5 Best StrongDM Alternatives in 2026
Five StrongDM alternatives compared on database access, AI agent controls and how much you deploy, with verified pricing where vendors publish it.
- €29 per user per month, everything in Starter included
- Rated 5.0 on G2 (2 reviews)
Updated 14 November 2026. Prices checked 14 November 2026 against each vendor’s own pricing page.
- TeleportFree CE / contact sales
The closest like-for-like StrongDM replacement
- See SaturnSQL GuardSaturnSQL Guard€29/user/mo
Teams whose StrongDM use is mostly databases and AI tools
- hoop.devFree OSS / contact sales
An open source gateway with masking and guardrails
- FormalContact sales
Security teams with one policy layer for engineers and AI agents
- Bytebase$20/user/mo
A database-only control plane with a published price
Feature comparison
| SaturnSQL Guard | StrongDM | Teleport | hoop.dev | Formal | Bytebase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database access for people | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSH and server access* | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Audit log of database activity* | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Paid |
| AI tools query databases over MCP* | ✓ | ✓ Paid | ~ | ? | ? | ✓ |
| A person approves a risky query* | ✓ | Enterprise | ~ | Enterprise | ~ | Enterprise |
| Data masking* | ✓ | Enterprise | ? | ✓ | ✓ | Enterprise |
| Nothing to deploy in your network* | ✓ | — | — | — | — | ? |
| Self-hosted option | — | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓ |
| Free tier* | — | — | ~ | ~ | ? | ~ |
| SOC 2 report | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Starting paid price | €29/user/mo | Contact sales | Contact sales | Contact sales | Contact sales | $20/user/mo |
✓ available · ✓ Paid = not on the free tier · Sales = Enterprise plan, through sales · ~ partial · ? not documented by the vendor · — not available
- SSH and server access: SaturnSQL can reach a database through an SSH tunnel, but it gives nobody a shell. hoop.dev lists SSH and RDP; Formal lists SSH hosts and Kubernetes.
- Audit log of database activity: Bytebase keeps the audit log for 7 days on Pro and without limit on Enterprise.
- AI tools query databases over MCP: StrongDM: the MCP Broker in its desktop client, part of the Secure AI add-on. Teleport documents MCP database access for PostgreSQL. hoop.dev and Formal govern agents and MCP servers, but the pages we checked describe no database MCP server.
- A person approves a risky query: StrongDM policies can require an approval for an action on the Enterprise plan. Teleport and Formal approve access requests, a role or resource for a time, rather than one query.
- Data masking: SaturnSQL masks columns per person: redacted, starred, last characters kept or a salted hash that still joins. StrongDM: a @redact policy annotation on the Enterprise plan.
- Nothing to deploy in your network: SaturnSQL connects to the database from a static IP or through an SSH bastion. A proxy inside your network is also the stronger boundary, which is why the infrastructure tools use one.
- Free tier: SaturnSQL has a free plan, but Guard’s controls are not on it. Teleport Community Edition: under 100 employees and US$10M revenue. hoop.dev: 1 sidecar and 1 rule of each kind. Bytebase Community: up to 20 users and 10 instances.
Prices checked 14 November 2026 against each vendor’s own pricing page: SaturnSQL Guard · StrongDM · Teleport · hoop.dev · Formal · Bytebase.
Why people look for StrongDM alternatives
StrongDM is a capable product. One client gives engineers databases, servers, Kubernetes and clouds, every query is logged, and its MCP Broker now lets Claude and ChatGPT use the same access. The change is ownership: Delinea completed its acquisition of StrongDM in March 2026, strongdm.com now redirects to Delinea, and the pricing page goes to Delinea’s platform bundles, which have a quote form and no prices. Teams renewing, or evaluating for the first time, are checking what else is out there.
The answer depends on how much of StrongDM you use. If engineers reach servers and clusters through it every day, you want another infrastructure access platform, and Teleport is the closest match. If most of your StrongDM traffic is people, and now their AI tools, querying databases, a database-level tool may do the job with less to deploy.
If what you govern is databases and AI tools
SaturnSQL Guard decides, per database, whether Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can reach it and how far they may go, holds risky queries until a person approves the exact SQL, limits tables, columns and rows per person, and logs every query under a name. It runs in the browser with no proxy in your network. It does not do SSH or Kubernetes, so check that list first.
The 5 best StrongDM alternatives
Teleport
Best for: The closest like-for-like StrongDM replacementTeleport is the closest replacement for StrongDM as a whole, covering SSH servers, Kubernetes, databases, internal apps and Windows desktops with short-lived certificates and audit logs, and its Community Edition is free for companies with fewer than 100 employees and under US$10M in annual revenue.
