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IAR Embedded Workbench vs Very Good Security

IAR Embedded Workbench logo

IAR Embedded Workbench

Developer Tools

Complete toolchain for embedded software development

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IAR Embedded Workbench no pricing information published on product page; prospective customers directed to free trial or sales contact only; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IAR Embedded Workbench and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where IAR Embedded Workbench and Very Good Security differ
AttributeIAR Embedded WorkbenchVery Good Security
Starting priceOn request$1000/month
Pricing modelquotePer month
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 IAR Embedded Workbench

Nothing recorded that Very Good Security does not also cover.

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

What people use each for

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

IAR Embedded Workbench

  • Embedded software development and debuggingnot Very Good Security
  • Compiler and linker tools for embedded systemsnot Very Good Security
  • Multi-architecture embedded development supportnot Very Good Security

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot IAR Embedded Workbench
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot IAR Embedded Workbench
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot IAR Embedded Workbench
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot IAR Embedded Workbench

Where each one falls short

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

IAR Embedded Workbench

  • No pricing information published on product page; prospective customers directed to free trial or sales contact only
  • Pricing model not specified; customers must request quote or try free trial to understand licensing costs
  • Embedded development tools typically require expensive licenses, but specific IAR costs unavailable online

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

Pricing, plan by plan

IAR Embedded Workbench

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the IAR Embedded Workbench review.

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose IAR Embedded Workbench if

Nothing in the data separates IAR Embedded Workbench from Very Good Security on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

IAR Embedded Workbench review

Choose Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is IAR Embedded Workbench or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. IAR Embedded Workbench starts at On request and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IAR Embedded Workbench or Very Good Security?
IAR Embedded Workbench starts at On request and Very Good Security at $1000/month.
Does IAR Embedded Workbench or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
IAR Embedded Workbench runs on Web. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
What is IAR Embedded Workbench best used for?
IAR Embedded Workbench is most often used for embedded software development and debugging, compiler and linker tools for embedded systems, multi-architecture embedded development support. Of those, embedded software development and debugging and compiler and linker tools for embedded systems are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can IAR Embedded Workbench do that Very Good Security cannot?
Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IAR Embedded Workbench: How much does IAR Embedded Workbench cost?

IAR Embedded Workbench pricing is not published on the product page. Prospective customers are directed to free trials or must contact the sales team to request pricing.

Source
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

IAR Embedded Workbench: Does IAR Embedded Workbench offer a free trial?

Free trials are available for IAR Embedded Workbench evaluation at https://www.iar.com/embedded-development-tools/free-trials, though specific trial length and limitations are not detailed on the product page.

Source
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

IAR Embedded Workbench: What is the pricing model for IAR Embedded Workbench?

The pricing model is not disclosed on the product page. Customers must contact the sales team to obtain quotes and understand licensing terms.

Source
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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