AiDren vs Protect AI
Protect AI built its name on scanning ML models and securing the AI supply chain, and is now part of Palo Alto Networks' Prisma AIRS. AiDren scans model files too, but as one part of a self-serve proxy that also screens prompts and responses. Choose Protect AI for enterprise-grade supply-chain coverage, AiDren for simple, publicly priced runtime protection.
Protect AI genuinely goes wider on format coverage. Here's the honest comparison, including that gap. Protect AI, Guardian and Prisma AIRS are trademarks of their respective owners, referenced here for identification and comparison only — AiDren is not affiliated with Protect AI or Palo Alto Networks.
Side by side
| AiDrenThis siteDrop-in proxy | Protect AI GuardianNow Palo Alto Networks Prisma AIRS | |
|---|---|---|
| What it protects | ||
| Malicious model-file scanning | ~Six formats: pickle, safetensors, GGUF, ONNX, joblib, Keras | ✓35+ formats — the deepest coverage in the category, this is their specialism |
| Scan source | ✓Hugging Face & GitHub | ✓Multiple registries; reports 4M+ Hugging Face models scanned publicly |
| Prompt-injection & jailbreak blocking | ✓Yes — on every request | ~Not Guardian's core product; covered elsewhere in the wider Prisma AIRS suite |
| Output & data-leak scanning | ✓Yes — redact or block | ~Available via other Prisma AIRS modules |
| Agent egress / outbound-call monitoring | ✓Yes | ~Available via other Prisma AIRS modules |
| All of the above in one product, one price | ✓Yes | –Modular suite — you scope and license each module |
| Getting started | ||
| How you integrate | Change your base URL. One line. | Guided onboarding into the Prisma platform |
| Time to first protection | ~5 minutes | Weeks — POC and procurement, typical for enterprise platforms |
| Sales call required | ✓No | –Yes |
| Commercial | ||
| Pricing | Public, flat £49 / £149 / £399 a month by tier, or yearly (2 months free) |
Custom quote — contact sales |
| Contract | Monthly or yearly, cancel anytime | Annual, enterprise procurement |
| Company | Independent, UK-based | Part of Palo Alto Networks since July 2025 |
| Best fit | ||
| Choose this if… | You want injection blocking, output scanning, model-file scanning and egress monitoring together, self-serve, without a procurement cycle | You need the long tail of exotic model formats, deep compliance tooling and an existing Palo Alto / Prisma estate |
✓ Covered / an advantage ~ Partial or varies – Not covered
The short version: if malicious model files from the long tail of exotic formats are your main risk, Protect AI/Prisma AIRS goes wider than we do. If you want the model formats teams actually pull most — pickle, safetensors, GGUF, ONNX, joblib, Keras — plus injection blocking, output scanning and egress monitoring in the same request path, self-serve and at a public price, that's AiDren.
Where Protect AI is genuinely ahead
We'd rather you knew this than found out after signing up.
- Format breadth. 35+ model formats vs our six. If your team ships TensorFlow SavedModel, PMML, CoreML or TFLite files, Protect AI's Guardian goes further today.
- Deep compliance tooling. Policy enforcement and compliance dashboards built for large security organisations with audit requirements.
- Scale & track record. A large public scanning history (4M+ Hugging Face models reported) and backing from Palo Alto Networks' broader threat-intel apparatus.
Protect AI alternatives: how to choose
Protect AI Guardian and AiDren overlap on model-file scanning, then diverge. Four things decide it.
- Format breadth. Third-party reviews report that Guardian scans 35+ formats. AiDren scans six: pickle, joblib, safetensors, GGUF, ONNX and Keras. If you ship formats outside those six, AiDren is not enough on its own.
- Scope. Guardian is a model supply-chain product inside a wider enterprise platform. AiDren puts model-file scanning in the same request path as prompt screening, response scanning and egress reporting.
- How you buy. Prisma AIRS is an enterprise platform from Palo Alto Networks. AiDren has public plans from £49 a month, a 14-day free trial and no sales call.
- An open-source route. Protect AI's ModelScan is open source and can be run in your own pipeline if you would rather not use a hosted service.
Choose Protect AI if you need the long tail of model formats, compliance tooling and an existing Palo Alto estate. Choose AiDren if you pull the common formats from Hugging Face and GitHub and want runtime protection alongside, self-serve.
Switching from Protect AI Guardian
AiDren scans downloads you route through it, so the change is to your download step:
- Step 1. List the model formats you actually pull. Keep Guardian or ModelScan for any outside AiDren's six.
- Step 2. Start a trial, create a proxy key and turn on model-file scanning for it, in monitor mode first.
- Step 3. Swap the download host in your scripts or CI from
huggingface.cotoapi.aidren.co.uk, or add the/gh/prefix for GitHub URLs. The API reference has the exact form. - Step 4. Review the events, then switch the key to enforce.
AiDren vs Protect AI FAQ
Is AiDren a Protect AI alternative?
For scanning the model formats most teams pull from Hugging Face and GitHub, yes, and AiDren adds prompt screening, response scanning and egress reporting. For the widest format coverage and enterprise compliance tooling, Protect AI goes further.
Is Protect AI part of Palo Alto Networks?
Yes. Palo Alto Networks announced on 22 July 2025 that it had completed its acquisition of Protect AI, with the technology a cornerstone of Prisma AIRS.
How many model formats does Guardian scan compared with AiDren?
Third-party reviews report 35+ formats for Guardian (last checked 1 October 2026). AiDren scans six: pickle, joblib, safetensors, GGUF, ONNX and Keras.
Is there an open-source model scanner?
Yes. Protect AI's ModelScan is open source. AiDren's scanner is hosted and works on downloads you route through the proxy from Hugging Face or GitHub.
Try AiDren instead
14-day free trial, no card. Live in five minutes. Plans from £49/month, cancel anytime.
Sources, last checked 1 October 2026: Palo Alto Networks press release (22 July 2025); AppSecSanta Guardian review (formats); Hugging Face and Protect AI scanning report (4M+ models); ModelScan.
This comparison reflects our reading of publicly available information and Protect AI's own documentation as of September 2026. Pricing and features change often, so check the vendor directly before deciding. Protect AI, Guardian, Prisma AIRS and ModelScan are trademarks of their respective owners, referenced here for identification and comparison only; this is not a Protect AI or Palo Alto Networks publication. Think we've got something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it: [email protected].