Strong
- + SSH, Kubernetes, databases, applications and Windows desktops in every edition
- + Database sessions logged query by query, with PostgreSQL sessions playable
- + MCP server enrollment, and PostgreSQL access from Claude Desktop or Cursor
- + Self-hosted, or Teleport Cloud on Enterprise
Limits
- − Enterprise pricing is not published; it depends on active users and protected resources
- − Community Edition has GitHub-only SSO, CLI-only role requests and no Oracle
- − Resources are enrolled through Teleport services you deploy next to them
Pricing: Community Edition is free for companies with fewer than 100 employees and under US$10M annual revenue, self-hosted. Enterprise, self-hosted or cloud, is priced on active users and protected resources, with no list price published. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
SaturnSQL Guard
Best for: Teams whose StrongDM use is mostly databases and AI toolsSaturnSQL Guard is not an infrastructure access platform and will not replace StrongDM for SSH, RDP or Kubernetes, but if what you mainly govern is who, and which AI tool, can query which database, it does that without an infrastructure project, on the Pro plan at a published €29 per user per month.
Strong
- + AI tool access per database: Off, Shared queries only, Read-only or Same as the user
- + Risky AI requests wait for a person, who approves the exact SQL to run once
- + Hide or mask columns, hide tables and filter rows per person
- + Audit log of every query from the editor, schedules, API keys and AI tools, including refused ones
- + Includes Starter: web SQL editor, shared queries, schedules and a hosted MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor
Limits
- − Databases only: no SSH, RDP, Kubernetes or cloud console access
- − Access rules check the SQL on PostgreSQL, Redshift, MySQL, SQL Server and BigQuery; a restricted database user stays the real boundary
- − No SAML or SCIM on Guard, no self-hosting and no SOC 2 report
Pricing: Guard comes with the Pro plan, €29 per user per month with everything in Starter. Pro is coming soon, with a waitlist. Starter, without the governance features, is €19 per user per month. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
hoop.dev
Best for: An open source gateway with masking and guardrailshoop.dev runs as a sidecar next to each database or server and checks every action as it runs, masking sensitive values, refusing destructive statements and scoring agent actions for risk, and its open source edition is MIT-licensed and free with limits.
Strong
- + PostgreSQL, MySQL, SSH and RDP, plus HTTP and gRPC APIs
- + Masks sensitive values in results before the client sees them
- + Guardrails written as OPA policies refuse destructive statements with your reason
- + MIT open source, with a self-hosted or hosted control plane
Limits
- − The free edition allows 1 sidecar, 1 guardrail, 1 masking rule and 1 AI Analyzer rule
- − Approval workflows, the control plane and the full AI Analyzer are in the licensed Enterprise tier
- − Enterprise has no published price
Pricing: Open Source is free, MIT-licensed and self-hosted, with 1 sidecar, 1 guardrail, 1 masking rule and 1 AI Analyzer rule. Enterprise requires a license and has no published price. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
Formal
Best for: Security teams with one policy layer for engineers and AI agentsFormal puts proxies in front of databases, Kubernetes, SSH hosts, APIs and MCP servers, masking PII per identity and enforcing Rego policies on each request, which suits security teams that want one policy layer for engineers and AI agents, though its prices are not published.
Strong
- + Connector reverse proxy in your VPC, or Endpoint on laptops and agent sandboxes
- + Masks PII in query results and LLM prompts per identity
- + MCP gateway with a catalog of approved servers and tools, and discovery of unapproved ones
- + Policies in Rego, managed with Terraform, Pulumi or a Kubernetes operator
Limits
- − No published pricing; it starts with a demo
- − The control plane is hosted by Formal, and its architecture docs describe no self-hosted option
- − A proxy to deploy and run in your own infrastructure
Pricing: Not published. Formal’s site offers a demo. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
Bytebase
Best for: A database-only control plane with a published priceBytebase is the closest database-only option, a web SQL editor with query history and an MCP server on every plan, free for up to 20 users and $20 per user per month on Pro, though data masking, approval workflows and just-in-time access are Enterprise features.
Strong
- + Web SQL editor, query history and saved scripts on every plan
- + Self-hosted, including air-gapped, or cloud
- + MCP server on every plan, including the free one
- + Published Pro price, and SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA compliance
Limits
- − Masking, approval workflows and just-in-time access are Enterprise only
- − Pro keeps the audit log for 7 days and covers 10 database instances
- − Databases only, so no servers or Kubernetes
Pricing: Community is free for up to 20 users and 10 database instances. Pro is $20 per user per month with 10 instances and a 7-day audit log. Enterprise, with masking, approvals and just-in-time access, is priced through sales and billed yearly. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
Where StrongDM itself stands
StrongDM
Best for: One access layer for databases, servers, Kubernetes and cloudsStrongDM is a mature access platform for databases, servers, Kubernetes clusters, clouds and web applications, with query logs, Cedar policies and an MCP broker for AI agents, but since Delinea completed its acquisition in March 2026, strongdm.com redirects to Delinea and no StrongDM price is published.
Strong
- + Databases, SSH, RDP, Kubernetes, clouds and web apps behind one client
- + Query logs for every resource, plus session replay for SSH, RDP and Kubernetes
- + MCP Broker lets Claude Desktop, Claude Code and ChatGPT Desktop use your StrongDM access without seeing credentials
- + Cedar policies can forbid database actions, cap result rows or require an approval
Limits
- − No published price since the Delinea acquisition
- − Gateways, relays or proxy clusters run in your infrastructure, and each person installs the StrongDM client
- − Policies are on the Enterprise plan, and the MCP Broker is part of the Secure AI add-on
Pricing: Not published. strongdm.com/pricing now redirects to Delinea’s platform bundles page, which has a quote form and no prices. pricing page, checked 14 November 2026.
