Vendor comparison

Halo vs Onyx Security

Onyx Security and Halo both describe an AI control plane. Halo collects discovery with its own browser extension and endpoint software, enforces policy on devices, at gateways, and in a sandboxed agent runtime, and keeps each rule reviewable as code.

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The short version

Onyx’s public materials describe a secure AI control plane across observability, security, governance, orchestration, and ROI, with policy written in natural language and a supervisory Guardian Agent.
Halo runs its own sensors in browsers and on endpoints, enforces at gateways and in a sandboxed runtime, and keeps policy as structured code that reviewers can read, simulate, and audit.
Plain-language policy drafting that compiles to reviewable code is coming soon, and Halo budgets already pause or stop spend at the account, agent, and user level.

How Onyx Security describes itself

Onyx Security describes a secure AI control plane for agents and models. Its platform pages cover observability, security, governance, orchestration through an AI Gateway, and AI ROI reporting, with a supervisory Guardian Agent that works across the platform to identify risks and remediate issues.

Public materials say Onyx inspects prompts, tool calls, and model responses inline across browser AI, coding assistants, desktop AI agents, cloud workloads, and MCP servers, with five actions, which are alert, block, mask, steer, and ask. They also describe policy written in natural language, posture scoring, red-team testing of deployed agents, and on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment. This summary reflects public materials reviewed in October 2026.

How Halo approaches AI governance

Halo is an AI governance platform and AI control plane for simple, secure, and efficient AI. It discovers AI through Halo Browser (Chrome and Edge, plus Safari on macOS) and Halo Endpoint (macOS and Windows, with Linux coming soon), then classifies each item as sanctioned, monitored, blocked, shadow, or unknown.

Policy is structured, versioned code with audit and enforce modes. It applies at model, MCP and tool, and API gateways, through the Halo AI Gateway for desktop AI apps and coding agents, and in a secure agent runtime. Agent identity stays separate from user identity.

Side by side

How Halo and Onyx Security compare

Comparison of Halo and Onyx Security by dimension
Dimension	Halo	Onyx Security
Positioning	Halo Available now Simple, secure, and efficient AI, from discovery to enforcement, evidence, and spend control in one platform.	Onyx Security Public materials describe a secure AI control plane across observability, security, governance, orchestration, and ROI.
Policy authoring	Halo Available now Structured policy as code in schema or YAML, with versioned bundles, audit and enforce modes, simulation with a decision trace, and decision explanations. Coming soon Plain-language drafting that produces a validated, simulated policy for a person to approve.	Onyx Security Public materials describe writing policy in natural language that Onyx compiles into runtime enforcement.
Discovery	Halo Guided rollout Halo’s own browser extension and endpoint software find AI sites, extensions, apps, IDE tools, MCP configuration, and local runtimes, with metadata-first collection. On the roadmap Read-only discovery for cloud AI services, SaaS AI, and code repositories.	Onyx Security Public materials describe one console across SaaS, cloud, endpoint, and code, using browser, AI platform, CNAPP, SASE, and EDR sources.
Inline inspection and actions	Halo Available now Gateways allow, deny, or hold actions for human approval and mask sensitive data in supported paths, Halo Endpoint blocks unapproved AI apps, and Halo Browser audits, warns, or blocks on supported AI sites.	Onyx Security Public materials describe inline inspection of prompts, tool calls, and responses across browser AI, coding assistants, desktop AI agents, cloud workloads, and MCP servers, with alert, block, mask, steer, and ask actions.
Agent identity	Halo Available now Agent identity is kept separate from user identity, credentials, tools, and action scope.	Onyx Security Public materials describe each governed agent carrying its own identity, distinct from the user who invoked it.
Agent execution	Halo Available now Agents run in a sandbox with non-root workloads, default-deny network egress, and signed configuration, and operators can quarantine and release them. On the roadmap A guardian agent that watches governance data and acts through Halo’s own gateways and approvals.	Onyx Security Public materials describe a supervisory Guardian Agent that works across the platform to identify risks and remediate issues.
Gateways and routing	Halo Available now Model, MCP and tool, and API gateways, plus the Halo AI Gateway for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT Desktop, and Codex CLI. Halo Auto and configurable route profiles choose the model for each request, and access for your own applications is in Preview.	Onyx Security Public materials describe an AI Gateway for cross-provider routing with inline policy checks, plus an MCP Gateway for tool calls.
Posture and testing	Halo Available now On-demand security audits check each agent’s runtime controls against a catalog that references OWASP, MITRE ATLAS, and NIST AI RMF guidance. On the roadmap Red-team and evaluation evidence linked to each AI system, with built-in prompt-injection and data-leak tests.	Onyx Security Public materials describe posture scoring for each agent across its lifecycle and red-team testing that continuously attacks deployed agents.
Cost and ROI	Halo Available now Account, agent, and per-user budgets that notify, pause, or stop, with cost analytics by agent and model. On the roadmap Executive value reporting with spend, adoption, and routing savings by team, cost center, and AI system.	Onyx Security Public materials describe goal-based ROI reporting, and note per-request cost metadata applies to traffic through the Onyx AI Gateway.
Evidence and reporting	Halo Available now Audit logs and gateway decisions export as CSV and JSON, and dashboards show decision timeseries and cost analytics. Coming soon SIEM export, signed webhooks, and API tokens for your own automation.	Onyx Security Public materials describe session records forwarded to SIEM tools and mappings to several security and AI frameworks.
Deployment and buying path	Halo Available now Self-serve plans start at $99 per month with published pricing, and our team guides enterprise rollout of Halo Browser and Halo Endpoint. On the roadmap A documented private cloud deployment and an EU region with tenant-pinned data residency.	Onyx Security Public materials describe on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment.

