Looking for a Lakera Guard alternative?
Lakera Guard is a strong prompt injection and content safety tool — but it requires SDK integration, can't intercept IDE AI tools, and focuses on application-layer security rather than enterprise governance. BastionGate fills the gap.
Zero code changes
IT deploys BastionGate as an HTTPS proxy. No SDK, no developer instrumentation required.
IDE AI coverage
Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, Windsurf — covered transparently. Lakera cannot reach these.
Enterprise governance
Multi-tenant policies, RBAC, audit export. Beyond prompt injection into full compliance.
Feature comparison
How BastionGate and Lakera Guard differ for enterprise AI security and governance.
| Feature | BastionGateus | Lakera Guard |
|---|---|---|
Zero code changes Point one endpoint at the gateway. No SDK, no agent, no developer instrumentation. | Change one base URL. Done. | Requires Lakera Guard SDK in every application. |
Covers IDE AI tools Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf — the highest-risk AI surface in most enterprises. | Transparent HTTPS proxy intercepts all IDE traffic. | SDK-based; cannot intercept IDE AI assistants. |
Real-time inline blocking Requests are stopped before they reach the upstream AI provider. | Block, redact, or flag enforced at the gateway. | Lakera Guard can block at the API layer. |
OPA-backed policy engine Version-controlled, per-tenant, per-project Rego policies. | Open Policy Agent with Git-versioned bundles. | Rule-based configuration without a policy engine. |
Per-tenant / per-project policies Different enforcement rules per team, environment, or project. | Full tenant isolation with per-project scoping. | Single policy configuration per deployment. |
Developer-friendly block messages Blocked requests return a clear reason + tip. No silent failures. | Explains what was found, confirms nothing was sent. | No structured developer feedback on blocks. |
Shadow AI inventory Every AI tool and provider used by your team tracked automatically. | All traffic through the gateway is attributed. | No shadow AI discovery capability. |
Prompt injection defense Detects prompt injection attacks in AI inputs. | Entropy + pattern detection; roadmap item. | Lakera's primary use case and strongest feature. |
HIPAA & SOC 2 ready Purpose-built for regulated industries. | HIPAA compliant. SOC 2 Type II in progress. | Enterprise tier; healthcare focus limited. |
Full audit log Every request logged, searchable, and exportable. | Immutable log with CSV/JSON export. | Logging available; export options limited. |
✓ full support · — partial / limited · ✕ not supported
Why teams switch
The differences that matter when your enterprise needs more than prompt injection defense.
No SDK — transparent proxy deployment
Lakera Guard wraps your application code. BastionGate is deployed by IT as an HTTPS proxy. Developers change one base URL. There's nothing to install, no library to keep updated, no application code to modify.
IDE AI tools are invisible to Lakera
Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and Windsurf are desktop applications — not web apps developers instrument. SDK-based solutions like Lakera Guard simply cannot intercept them. BastionGate's proxy architecture covers all of these transparently.
Enterprise governance, not just protection
Lakera is excellent at prompt injection defense. BastionGate covers that plus the full enterprise governance stack: per-tenant policies, per-project scoping, RBAC, audit export, and an OPA policy engine. If your use case is enterprise compliance — not just prompt injection — the gap is significant.
Multi-tenant architecture from day one
BastionGate was designed for multi-tenant enterprise deployments: different policies for different teams, practice groups, or subsidiaries — all managed from one control plane. Lakera's model is oriented toward single-application deployments.
When Lakera might still be right
Lakera Guard has genuine strengths in specific scenarios. It may be the better fit if:
- Your primary threat is prompt injection attacks against your own LLM-powered application — Lakera's core strength is application-layer content safety.
- You're building a customer-facing AI product and need to sanitize user inputs before they hit your model.
- You want a lightweight SDK integration without the overhead of proxy infrastructure.
See BastionGate in 30 minutes
We'll show you how BastionGate covers your IDE AI tools transparently and walk through policy setup for your environment.
Book a Demo