paid yearly, on top of Microsoft 365 E3 (October 2026). It can block sensitive pastes into AI websites on managed devices. Somebody still has to build the policies, and that is where most small teams stall.
With Cascadia you get
- Nothing installed on laptops
- Every request, not a sample
- Blocked or flagged, your call
- A person reads the flags
- Profiles tuned to your data
- One price per organization
Cascadia vs Microsoft Purview at a Glance
Three Questions That Decide It
Do You Already Pay for E5?
Who Would Write the DLP Policies?
Where Does Your AI Use Happen?
Side by Side
| Microsoft Purview | Cascadia | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | –$12 per user a month on top of E3 | $49 a month per organization, plus AI Gateway |
| Prerequisites | –Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent | –AI Gateway |
| Where it runs | Managed devices, Edge, the network | –At the gateway, nothing on devices |
| Labeled files | Encryption follows the document | ×Not covered |
| Policy setup | –Your admin builds and tests them | Built and tuned by us |
| Reviewing matches | –Activity explorer, yours to read | A person here, every week |
| Testing | Simulation mode before enforcing | –Flag first, block when you choose |
Price
Prerequisites
Where It Runs
Labeled Files
Policy Setup
Reviewing Matches
Testing
What Ships in the Standard Plan Here
With Purview you get the controls: Endpoint DLP, sensitivity labels, browser data security in Edge, and network policies. Writing the policies, testing them in simulation, onboarding the devices, and reading the activity explorer are all yours.
- Every request through the gateway scanned, not sampled
- Card numbers, bank details, and ID numbers caught
- Prompts checked, and the replies that come back
- Blocked outright or flagged, whichever you choose
- Flagged items read by a person here every week
- False positives tuned out as your team learns
- Nothing installed on anyone’s laptop
- A monthly report of what was caught and where
- A record of each catch kept for 90 days
- Profiles that cover whatever your business defines
Where a Managed Gateway Is Simpler
Purview is a large toolbox. Content Guardrails is one tool, already set up, with someone looking at what it catches.
No Device Onboarding
Purview’s Endpoint DLP works on managed devices that have been onboarded. Gateway scanning needs no device enrollment at all, only the endpoint your applications call.
Policies Written for You
Microsoft’s own guidance walks through creating a DLP policy, setting conditions, choosing actions, and running in simulation first. We do that work and keep doing it.
Someone Reads the Results
Microsoft suggests reviewing the activity explorer to find false positives. Here a person reads flagged items weekly and tunes them out for you.
One Price, Not a License Ladder
$49 a month per organization, plus AI Gateway at $79, with no E3 or E5 prerequisite.
Who This Comparison Is For
Purview Reaches the Browser Itself
In Edge, Purview can inspect what people type or paste into consumer AI apps such as ChatGPT and Gemini before it is sent. We do not see a browser chat window. We see what goes through your gateway.
Labels Travel with the File
Purview sensitivity labels can encrypt content so other AI apps cannot read it. That protection follows the document, which gateway scanning cannot match.
The License Is the Easy Part
Plenty of businesses own E5 and have never written a DLP policy. Owning the controls and using them are different things.
Choose Microsoft Purview if
- You own E5 and someone has time to configure it
- You need labeled files protected wherever they go
- Your AI use is mostly browsers on managed laptops
Choose Cascadia if
- Nobody has time to write DLP policies
- Your AI traffic runs through applications
- You want a person reading the matches
Adding Gateway Scanning Alongside Microsoft Purview in Four Steps
Nothing here touches your Microsoft tenant. Your part is a conversation about sensitive data and someone who can change an endpoint.
- 1
We Check What Purview Already Does
If you have DLP policies or labels in place, we read them first, so our profiles match the data types you already care about rather than starting a second, different list.
- 2
We Switch on Scanning at the Gateway
Financial and identifier profiles go on first and get tuned to your data. Each match is set to block or to flag, according to what you choose.
- 3
We Read the First Week of Flags
A person reads every flagged item, removes the false positives, and raises any pattern with you. The first full picture arrives within a week.
- 4
Purview Keeps the Devices, We Keep the Gateway
Many teams use both: Purview for labeled files and managed laptops, Content Guardrails for AI traffic from applications. The monthly report shows what each side is catching.
What Clients Say About Working with Cascadia
“I’ve always dreaded website management, but Cascadia has done an incredible job with my WordPress site, making it one less thing for me to worry about.”
“I’ve worked with Cascadia for several years now. They are always ready to help in any way I ask and can implement my ideas with ease. A company that values their clients!”
“Cascadia has been great to work with! We recently needed some updates, and Cascadia was quick to get them completed! We highly recommend Cascadia Web Services.”
“Cascadia is very responsive and we’re happy with them as our primary IT vendor.”
“They do great work, been using for years. Prompt responses to requests.”
Ready to Move from Microsoft Purview?
Talk to us about your setupAsk us
Microsoft Purview Alternative Questions
Straight answers about switching, pricing, and what moves with you.
See Content GuardrailsStill have a question?
What is a Microsoft Purview alternative?
Anything else that keeps sensitive data out of AI tools. Dedicated platforms such as Nightfall AI and Strac, security suites such as Netskope, monitoring tools such as Teramind, and managed services like this one all fit.
How is Cascadia different from Microsoft Purview?
Purview is a set of controls you configure across devices, browsers, files, and the network. We run one control, scanning at the AI gateway, and read what it catches for you.
What does Purview cost?
Microsoft lists Purview Suite at $12 per user a month, paid yearly, and it requires Microsoft 365 E3 or an equivalent. Microsoft 365 E5 is $60 per user a month, paid yearly (October 2026). Ours is $49 a month per organization, plus AI Gateway at $79.
We already pay for E5. Should we buy this?
Maybe not. If someone on your team has time to build and maintain the DLP policies, use what you own. If the license has sat unused for a year, that tells you something about whether it is going to happen.
Does this need AI Gateway?
Yes. The scanning happens inside AI Gateway, so on its own Content Guardrails has nothing to read. AI Gateway is $79 a month per organization and Content Guardrails is $49 on top of it. If you want both along with Managed MCP for five people, AI Pro bundles the three for $189 a month. Microsoft prices its product separately, so the honest comparison is against the two of ours together.
Can Purview stop staff pasting into ChatGPT?
Yes, on managed devices. Microsoft documents Endpoint DLP blocking paste and upload to AI websites, and Edge can inspect prompts to consumer AI apps before they are sent. We do not cover the browser chat window; we cover what passes through your gateway.
Do we need Microsoft 365 to use this?
No. Content Guardrails works with whatever AI tools you route through the gateway, whether or not you use Microsoft 365.
What do you install on our side?
Nothing on anyone’s machine, and nothing in your Microsoft tenant. The only change is the endpoint your applications call.
Can we decide what counts as sensitive?
Yes. We start with the predefined profiles for financial and identifier data, then tune them to what your business actually handles. Anything your own profiles define is caught as well.
Do you keep a record of what was caught?
Yes. What was caught, when, and from which application, kept for 90 days. The content itself is held only as long as you want it to be.
How long before we see results?
Setup starts within two business days, and the first full picture arrives within a week.
What if we want to leave?
Point your applications back at the providers and the scanning stops. Nothing in Microsoft 365 changes, because we never touched it.