AppSec Prot-On vs dotgpg: 2026 Comparison
AppSec Prot-On is a commercial data classification tool by APPSEC CONSULTING. dotgpg is a free data classification tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best data classification fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
SMB and mid-market teams drowning in unclassified documents will find immediate value in AppSec Prot-On's automatic labeling and file-level access controls, which actually enforce what your policy says instead of just storing it. The tool covers ID.AM and PR.DS functions in NIST CSF 2.0, meaning it handles both discovery of what you own and real-time protection of it across PDFs, Office files, and media. Skip this if your organization needs sophisticated identity federation or wants to integrate data classification with broader DLP orchestration; Prot-On is document-protection focused, not a platform play.
Teams managing distributed secrets across small engineering organizations will get real value from dotgpg because it treats secrets like code: versioned, diffable, and auditable in git without requiring a dedicated secrets vault. The 167 GitHub stars and free pricing reflect genuine adoption among developers who need password backup without infrastructure overhead. Skip this if your team is already standardized on HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager; dotgpg fills a gap for teams too small to justify those systems but too security-conscious to store credentials in plaintext.
