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Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs Baffle

Arnica logo

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

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 Arnica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; 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: Arnica covers AI 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 Arnica and Baffle actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and Baffle differ
AttributeArnicaBaffle
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer-identity subscription with annual discountquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, GitHub, IDELinux, Web

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 Arnica

  • AI SAST
  • Software Composition Analysis
  • Secrets detection
  • IaC scanning
  • Container scanning
  • SBOM generation
  • Agentic rules
  • Pipelineless integration

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.

Arnica

  • Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot Baffle
  • Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot Baffle
  • Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot Baffle
  • Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot Baffle
  • Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot Baffle

Baffle

  • A bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account datanot Arnica
  • A company wanting to take a reporting database out of PCI scope by tokenising card fields before they landnot Arnica
  • A healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administernot Arnica
  • 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 Arnica

Where each one falls short

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

Arnica

  • Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
  • Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
  • Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
  • Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
  • On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

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

Arnica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • No credit card required
    • 14-day trial available
    • Weekly risk identification updates
  • Core Business$360/year
    • Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
    • Real-time risk scanning and notifications
  • Core Enterprise$720/year
    • Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
    • All Core Business features

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 Arnica if

  • You need ai sast.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis.
Arnica 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 Arnica or Baffle better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnica 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, Arnica or Baffle?
Arnica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arnica and On request for Baffle.
Does Arnica or Baffle run on more platforms?
Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Baffle runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Arnica for free?
Yes. Arnica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Baffle starts at On request.
What is Arnica best used for?
Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Baffle is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that Baffle cannot?
Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Field-level encryption, Tokenisation, Format-preserving de-identification.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

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.

Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

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.

Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

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.

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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