# OpenAI Moderation API vs Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API

> OpenAI Moderation API scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API's 62.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API leads on reliability. Both do guard moderation. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent…

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- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
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- Updated: 2026-10-09

OpenAI Moderation API scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API's 62.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API leads on reliability. Both do guard moderation.

- OpenAI Moderation API: grade BB, 71.3/100, rank #126 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-moderation.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-moderation.json
- Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API: grade B, 62.8/100, rank #379 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/prisma-airs.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/prisma-airs.json

## Which one, for what

### OpenAI Moderation API (BB)

Good for: A free harm-category filter for an agent already on OpenAI.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 92 against 68
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 65
- Security & auth, 92 against 85
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 0
- Maintenance & community, 47 against 31
- Transparency & trust, 87 against 71

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: No prompt-injection, jailbreak or PII detection

### Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API (B)

Good for: A company already buying Palo Alto Networks through Strata Cloud Manager that wants prompt, response and MCP tool scanning with DLP and URL filtering from the same vendor.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 87 against 65

Watch for: No public price, free tier or trial. Capacity is bought as Software NGFW credits, in steps of 1 billion tokens a month, through sales


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenAI Moderation API | Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 87 | Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API +22 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 68 | OpenAI Moderation API +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 65 | OpenAI Moderation API +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 92 | 85 | OpenAI Moderation API +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 0 | OpenAI Moderation API +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 31 | OpenAI Moderation API +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 71 | OpenAI Moderation API +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **71.3 · BB** | **62.8 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenAI Moderation API | Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | OpenAI | Palo Alto Networks, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.openai.com/v1/moderations` | `https://service.api.aisecurity.paloaltonetworks.com/v1/scan/sync/request` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service under the Palo Alto Networks end user licence agreement. The Python SDK is under the PolyForm Internal Use licence 1.0.0, which is not an OSI licence |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-06-04 | 2026-05-15 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read |  |
| Popularity | 31k stars | 10 stars, 999 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**OpenAI Moderation API.** Free, on any OpenAI project key. No prompt-injection, jailbreak or PII detection.

**Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API.** A public OpenAPI document, ten detection types in one call, tool-call scanning, a remote MCP server, rotating API keys and OAuth roles suit teams already on Strata Cloud Manager. Access needs Software NGFW credits bought through sales, with no public price, trial or self-serve signup, and payloads flagged malicious are kept for up to 10 years.

## Before you call either

### OpenAI Moderation API

1. Read category_scores rather than flagged alone. The default thresholds are OpenAI's
2. Pin omni-moderation-2024-09-26 if the scores feed a decision you audit. The latest alias will move
3. Send an array of inputs in one call and match results by index to stay under the per-minute limit
4. Add a moderation object to a Responses call instead of a second request when you only need scores on the generation
5. Pair it with a separate injection detector. A clean result says nothing about a hidden instruction in a tool result

### Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API

1. Send `x-pan-token` and an `ai_profile` with `profile_name` or `profile_id` on every scan. Both come from Strata Cloud Manager, and a key works only in its own region
2. Put earlier turns first in `contents`. Only the last element is scanned, and the rest is context
3. Read `action` (allow or block) and `category`, then check `timeout` and `error`, because a detector that failed is reported in `errors` with a 200
4. Keep synchronous requests under 2 MB and asynchronous ones under 5 MB and 25 items, and fetch at most 5 scan or report IDs a call, 10 calls a minute
5. For MCP, connect to `/mcp` on the regional host with `x-pan-token` and `x-pan-profile` headers, and call `pan_inline_scan` yourself before and after generation

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenAI Moderation API or Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API?

OpenAI Moderation API scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API's 62.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API leads on reliability.

### Do OpenAI Moderation API and Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API need an API key?

OpenAI Moderation API needs an API key. Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call OpenAI Moderation API and Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API without installing anything?

Yes. OpenAI Moderation API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.openai.com/v1/moderations and Prisma AIRS AI Runtime Security API at https://service.api.aisecurity.paloaltonetworks.com/v1/scan/sync/request.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-moderation-vs-prisma-airs.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-moderation-vs-prisma-airs.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "openai-moderation", "b": "prisma-airs"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare openai-moderation prisma-airs`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-moderation.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/prisma-airs.json

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