Cequence AI Gateway vs Hapi: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Cequence AI Gateway is a commercial api security tool by Cequence Security. Hapi is a free api security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best api security 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:
Mid-market and enterprise security teams protecting APIs and AI services need Cequence AI Gateway because it actually stops business logic abuse and account takeover attacks that traditional WAFs let through. The platform covers ID.AM through DE.CM across NIST CSF 2.0, meaning you get both attack surface discovery and continuous behavioral monitoring in one deployment. Skip this if you're looking for a lightweight API firewall; Cequence demands mature API inventory practices and assumes you're defending high-value endpoints where behavioral fingerprinting ROI justifies the operational overhead.
Node.js teams building APIs from scratch will find Hapi's security-by-default architecture saves months of hardening work; its plugin system lets you bake authentication, validation, and CORS rules into the framework itself rather than bolting them on afterward. With 14,784 GitHub stars and active maintenance, you're not betting on a ghost project. Skip Hapi if your team is already committed to Express or Fastify; switching frameworks mid-project costs more than the security gains justify.
