Tulia ISD Replaces KnowBe4 with Tartan at 10x Lower Cost

About Tulia ISD

Tulia Independent School District is a small rural district serving approximately 800 students and 120 teachers.

Kris Friel, Director of Technology, leads a broad set of responsibilities that includes system administration, network administration, cybersecurity, and physical security. Like many small districts, the technology team wears many hats while supporting day-to-day operations across the entire district.

Challenge: Annual Training Didn't Stick

Before Tartan, Tulia ISD relied on state-mandated cybersecurity training at the beginning of the school year. But as the months passed, awareness and best practices were harder to sustain.

"We have some state mandated training at the beginning of the year, but it doesn't take long as the year progresses for people to forget best practices."

With a department of three protecting roughly 1,000 people, maintaining strong security behavior at scale felt daunting.

"We have a department of three people trying to keep about 1000 others secure, it can be daunting."

Solution: Fast Setup + Continuous Awareness

Tartan gave Tulia ISD a way to move from one-time training to continuous awareness without adding heavy administrative overhead.

"Tartan was incredibly easy to setup and customize, I think I had the first campaign ready to go in about 30 minutes."

The platform's reporting and regular product updates made it easier for the team to run and improve campaigns over time.

"The reporting is easy, and we've already seen several new features rolled out."

What It's Been Like Working with Tartan

From initial setup through ongoing use, Tulia ISD has found the partnership responsive and easy to work with.

"Tartan's support has been excellent and very responsive."

Results: Better Visibility, Better Targeting, Lower Cost

Since switching to Tartan, Tulia ISD has gained clearer visibility into user risk, improved campaign relevance, and significant savings versus its previous vendor.

• 10x Lower Cost: Tulia ISD was quoted KnowBe4 pricing about 10 times higher than Tartan.
• Clearer Risk Identification: The district can better identify users who click and need reinforcement.
• More Targeted Simulations: Phishing emails can be aligned with products staff actually use.

"Knowbe4's prices went up every year, even with the basic package the quoted price was about 10 times higher than TartanApp. We shopped around a bit but found TartanApp to be an incredible value."

"Identifying clickers, sending more targeted phishing emails based on products we actually use."

Why Tartan Works for Tulia ISD

Tulia ISD values Tartan for its simplicity, speed, and practical fit for lean K-12 IT teams.

• Easy to roll out and simple to use day to day
• Less administrative maintenance for IT
• Fast, responsive support when questions come up
• Strong value for budget-constrained school districts

"Easy to roll out and use, less maintenance on the administrative side, faster response for support."

Advice for Other Districts

"We all already have enough to do, find a product that gets the job done but that you don't have to babysit."

Final Thoughts

"I appreciate the fair pricing, the ease of use, and the new features that you've rolled out already as well as the ones you're currently developing."