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Keil MDK vs Very Good Security

Keil MDK logo

Keil MDK

Developer Tools

Microcontroller Development Kit for Arm-based devices

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Only Keil MDK has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Keil MDK pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site; 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 Keil MDK and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Keil MDK and Very Good Security differ
AttributeKeil MDKVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Keil MDK

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.

Keil MDK

  • Embedded software developmentnot Very Good Security
  • ARM microcontroller programmingnot Very Good Security
  • Professional development environmentsnot 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 Keil MDK
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Keil MDK
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Keil MDK
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot Keil MDK

Where each one falls short

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

Keil MDK

  • Pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site
  • Customers must contact Arm Developer Tools store for subscription rates

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

Keil MDK

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Keil MDK 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 Keil MDK if

  • You want to start without paying.
Keil MDK 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 Keil MDK or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Keil MDK starts at Free 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, Keil MDK or Very Good Security?
Keil MDK has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Keil MDK and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does Keil MDK or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Keil MDK runs on Web. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
Can I use Keil MDK for free?
Yes. Keil MDK has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
What is Keil MDK best used for?
Keil MDK is most often used for embedded software development, arm microcontroller programming, professional development environments. Of those, embedded software development and arm microcontroller programming are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Keil MDK 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

Keil MDK: Does Keil MDK have a free version?

Yes, Keil MDK Community Edition is free for non-commercial projects. Essential and Professional editions are available as monthly or annual subscriptions.

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.

Keil MDK: How much do Keil MDK paid editions cost?

Specific pricing for Essential and Professional editions is not published on the main site. Rates are available from the Arm Developer Tools store or by contacting Arm sales.

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.

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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