Helio Guard vs Harmonic Security
Harmonic is built for security teams in larger companies: small language models judge what is sensitive, in many browsers. Its published price starts at 200 users. Helio Guard is built for small businesses and their IT providers, from 5 people, and it knows each business's own clients.
Most comparisons are written by one of the two companies, and that company wins. This one is too. So every claim about the other product links to its own pages, with the date we checked, and we list where Helio Guard falls short. Checked 6 October 2026.
Side by side
| What | Helio Guard | Harmonic Security |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Small businesses directly, and IT providers for their clients | Security and IT teams 1 |
| Price | £1 a person a month, from 5 people. 14-day free trial, no card. Partner rates for IT providers. | Explore plan: $163 a user a year, 200-user minimum, 12 to 36 months, on AWS Marketplace 2. No figure on its own pricing page 3 |
| Where it runs | Windows PCs, in Chrome and Edge | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and other browsers 1 |
| How it decides | Fixed rules on the PC: checksums for card and bank numbers, your confidential words and your client list | Small language models that judge intent and sensitive data, in about 200 ms 1 |
| What it does with sensitive data | Takes it out, warns, stops it, or just records. Optionally, staff can send it anyway after picking a reason | Warn, ask for a business reason, block, or steer to an approved tool 1 |
| Your own clients' names | Your client list, scrambled before it is saved. A client's name becomes "Client A" for the AI and comes back when the answer is copied | We found nothing about matching a business's own client list in its published material |
| Setting up | A setup file on each PC, or one signed package through Helios, Intune, Group Policy or any RMM | MDM tools such as Intune, Kandji or Jamf 1 |
Where Harmonic Security is the better pick
Harmonic runs in more browsers, including Firefox and Safari, and judges sensitive data with language models rather than fixed rules 1. If you are a security team of a larger company, that is what it is built for. Helio Guard is priced for five people, not two hundred, and it takes the sensitive part out so the question still goes.
What Helio Guard does differently
- Priced for a small business. £1 a person a month, from 5 people. Harmonic's published price starts at 200 users, $32,600 a year 2.
- It knows your clients. Client names become stand-ins such as "Client A" for the AI, and come back when the answer is copied.
- Takes it out, does not just block. A card number becomes a label and the message still goes.
- Files read on the PC. Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF and text files are read before they upload.
Where Helio Guard falls short
- Windows only for now. No Mac.
- Chrome and Edge only. Not Firefox, Brave or Safari.
- It does not yet switch off the AI built into browsers, such as Gemini in Chrome.
- It does not yet scan Microsoft 365 for AI apps that staff have given access to.
- It checks with fixed rules, not a language model. It is precise on the things it knows and does not guess.
- Scanned PDFs with no text in them have nothing to read, so they go through.
- It is new. It launched in 2026 and is in early access.
Common questions
How much does Harmonic Security cost?
Its own pricing page has no figures. On AWS Marketplace, the Explore plan is $163 a user a year, with a 200-user minimum and a 12, 24 or 36 month contract.
Is Harmonic suitable for a business of 20 people?
Its published price has a 200-user minimum. Helio Guard starts at 5 people, at £1 a person a month.
Sources
- Harmonic: browser-based GenAI security. Checked 6 October 2026.
- AWS Marketplace: Harmonic Security, Explore. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Harmonic pricing. Checked 6 October 2026.