# Runlayer vs Sealgate | MCP Gateway Comparison

Runlayer vs Sealgate compared across runtime enforcement, DLP, stdio handling, device-level management and audit. See where each MCP gateway fits and why teams pick Sealgate for runtime agent data security.

Source: https://sealgate.ai/comparison/runlayer-vs-sealgate

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MCP security gateway

# Runlayer vs Sealgate

How Runlayer and Sealgate compare for securing AI agents and their MCP tool calls, and where each one fits.

Last updated: September 2026

Runlayer. Runlayer is an enterprise MCP security platform: an AI Watch endpoint agent deployed through MDM, MCP Tunnels that keep local servers on the device, threat detection and session recording.

Sealgate. A runtime agentic data firewall that blocks dangerous tool calls before they execute, scans tool traffic for data loss and prompt injection, discovers shadow MCP servers on the device, and streams a provable audit trail to your SIEM.

Bottom line: Runlayer and Sealgate both keep local stdio servers on the device; Sealgate adds inline DLP, agent-CLI coverage, and an open-source core.

## Runlayer vs Sealgate, feature by feature

Sealgate leads with the rows at the top, its clearest points of difference, then the parity rows every enterprise gateway is expected to cover.

| Capability | Sealgate | Runlayer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How local stdio MCP servers are handled. Whether your local MCP server stays on the device or is shipped elsewhere. | Tunnel in place (Yes) | Tunnel / on-device (Yes) |
| Local stdio servers stay on-device. The server keeps running on the machine, with no host-and-lift and no HTTP re-expose. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Device-level management. An endpoint agent that discovers and governs MCP activity on the device itself. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Interface coverage. Whether the gateway governs only the MCP protocol, or the agent CLI and LLM API too. | MCP + CLI (Yes) | MCP only (No) |
| Runtime enforcement. Blocks a dangerous tool call before it executes, not just after the fact. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| DLP, PII and secrets scanning. Inspects tool inputs and outputs for sensitive data at runtime. | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Prompt injection and tool-poisoning defense. Detects and stops injection, tool poisoning and rug-pull attacks. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Gateway holds the credential. The gateway issues the final call so the agent cannot bypass policy and retry. | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Shadow MCP discovery. Finds unauthorized MCP servers before they are used. | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Provable per-call audit. A receipt for every call: agent, tool, policy version, result. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SIEM integration and export. Streams audit events to Splunk, Sentinel and other SIEMs. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SSO, SCIM and RBAC. Enterprise identity, group sync and role-based access. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Tool-level policy. Read and write tiers, per-tool rules and human-in-the-loop approvals. | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Self-host, on-prem or VPC. Run it in your own environment for data residency. | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Compliance mapping. Evidence mapped to SOC 2, NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act. | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Low latency overhead. Minimal added latency on the tool-call path. | ~ Partial | – Not publicly verified |
| Open source core. An open, inspectable core rather than a closed proxy. | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |

✓ Strong or native ~ Partial or via a partner ✕ Not offered – Not publicly verified

## Where Sealgate is different

- Sealgate governs the agent CLI as well as MCP; Runlayer governs the MCP protocol only.
- Sealgate runs DLP and secrets scanning inline on tool traffic; Runlayer leans on threat detection and session recording rather than inline data-loss prevention.
- Sealgate ships an open-source core (open-edison); Runlayer is closed.

## Get AI agents signed off by security, faster

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[Try for Free](https://dashboard.sealgate.ai) [Book a Demo](https://sealgate.ai/contact)

## Frequently asked questions

Do Runlayer and Sealgate both keep local MCP servers on the device? Yes. Both tunnel local stdio MCP servers so the server and its credentials stay on the machine rather than being hosted in a vendor cloud. That is a point of parity, so the deciding factors are elsewhere: interface coverage beyond MCP, inline DLP depth, and an open-source core.

Is Sealgate a good alternative to Runlayer? Yes. Runlayer is an enterprise MCP security platform: an AI Watch endpoint agent deployed through MDM, MCP Tunnels that keep local servers on the device, threat detection and session recording. Sealgate is a runtime agentic data firewall that blocks dangerous tool calls before they execute, scans tool traffic for data loss and prompt injection, discovers shadow MCP servers on the device, and streams a provable audit trail to your SIEM. If runtime data security is the priority, Sealgate is a strong alternative.

What does Sealgate do that Runlayer does not? Sealgate governs the agent CLI as well as MCP; Runlayer governs the MCP protocol only.

## Sources

Claims about Runlayer are drawn from its own public documentation, last reviewed September 2026. If something is out of date, tell us at [hello@sealgate.ai](mailto:hello@sealgate.ai) and we will correct it.

- [Runlayer](https://www.runlayer.com)

## Compare Sealgate with other gateways

[MintMCP vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/mintmcp-vs-sealgate) [Golf (GolfMCP) vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/golf-vs-sealgate) [Rippling vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/rippling-vs-sealgate) [Portkey vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/portkey-vs-sealgate) [Lasso Security vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/lasso-security-vs-sealgate) [Obot vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/obot-vs-sealgate) [MCP Manager vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/mcp-manager-vs-sealgate) [PolicyLayer vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/policylayer-vs-sealgate) [mcpgate vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/mcpgate-vs-sealgate) [Peta vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/peta-vs-sealgate) [Executor vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/executor-vs-sealgate) [Invariant MCP-Scan vs Sealgate](https://sealgate.ai/comparison/invariant-mcp-scan-vs-sealgate) [See all comparisons](https://sealgate.ai/comparison)

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