stegfs vs Protegrity Vaultless Tokenization: 2026 Comparison
stegfs is a free data masking tool. Protegrity Vaultless Tokenization is a commercial data masking tool by Protegrity. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best data masking 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:
Security teams protecting high-value individuals or operating in hostile jurisdictions need stegfs for plausible deniability when standard encryption isn't enough,the file system hides data in plain sight rather than announcing encrypted volumes. It's free and runs entirely in userspace, meaning no kernel modifications or admin privileges required. Skip this if your threat model is mass surveillance rather than targeted confiscation; stegfs assumes an attacker with physical access but limited forensic sophistication, and the 27 GitHub stars reflect limited real-world vetting compared to established tools.
Protegrity Vaultless Tokenization
Teams protecting sensitive data across databases and mainframes while avoiding the operational overhead of centralized token vaults should evaluate Protegrity Vaultless Tokenization. Its static token table approach eliminates the infrastructure dependency that slows deployments at mid-market and enterprise organizations, and the platform's dual support for column-level protection in databases plus format-preserving encryption gives you flexibility that strict masking tools don't offer. Skip this if you need dynamic policy enforcement or real-time token revocation; the vaultless architecture trades that control for simplicity, which is the entire point.