StrongDM is not the only independent data access vendor to be bought. Satori and Cyral are now part of larger security suites too:
| Tool | What happened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| StrongDM | Delinea completed its acquisition of StrongDM; strongdm.com now redirects to Delinea, with no StrongDM price published source | Acquired March 2026 |
| Satori | Commvault closed its acquisition of Satori, now sold as Commvault Data Access Manager source | Acquired August 2025 |
| Cyral | Varonis acquired Cyral to add database activity monitoring to its platform; cyral.com redirects to Varonis source | Acquired March 2025 |
When StrongDM is more than the job needs
A common pattern: a team adopted StrongDM so analysts and engineers could query production databases without anyone holding the password. Then people connected Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor to the same databases, and the question became what an AI tool may do there, not who may open a shell.
That is the case SaturnSQL Guard is built for. Each connection has an AI tool access mode: Off, Shared queries only, Read-only or Same as the user. Risky requests from an AI tool (changes by default, or exports or every request if you choose) wait for the person or an admin to approve the exact SQL, which then runs once. Access groups hide tables and columns and filter rows per person, and the rules follow that person into every AI tool they connect. The audit log records every query, from the editor, schedules, API keys and AI tools, including the ones a rule refused. The details are on database governance for MCP and AI and database access management.
And if you need more than databases, none of that applies. Guard has no SSH, RDP or Kubernetes access, no self-hosting and no SOC 2 report, and it only sees queries that go through SaturnSQL. Its access rules check the SQL before it runs, so a restricted database user stays the real boundary. If those matter, choose Teleport, Formal or hoop.dev above.
How we judged
We ranked on how much of what StrongDM is used for each tool covers: access to databases and infrastructure without shared credentials, an audit trail, approvals, and control over AI agents. We also counted what you have to deploy and whether a price is published, because both decide how quickly a team can switch. Every price, plan limit and feature was checked against the vendor’s own pricing page or docs on 14 November 2026 and is linked from its entry above. Where a vendor does not publish a price or document a feature, we say so rather than guess. Where a competitor beats SaturnSQL, it is in our Limits list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to StrongDM?
It depends on what you use StrongDM for. To replace it as a whole, for SSH servers, Kubernetes, databases and desktops, Teleport is the closest match, and its Community Edition is free for companies with fewer than 100 employees and under US$10M in revenue. If you mainly govern database access for people and their AI tools, SaturnSQL Guard does that in the browser, on the Pro plan at €29 per user per month. For an open source gateway with masking, look at hoop.dev; for a database-only tool with a published price, Bytebase.
Is StrongDM still available after the Delinea acquisition?
Yes. Delinea completed its acquisition of StrongDM on March 5, 2026, and its StrongDM page says existing deployments keep working as before. What changed for buyers is that strongdm.com now redirects to Delinea, and the pricing page goes to Delinea’s platform bundles, which have a quote form and no prices.
How much does StrongDM cost?
StrongDM does not publish a price. Its pricing page now redirects to Delinea’s platform bundles page, which asks you to request a quote. Within StrongDM, policies are on the Enterprise plan and the MCP Broker for AI agents is part of the Secure AI add-on, both through sales.
Is there an open source StrongDM alternative?
Yes, two. hoop.dev is MIT-licensed and free to self-host, limited to 1 sidecar and 1 rule of each kind until you buy a license. Teleport’s code is AGPL-3.0 on GitHub, and its Community Edition binaries are free for companies with fewer than 100 employees and under US$10M in annual revenue. Bytebase also has a free Community plan for up to 20 users, for databases only.
Which StrongDM alternative is best for AI agents?
Most of them now pitch AI agent control, in different ways. Formal and hoop.dev inspect agent traffic through a proxy or sidecar and can mask values. Teleport enrolls MCP servers and lets Claude Desktop or Cursor reach PostgreSQL. SaturnSQL Guard works at the database connection: AI tools are off, limited to the team’s shared queries, read-only or the person’s own rights, risky requests wait for a person to approve the exact SQL, and every query is logged under the person’s name.
Is SaturnSQL Guard a StrongDM alternative?
Only for databases, and we would rather say so. Guard has no SSH, RDP, Kubernetes or cloud console access, no self-hosting and no SOC 2 report. If your team mostly used StrongDM so people, and now Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, could query databases without holding passwords, Guard covers that: per-person access rules, approvals and an audit log of every query, on the Pro plan at €29 per user per month with the web SQL editor included.
Does SaturnSQL Guard need a proxy or agent in my network?
No. SaturnSQL connects to your database from a static IP or through an SSH bastion, and AI tools reach it through the hosted MCP server after each person signs in. The trade-off is that Guard only sees queries that go through SaturnSQL, and its access rules check the SQL rather than replace database permissions, so pair them with a restricted database user. Guard can write that setup SQL for PostgreSQL and MySQL.
Decide what AI tools can do in your databases, from €29 per user per month.