Why Halo

Why choose Halo over Onyx Security

Simple, secure, and efficient AI, governed where it runs.

Guided rollout

Discovery from Halo’s own sensors

Halo Browser and Halo Endpoint find AI sites, extensions, apps, IDE tools, MCP configuration, and local runtimes, with the source and confidence of each finding.

Guided rollout

Enforcement on devices and in browsers

Halo Endpoint can audit or block unapproved AI apps on macOS and Windows, and Halo Browser can audit, warn, or block on supported AI sites.

A sandbox for every agent

Agents run as non-root workloads with default-deny network egress and signed configuration, and operators can quarantine and release them at any time.

Policy you can read and test

Structured policy as code runs in audit mode first, simulates against a request with a full decision trace, and explains each gateway decision.

Budgets that act

Account, agent, and per-user budgets can notify owners, pause new operations, or stop active deployments, and cost analytics show spend by agent and model.

The AI apps your people already use

The Halo AI Gateway connects Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT Desktop, and Codex CLI to models and tools that Halo authorizes, meters, and records.

Roadmap

What Halo is building next

Each of these extends the controls Halo runs today.

Capabilities marked coming soon or on the roadmap reflect current plans and may change.

Coming soon
Plain-language policy drafting
Describe a rule in plain language and get a draft policy that passes validation and simulation before a person approves it.
Coming soon
SIEM export and webhooks
Send decisions, approvals, and inventory events to your SIEM and alerting tools, with API tokens for your own automation.
On the roadmap
Red-team and evaluation evidence
Import results from evaluation and red-team tools as evidence linked to each AI system, with built-in prompt-injection and data-leak tests.
On the roadmap
Private cloud and an EU region
A documented private cloud deployment and an EU region with tenant-pinned data residency.

Buyer checklist

Questions to ask in your evaluation

Bring these to each vendor you evaluate. Here is how Halo answers them.

How do you test a policy before it blocks real work?
How Halo answers
Run it in audit mode to record what it would do, or simulate it against a request and read the decision trace, then switch it to enforce.
Does the platform enforce policy on each surface, or only report what it finds?
How Halo answers
Halo enforces on each surface it covers. It blocks unapproved AI apps on devices, audits, warns, or blocks on supported AI sites, and allows, denies, or holds agent calls at the gateway.
How are agent identities created, scoped, and revoked?
How Halo answers
Each agent has its own identity, separate from the person who created it, with scoped tool grants and credentials held at the gateway. Operators can quarantine an agent at any time.
Can budgets stop spend, or only report it?
How Halo answers
Halo budgets can notify owners, pause new operations, or stop active deployments at the account, agent, and user level.
Which capabilities are generally available today, and which are preview or planned?
How Halo answers
Halo labels each capability as available, guided rollout, preview, coming soon, or on the roadmap, on this page and across our site.

Sources and review

Last reviewed October 19, 2026. Information about Onyx Security comes from public materials and may change. Product names belong to their owners. Capabilities marked coming soon or on the roadmap reflect current plans and may change. If you spot something out of date, please let us know.

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