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Cybersecurity · head to head

Baffle vs Beyond Identity

Baffle logo

Baffle

Cybersecurity

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • They diverge on capability: Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baffle and Beyond Identity actually diverge.

Attributes where Baffle and Beyond Identity differ
AttributeBaffleBeyond Identity
PlatformsLinux, WebWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 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

Only in Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

What people use each for

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

Baffle

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

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot Baffle
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot Baffle
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot Baffle
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot Baffle

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

Which should you pick?

Choose Baffle if

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

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Questions people ask

Is Baffle or Beyond Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. Baffle starts at On request and Beyond Identity at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baffle or Beyond Identity?
Baffle starts at On request and Beyond Identity at On request.
Does Baffle or Beyond Identity run on more platforms?
Baffle runs on Linux, Web. Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
What is Baffle best used for?
Baffle is most often used for a bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account data, a company wanting to take a reporting database out of pci scope by tokenising card fields before they land, a healthcare organisation that must ensure database administrators and cloud operators cannot read patient identifiers in the tables they administer, a team moving regulated data into a warehouse or an ai retrieval pipeline that needs identifiers de-identified in transit without rewriting the ingest jobs. Of those, a bank with a legacy application it cannot safely refactor that has an audit finding requiring field-level encryption of account data and a company wanting to take a reporting database out of pci scope by tokenising card fields before they land are not what Beyond Identity is typically brought in for.
What can Baffle do that Beyond Identity cannot?
Baffle covers Transparent proxy deployment, Field-level encryption, Tokenisation, Format-preserving de-identification. Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

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.

Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

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.

Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

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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