HiddenLayer vs Lakera: AI Security Comparison
Compare HiddenLayer and Lakera side by side. Both are tools in the AI Security category.
Updated March 9, 2026
The short answer
Choose HiddenLayer if free tier enables evaluation without upfront costs.
Choose Lakera if real-time protection against prompt injection and LLM-specific attacks.
Quick Comparison
| Category | AI Security | AI Security |
| Pricing | — | Freemium |
| Best For | — | Teams deploying user-facing LLM applications who need protection against prompt injection |
| Website | hiddenlayer.com | lakera.ai |
| Key Features | — |
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| Use Cases | — |
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Pros & Cons: HiddenLayer vs Lakera
- +Free tier enables evaluation without upfront costs
- +Comprehensive coverage across entire ML lifecycle
- +Specialized focus on AI-specific security threats
- +Strong Series A funding demonstrates market validation
- −Enterprise pricing starts at USD 500/month which may be steep for startups
- −Custom pricing model makes budget planning difficult
- −Requires sales engagement for detailed pricing and features
- −Relatively young company founded in 2022 with limited long-term track record
- +Real-time protection against prompt injection and LLM-specific attacks
- +Free tier enables testing and evaluation without upfront costs
- +AI-powered red teaming helps identify vulnerabilities proactively
- +Acquired by Check Point provides enterprise credibility and long-term stability
- −Enterprise pricing not publicly disclosed makes budget planning difficult
- −Smaller ecosystem compared to established security vendors
- −Custom pricing model may not suit teams seeking predictable costs
- −Relatively new company with limited long-term production track record
Pricing: HiddenLayer vs Lakera
- · Limited features
- · Initial exploration
- · Basic scanning
- · Community support
- · Custom solutions
- · Full platform access
- · Threat modeling
- · Red team assessments
- · Free tier for testing
- · Individual developers
- · Research use
- · Small teams
- · Flexible request volumes
- · Configurable prompt sizes
- · Enterprise-grade support
- · Custom SLAs
When to Choose HiddenLayer vs Lakera
- Protecting LLM apps from prompt injection
- Automated content moderation
- PII detection before data reaches LLMs
How to Choose a AI Security Tool
Key criteria to evaluate when comparing AI Security solutions:
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer is an AI security company founded in March 2022 in Austin, Texas by James Ballard, Tanner Burns, and Chris Sestito. The company provides security solutions for machine learning algorithms and models, offering threat modeling, ML risk assessment training, red team assessment services, and AI/ML model scanning. HiddenLayer raised USD 50 million in Series A funding to safeguard AI systems from vulnerabilities and attacks. The platform offers a Free Tier with limited features for initial exploration and an Enterprise Tier with custom solutions starting at USD 500 per month, with pricing determined based on organizational scale and specific requirements. HiddenLayer focuses on securing the entire ML lifecycle, from model development through production deployment, addressing the growing need for specialized AI security as organizations increasingly deploy machine learning models in critical applications. The company serves enterprise customers requiring comprehensive AI security coverage.
About Lakera
Lakera is an AI-native security company founded in 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland by Mateo Rojas Carulla, Matthias Kraft, and David Haber. The company provides real-time GenAI security solutions that protect enterprises from LLM vulnerabilities including prompt injection, data leakage, and jailbreaking attacks. Lakera's platform includes Lakera Guard for real-time protection of AI applications and Lakera Red for AI-powered red teaming and security testing. The Zurich-based team comprises individuals from over 15 nationalities and officially launched in October 2023 with million in funding. Following a M Series A round in July 2024 led by Atomico, with participation from Citi Ventures, Dropbox, and Redalpine, Lakera was acquired by Check Point Software Technologies. The company gained visibility through Gandalf, a popular prompt injection challenge that demonstrated LLM security vulnerabilities. Lakera offers a free Community plan for developers and custom Enterprise pricing for production applications.
What is AI Security?
Platforms focused on securing AI systems—prompt injection defense, content moderation, PII detection, guardrails, and compliance for LLM applications.
Browse all AI Security tools →