Maskbreak vs Arkose Labs
Arkose Labs Bot Manager scores every session and shows a MatchKey challenge only to traffic it judges risky; low-risk visitors never see one. Maskbreak never shows a challenge. Your server gets allow, review or block with the reasons, and your app decides what happens on review.
Maskbreak vs Arkose Labs — Side by Side
| Feature | Maskbreak | Arkose Labs |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge shown to users | None. Your app decides what review means | A MatchKey challenge for sessions it scores as risky; low-risk sessions see none |
| What your server gets back | allow / review / block, risk_score 0–100, reason codes | risk_band (LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH), risk_category, 0–100 scores, solved / suppressed |
| Response Latency | Each response reports evaluated_in_ms; measured figures on /status | Not compared here; a challenged user adds solve time |
| Proxy, VPN and Tor | ✓ proxy_detected and tor_exit_node block; vpn_detected goes to review; service named when known | ✓ is_proxy, is_vpn, is_tor and proxy_type fields |
| Antidetect (fake) browser | ✓ Named reason: antidetect_browser | Not a named field in the public Verify API docs |
| Automation and AI agents | automation_detected; does not name the agent or model | ✓ Agent Trust Manager classifies AI agents |
| Interactive challenge | ✗ None built in | ✓ MatchKey puzzles |
| Server-side API protection | Bare-IP lookup only (Tor exits, cloud ranges) | ✓ Arkose Edge |
| Credential stuffing warranty | ✗ None | ✓ Up to $1M of incident response costs |
| Free plan (no credit card) | ✓ 10,000 visitor checks a month, no card | ✗ None published |
| Self-Serve Signup | ✓ Yes | ✗ Book a demo |
| Pricing Transparency | ✓ Public: Free plan, paid from €29/month | ✗ Not published |
What is Arkose Labs?
Arkose Labs sells Arkose Titan, a platform of seven products: Bot Manager, Agent Trust Manager, Device ID, Scraping Protection, Arkose Edge (server-side API protection), Email Intelligence and Phishing Protection. Bot Manager is the one this page compares. It weighs what Arkose calls 225+ risk signals per session, lets low-risk sessions through without a challenge (its docs call that “suppressed”, now transparent mode) and serves a MatchKey puzzle to the rest. Customers named on its site include Microsoft, Roblox, Meta, Adobe, Dropbox and Expedia.
- A vendor-run challenge for the risky share of traffic, so a bot that slips past detection still has to solve something
- MatchKey puzzles (spatial reasoning, counting, orientation, object detection, abstract patterns) are designed to make solving at scale uneconomic, and Arkose keeps changing them
- A wider product line: AI agent classification, Arkose Edge for server-side APIs, Device ID, email risk signals
- A credential stuffing warranty covering incident response costs up to $1M
- The Verify API returns IP fields too: is_proxy, is_vpn, is_tor, proxy_type
- A real user scored as risky gets a puzzle; we have not found published figures for how many abandon
- No public prices and no free tier: the site’s calls to action are “Book a Demo” and “Talk to our Experts”
- No way to try it on your own traffic without a sales conversation
- No named fake-browser (antidetect) field in the public Verify API docs
What Maskbreak returns instead of a puzzle
A headless script running on a cloud server fills in your signup form. Arkose would score the session and, if it judged it risky, put a MatchKey puzzle in front of it. Maskbreak shows nothing to the visitor; your server gets this back and blocks the signup:
// example response (excerpt)
{
"decision": "block",
"risk_score": 70,
"reasons": ["datacenter_asn", "automation_detected"],
"network": { "vpn": false, "proxy": false, "datacenter": true,
"anonymous": false, "tor": false, "residential": false, "service": null },
"device": { "automation": true, "antidetect": false, "emulator": false, "tampering_score": 0 }
}
A VPN on its own comes back as review with vpn_detected, never block. That review is where you add friction if you want it: an email code, a manual look, a limit on the first order, or a third-party challenge for that share alone. Start in watch mode (log the decision, always continue) and enforce once the log looks right; the quickstart has the code, and bot detection without a CAPTCHA covers the approach.
Free plan: 10,000 visitor checks a month, every signal included, no card. Paid plans from €29 a month (Starter, 50,000 checks) to €299 a month (Scale, 1,000,000); Enterprise from €990 a month. Prices exclude VAT.
No pricing page and no free tier. The site asks you to book a demo or talk to its experts; we have not found published contract figures.
When to use Arkose Labs, when to use Maskbreak
- Bots hit your login or signup hard and persistently, and you want the vendor to run the challenge and keep changing it
- You also need AI agent classification, server-side API protection or email risk signals from one vendor
- The $1M credential stuffing warranty matters to your risk team and a sales-led contract fits the budget
- You want no vendor challenge in front of your users and prefer to decide what a risky visit costs them
- You want named reasons to route on: vpn_detected goes to review; proxy_detected, antidetect_browser and automation_detected block by default
- You want to sign up and send a first visitor check today on the Free plan, without a sales call
- You want to start in watch mode and switch to enforce when the log looks right
Get started with Maskbreak — free
Free plan: 10,000 visitor checks a month. No credit card. No sales call. Network and browser checks in one call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arkose Labs show a challenge to every user?
No. Arkose Bot Manager assesses each session first. When it judges a session low risk it skips the challenge, which its docs call suppression (the newer name is transparent mode), and the user sees nothing. Sessions it scores as risky get a MatchKey challenge. Maskbreak has no challenge step at all: it returns allow, review or block with the reasons, and your app decides what a review costs the user.
What is Arkose MatchKey?
MatchKey is Arkose’s suite of challenge puzzles: the user matches a key image to the right answer by following the on-screen instruction. Arkose describes the puzzles as AI-resistant, built on spatial reasoning, counting, orientation, object detection and abstract patterns, and aims to make solving them at scale too expensive for attackers rather than impossible.
How much does Arkose Labs cost?
Arkose does not publish prices. Its site has no pricing page, and its calls to action are Book a Demo and Talk to our Experts (checked September 2026), so there is no figure to compare. Maskbreak publishes its prices: the Free plan includes 10,000 visitor checks a month with every signal included and no card, and paid plans run from €29 a month (Starter, 50,000 checks) to €299 a month (Scale, 1,000,000), excluding VAT. Enterprise starts at €990 a month for larger volumes; ask through the contact page with the volume you expect.
Can Maskbreak handle the same attacks as Arkose?
Not all of them. Each Maskbreak decision is one server-side call that names what it found (proxy, Tor, automation, fake browser, VPN), and /status publishes measured processing times. There is no puzzle to fall back on, so a bot that passes every check gets an allow, and there is no AI agent classification, server-side API product or warranty. If you want a hard challenge, run Maskbreak first and send only its review or block traffic to one.
When is Arkose Labs the better choice?
When bots hit your login or signup hard and persistently and you want the vendor to run the challenge and keep changing it. Arkose also sells things Maskbreak does not: AI agent classification (Agent Trust Manager), server-side API protection (Arkose Edge), email intelligence (Maskbreak only flags disposable email domains) and a credential stuffing warranty of up to $1M for incident response costs. Maskbreak fits when you want a self-serve verdict with reasons, a Free plan and published prices, and prefer to choose the friction yourself.