Bytesafe vs. JFrog Curation
Bytesafe works in front of any registry, is priced per endpoint with no user or usage limits, and is configured in plain JSON files you can manage in Git.
Published by Bytesafe. Based on JFrog Curation's public documentation as of 2026.
Curation is the obvious first option if you run Artifactory. The reasons teams look beyond it: it requires a full JFrog Platform subscription, pricing scales with users and usage, and the configuration model doesn't always match teams that need per-project flexibility.
A different approach to Dependency Firewall pricing and deployment
- The firewall is the product.
- Bytesafe is a dependency firewall. There is no larger platform to buy into, no scanner to license separately, no monitoring toolchain bundled in. One product, one job.
- Per endpoint. No user or usage limits.
- One price per firewall endpoint, regardless of how many developers, CI jobs, or package requests pass through it. No seat counts, no bandwidth tiers, no surprises at renewal.
- Works with any registry.
- Proxy npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, Go, and containers from any source: Artifactory, Nexus, GitHub Packages, Azure Artifacts, or public registries. One firewall across your whole stack, whatever it is made of.
- Configuration you can reason about.
- Policies are small JSON files managed in Git. No platform expertise required, no console-only configuration. Clone a firewall config for a new team in minutes.
What JFrog Curation is
JFrog Curation gates open source package consumption at the Artifactory proxy layer. It evaluates each package request against your policies before allowing it into your artifact store, using JFrog Xray for vulnerability intelligence and JFrog Advanced Security for malware detection.
It covers the main policy categories: CVE severity, malware, license type, and operational risk signals like package age. If your organization runs Artifactory and the JFrog Platform, Curation fits into that existing stack without a separate integration.
The constraint is architectural. Curation is not a standalone product. It requires an active JFrog Platform subscription. Organizations running Nexus, GitHub Packages, GitLab, or Azure Artifacts cannot use it for those registries. The purchasing decision is also tied to the broader JFrog commercial relationship rather than scoped to the firewall capability alone.
Capability comparison
Based on public documentation. Use the questions at the bottom to verify specifics with each vendor.
| Capability | Bytesafe | JFrog Curation |
|---|---|---|
| Works without Artifactory | ✓ | ✗ |
| Works in front of Artifactory | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works in front of Nexus, GitHub Packages, Azure Artifacts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Malware blocking at install time | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vulnerability blocking (CVSS and EPSS thresholds)Curation via JFrog Xray | ✓ | ✓ |
| Safety delay for newly published packagesCuration blocks by minimum age threshold with compliant version substitution; Bytesafe uses a configurable hold window | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dependency confusion protectionRequires Artifactory routing config | ✓ | ~ |
| License enforcement at install time | ✓ | ✓ |
| Independent firewall per team or projectCuration policies are per Artifactory repository | ✓ | ~ |
| Audit log and SIEM export | ✓ | ✓ |
| GitOps / API-driven policy management | ✓ | ✓ |
| npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, Go, Containers | ✓ | ✓ |
| EU data residency as defaultJFrog Cloud supports EU region selection | ✓ | ~ |
| Pricing without user or usage limitsJFrog Platform pricing includes user tiers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Standalone subscriptionCuration is part of JFrog Platform | ✓ | ✗ |
✓ native · ~partial or with configuration · ✗not a core capability · Based on public documentation.
Key differences
No registry lock-in
Bytesafe proxies any upstream source from a single endpoint: npm, PyPI, Maven Central, NuGet Gallery, Go module proxies, OCI registries, and enterprise platforms including Artifactory, Nexus, GitHub Packages, and Azure Artifacts. Consistent policy across your full stack, regardless of what sits upstream.
JFrog Curation: JFrog Curation is tied to Artifactory. It covers registries that Artifactory proxies, but Artifactory must be the intermediary. Organizations using other registry platforms cannot use Curation for those registries.
Pricing without user or usage limits
Bytesafe charges per firewall endpoint. Team size, number of CI jobs, package request volume, and bandwidth do not affect cost. A growing team or a spike in CI traffic has no pricing impact.
JFrog Curation: JFrog Curation is part of the JFrog Platform subscription, which includes Artifactory and is most often priced with user tiers and storage components.
Independent firewall per team or project
Create a lightweight firewall endpoint per team, environment, or project. Each carries its own policy, managed as a small JSON file in Git. Strict controls on production CI, permissive policy in dev, without sharing config or requiring platform-level access.
JFrog Curation: Curation policies in JFrog are scoped to Artifactory repositories. Per-team granularity most often requires separate Artifactory repository configuration.
See Bytesafe in practice
A walkthrough of setup, firewall rule configuration, and a blocked package in a real CI run.
When Bytesafe makes sense
- Your registry stack includes Artifactory, Nexus, GitHub Packages, Azure Artifacts, or public registries — or a mix of several. Bytesafe works in front of all of them.
- Pricing without user counts or usage limits matters. One endpoint price regardless of team size or traffic.
- You want lightweight, independent firewall configs per team or environment, managed in Git.
- EU data residency by default is a requirement, not a configuration option.
- You want a standalone Dependency Firewall without a full platform subscription.
See it in your environment
No agent installs. No workflow changes. Works with your existing registries.