# API security platforms for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "API security platform" and as "API discovery and protection tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Added to the November 2026 Edition. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/api-security-platforms/2026-11/enterprise

**Standing:** Salt Security leads with 44% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 57 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Salt Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/salt-security/index.md) | 44% | 10% | 60 |
| 2 | [Akamai API Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/akamai-api-security/index.md) | 19% | 17% | 58 |
| 3 | [Traceable API Security Platform](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/traceable-api-security-platform/index.md) | 4% | 13% | 39 |
| 4 | [42Crunch](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/42crunch/index.md) | 4% | 8% | 26 |
| 5 | [Wallarm API Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/wallarm-api-security/index.md) | 4% | 23% | 31 |
| 8 | [Apigee](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/apigee/index.md) | 4% | 35% | 20 |
| 9 | [Imperva API Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/imperva-api-security/index.md) | 2% | 7% | 29 |
| 10 | [Cequence Unified API Protection](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cequence-unified-api-protection/index.md) | 2% | 10% | 31 |
| 11 | [Radware API Security Service](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/radware-api-security-service/index.md) | 2% | 8% | 12 |
| 12 | [Kong Gateway](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/kong-gateway/index.md) | 2% | 17% | 12 |
| 18 | [Cloudflare API Shield](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cloudflare-api-shield/index.md) | 0% | 18% | 17 |
| 19 | [Noname Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/noname-security/index.md) | 0% | 22% | 18 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 95 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Akamai API Security; alternatives Imperva API Security, Salt Security
- GPT-5.4 mini: Akamai API Security; alternatives Akto, Cequence Unified API Protection, Salt Security, Traceable API Security Platform
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Salt Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Akamai API Security, Cequence Unified API Protection, Traceable API Security Platform
- Perplexity Sonar: Salt Security; alternatives Akamai API Security, Apigee
- Grok 4.20: Salt Security; alternatives Akamai API Security, Cloudflare Application Security and Performance
- Mistral Small: Akamai API Security, Salt Security; alternatives Cequence Unified API Protection, Check Point CloudGuard WAF, Traceable API Security Platform
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Salt Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Akamai API Security, Cequence Unified API Protection, Traceable API Security Platform
- Llama 4 Maverick: Akamai API Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Cequence Unified API Protection, Salt Security
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Apigee, Kong Gateway; alternatives F5 Distributed Cloud API Security, Imperva API Security, WSO2 API Manager
- Kimi K2: Akamai API Security, Salt Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Cequence Unified API Protection, Cloudflare API Shield, Imperva Application Security Platform
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Akamai API Security; alternatives Cequence Unified API Protection, F5 Distributed Cloud API Security, Imperva API Security, Salt Security
- MiniMax M2.5: Akamai API Security, Salt Security; alternatives Apigee, Imperva API Security
- GPT-6 Luna: Akamai API Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Salt Security, Traceable API Security Platform
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Imperva API Security, Salt Security; alternatives 42Crunch, Akamai API Security, Axway, Broadcom

## Sources the answers cite

77 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- akamai.com: 35 answers, 78 citations
- zuplo.com: 30 answers, 33 citations
- ciopages.com: 30 answers, 30 citations
- radware.com: 26 answers, 40 citations
- checkpoint.com: 20 answers, 24 citations
- salt.security: 19 answers, 35 citations
- g2.com: 19 answers, 22 citations
- cloud.google.com: 18 answers, 20 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/api-security (30 answers)
- https://zuplo.com/learning-center/best-api-security-tools-2026 (22 answers)
- https://akamai.com/site/en/documents/ebook/2024/api-security-buyers-guide.pdf (19 answers)
- https://radware.com/cyberpedia/application-security/choosing-api-security-solutions (19 answers)
- https://radware.com/cyberpedia/application-security/enterprise-tools-for-managing-and-securing-rest-and-graphql-apis (16 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/api-security/enterprise (14 answers)
- https://cpl.thalesgroup.com/sites/default/files/content/analyst_research/Leadership-Compass-API-Security-and-Management-25.pdf (13 answers)
- https://checkpoint.com/cyber-hub/what-is-application-security-appsec/what-is-api-security/the-5-top-api-security-tools (12 answers)
- https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-6-api-security-identity-platforms (12 answers)
- https://checkmarx.com/learn/api-security/evaluating-api-security-solutions-for-compliance-8-providers-compared (11 answers)

## Warned against

- Akamai API Security: 10 of 58 labels negative. "Bundled WAF products that rely mainly on signatures and static rules... Imperva, Akamai, F5, Cloudflare, and comparable WAAP offerings may be strong choices when integrated into an existing stack, but verify whether the specific package detects BOLA" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)
- Apigee: 7 of 20 labels negative. "What to Avoid for Predictability | Google Apigee | PAYG: $365/mo per environment + $20 per million calls" (Kimi K2, budget prompt)
- Salt Security: 6 of 60 labels negative. "solid security product, but its Marketplace pricing is still request-volume based and can become expensive at higher volumes" (GPT-5.4 mini, budget prompt)
- Wallarm API Security: 7 of 31 labels negative. "it has a relatively high negative rate (11%) among enterprise recommendations, indicating some dissatisfaction or limitations in certain use cases" (Mistral Small, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Akamai API Security (33%) to Salt Security (44%). Margin 25 points, beyond the floor.

- Akamai API Security: 33% to 19%, −14. Cleared the floor by 3 points · rank 1 → 2 of 95.
- Salt Security: 31% to 44%, +13. Cleared the floor by 2 points · rank 2 → 1 of 95.
- Traceable API Security Platform: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 6 → 3 of 95.
- Wallarm API Security: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 8 → 5 of 95.
- Apigee: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 14 → 8 of 95.
- Imperva API Security: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 17 → 9 of 95.
- Radware API Security Service: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 19 → 11 of 95.
- Noname Security: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 9 → 19 of 95.
- 42Crunch: 4% to 4%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 4 of 95, unchanged.
- Cequence Unified API Protection: 2% to 2%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 10 of 95.
- Kong Gateway: 2% to 2%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 16 → 12 of 95.
- Cloudflare API Shield: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 18 of 95, unchanged.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.