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Cybersecurity · head to head

Aikido vs Baffle

Aikido logo

Aikido

Cybersecurity

Unified security platform automating vulnerability detection and fixing across development

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Baffle logo

Baffle

Cybersecurity

Transparent proxy that encrypts, tokenises and masks database fields without application code changes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Aikido has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Aikido free plan includes fair-usage limits on repos and container images; Baffle the proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.
  • They diverge on capability: Aikido covers Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aikido and Baffle actually diverge.

Attributes where Aikido and Baffle differ
AttributeAikidoBaffle
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelSubscription with free tierquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CI/CD, IDELinux, Web
Founded2022Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aikido

  • Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
  • Software Composition Analysis (SCA)
  • AutoFix
  • Secrets detection
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • AI-powered penetration testing
  • Device protection
  • False positive reduction

Only in Baffle

  • Transparent proxy deployment
  • Field-level encryption
  • Tokenisation
  • Format-preserving de-identification
  • Dynamic data masking
  • Bring your own key
  • Analytics and pipeline support
  • AI pipeline protection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aikido

  • Developer-friendly security integrated into PR workflowsnot Baffle
  • Automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alertsnot Baffle
  • Consolidation of fragmented security tools across development lifecyclenot Baffle
  • Cloud infrastructure security posture monitoringnot Baffle
  • Supply chain attack prevention and malware detectionnot Baffle

Baffle

  • A bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account datanot Aikido
  • A company wanting to take a reporting database out of PCI scope by tokenising card fields before they landnot Aikido
  • A healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administernot Aikido
  • A team moving regulated data into a warehouse or an AI retrieval pipeline that needs identifiers de-identified in transit without rewriting the ingest jobsnot Aikido

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aikido

  • Free plan includes fair-usage limits on repos and container images
  • Pricing increases significantly with user and repository scale
  • Advanced features like penetration testing and VM scanning limited to higher tiers
  • Device protection limited to Development environments only
  • Requires multiple plan tiers for full platform coverage

Baffle

  • The proxy sits in the production data path, so it becomes a latency contributor and a failure domain, and any deployment needs load and failover testing that customers routinely underestimate.
  • What you can still do in SQL depends on the protection mode chosen, and stronger modes restrict comparisons, joins and aggregations on protected columns, which can quietly break existing reports and analytics.
  • Database and driver coverage is finite, so an organisation with an unusual engine, an old driver or heavy use of stored procedures may find its most important system is exactly the one not supported.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scales with protected data stores, which means an enterprise trying to protect a long tail of small databases pays disproportionately compared with protecting a handful of large ones.
  • Key management is your responsibility under bring your own key, and while that is the correct security posture, it moves a real operational burden and a genuine data-loss risk onto the customer.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aikido

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Up to 2 users
    • Dependency scanning (SCA)
    • SAST and AI SAST
  • Pro$600/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • All Basic features
    • On-premise scanning
  • Advanced$600/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • All Pro features
    • Broker for internal apps
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom pricing for tailored modules
    • Dedicated account management
    • Custom SLAs

Baffle

On request
  • Baffle Data Protection Services$undefined/year
    • Quoted by protected data stores and deployment scale
    • Self-managed and cloud marketplace deployment options
    • Annual subscription

Which should you pick?

Choose Aikido if

  • You need static application security testing (sast).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CI/CD, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis (sca).
Aikido review

Choose Baffle if

  • You need transparent proxy deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want field-level encryption.
Baffle review

Questions people ask

Is Aikido or Baffle better?
Neither clearly leads. Aikido starts at Free and Baffle at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aikido or Baffle?
Aikido has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Aikido and On request for Baffle.
Does Aikido or Baffle run on more platforms?
Aikido runs on Web, CI/CD, IDE. Baffle runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Aikido for free?
Yes. Aikido has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Baffle starts at On request.
What is Aikido best used for?
Aikido is most often used for developer-friendly security integrated into pr workflows, automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alerts, consolidation of fragmented security tools across development lifecycle, cloud infrastructure security posture monitoring. Of those, developer-friendly security integrated into pr workflows and automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alerts are not what Baffle is typically brought in for.
What can Aikido do that Baffle cannot?
Aikido covers Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), AutoFix, Secrets detection. Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Field-level encryption, Tokenisation, Format-preserving de-identification.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aikido: What is included in Aikido's free Developer plan?

The free Developer plan includes up to 2 users with SAST, SCA, secrets detection, cloud scanning, and license risk detection. Fair-usage limits apply: 10 repos, 2 container images, 1 domain, and 1 cloud account.

Source
Baffle: Do applications need code changes?

No. That is the central design choice. Baffle intercepts traffic as a proxy rather than requiring an SDK call at every read and write.

Aikido: What is AutoFix and how does it work?

AutoFix is Aikido's automated vulnerability remediation feature that identifies vulnerabilities and suggests or applies specific code fixes automatically, reducing manual remediation effort.

Source
Baffle: Can you still query encrypted columns?

Partly, and it depends on the protection mode. Some modes preserve equality matching and format, stronger modes restrict what SQL operations remain possible, so this must be tested against your actual queries.

Aikido: How many false positives does Aikido reduce?

Aikido reduces false positives by 99%, using AI-powered context awareness to filter noise and focus on vulnerabilities that present real business risk.

Source
Baffle: Does it take systems out of PCI scope?

Tokenisation can reduce scope by ensuring card data never lands in the protected system, but scope reduction is an assessor judgement, not a product setting.

Aikido: What integrations does Aikido support?

Aikido integrates with Jira, Linear, Slack, Teams, GitHub, GitLab, and other popular development tools to fit into existing workflows.

Source
Baffle: Who holds the encryption keys?

You do, through your own key management service. Baffle supports bring your own key rather than holding customer keys itself.

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