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Lakera Guard vs LLM Guard (Protect AI)
Quick verdict
Key difference: LLM Guard (Protect AI) is open-source while Lakera Guard is proprietary.
Side-by-side comparison from the Agent Observability Index: licensing, self-hosting, pricing model and integrations — no vendor copy, primary sources linked.
| Lakera Guard | LLM Guard (Protect AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| One-liner | Low-latency API guarding against prompt injection, data leakage and toxic content, backed by the Gandalf attack dataset. | Open-source input/output scanner toolkit (35+ scanners) for PII, injection and toxicity checks on LLM traffic. |
| Category | Guardrails & Safety | Guardrails & Safety |
| OpenTelemetry-native | — | — |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Pricing notes | Free community API tier; enterprise SLA-backed plans | MIT OSS scanners free; enterprise via Palo Alto Networks (Protect AI acquisition) |
| Frameworks | openai-sdk, anthropic, langchain | openai-sdk, langchain |
| GitHub stars | — | 3.1k |
| Maturity (GitHub signal) | — (no public repo) | 64/100 (Established) |
| Funding / ownership | Acquired by Check Point (2025); previously $30M raised | Protect AI acquired by Palo Alto Networks (2025) |
How to choose
- Choose LLM Guard (Protect AI) if open-source licensing or full data control is a hard requirement.
- Both link to primary pricing sources below — verify current tiers before committing; this market shifts monthly.
Sources: Lakera Guard · LLM Guard (Protect AI)
Frequently asked questions
Is Lakera Guard or LLM Guard (Protect AI) open source?
Lakera Guard: No. LLM Guard (Protect AI): Yes.
Can Lakera Guard and LLM Guard (Protect AI) be self-hosted?
Lakera Guard: Yes. LLM Guard (Protect AI): Yes.
Lakera Guard vs LLM Guard (Protect AI): which should I choose?
Key difference: LLM Guard (Protect AI) is open-source while Lakera Guard is proprietary.