Best AI Gateway for Secure Data Routing in 2026

Every request that passes through an AI gateway carries something worth protecting: a customer's question, a snippet of internal code, a record pulled from a database to ground a RAG pipeline. Where that data goes, whether it touches the public internet, whether it gets logged somewhere by default, and who holds the encryption keys are architecture decisions, not afterthoughts you configure later. Get them wrong and you've built a data exfiltration path into your own AI infrastructure.

We compared three gateways specifically on secure data routing: TrueFoundry, AWS Bedrock, and Cloudflare AI Gateway. Each takes a different approach, native AWS infrastructure security, edge-network zero trust, and VPC-first deployment, and each is worth understanding on its own terms before picking one for a production workload that handles sensitive data.

What "secure data routing" actually requires from an AI gateway

• Private network paths, not just encrypted public ones. Traffic that never touches the public internet is a materially different security posture than traffic that's merely encrypted while crossing it.
• Encryption with customer control over keys. Encryption at rest and in transit is table stakes; the ability to use your own keys rather than only the vendor's is what regulated buyers actually ask for.
• Sane data retention defaults. Whether prompts and responses are stored by default, and how easy it is to turn that off, matters more than what's technically possible if enabled.
• PII and DLP scanning on the request path. Catching sensitive data before it reaches a model, or before a response reaches a user, rather than relying on the model provider to handle it.
• Consistency across every provider you route to. A security model that only applies cleanly to one cloud's native models is less useful once you're routing across multiple providers.

TrueFoundry: VPC-first routing with security consistent across every provider

TrueFoundry's AI gateway is built around the assumption that secure routing means the gateway itself lives inside your network, not just that traffic to it is encrypted. It deploys as a fully self-hosted control and compute plane inside your own VPC, on-prem, or air-gapped environment, with the compute plane using an outbound-only WebSocket connection to the control plane, so no inbound ports need to open in your firewall. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit, and the underlying managed infrastructure carries SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance.

On the data-inspection side, built-in PII detection uses contextual understanding rather than simple pattern matching, and can automatically redact sensitive identifiers in mutate mode so a request continues with the sensitive data stripped rather than failing outright. For regulated workloads that need more, integrations with TrojAI (credit card blocking), Pillar Security (SSN and prompt-injection blocking), and Verra (managed governance for regulated industries) plug into the same gateway architecture. Because routing, guardrails, and encryption apply the same way regardless of which of the 1,000+ supported LLMs a request is headed to, the security posture doesn't change depending on which provider you're routing to that day.

• Deployment: VPC, on-prem, air-gapped, or hybrid, with no inbound ports required.
• Encryption: Data encrypted at rest and in transit across the managed infrastructure.
• PII/DLP guardrails: Built-in contextual PII detection plus TrojAI, Pillar Security, and Verra integrations.
• Provider-agnostic security: The same routing and guardrail policies apply across 1,000+ LLMs, not just one cloud's native models.
• Compliance: SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA on the managed infrastructure.

Best for: teams routing to multiple model providers who need the gateway itself running inside their own network, with a consistent security and guardrail policy regardless of which provider handles a given request.

Cloudflare AI Gateway

Cloudflare's approach routes AI traffic through the same zero-trust architecture it applies to workforce and machine-to-machine traffic generally. AI Gateway includes DLP scanning on prompts and responses through Cloudflare's Firewall, letting teams select which DLP profiles to block or flag, and Log Explorer lets security analysts trace usage spikes, search for blocked attempts to capture personal data, or reconstruct a specific user's interactions with an unsanctioned model. The Data Localization Suite can restrict where data is stored to a specific geographic region, and Cloudflare One's secure web gateway can block unauthorized AI applications entirely at the network level.

This is a strong, genuinely edge-native security model, and the core caching, rate limiting, and DLP features are free with a Cloudflare account. The scope is different from a VPC-deployed gateway, though: security here is enforced at Cloudflare's network edge rather than inside your own private network, which is the right fit for some architectures and a meaningful distinction for others.

• DLP scanning: Prompt and response scanning through Cloudflare's Firewall with configurable profiles.
• Zero trust architecture: The same model applied to workforce and machine-to-machine AI traffic.
• Data localization: Geographic restriction of data storage through the Data Localization Suite.
• Cost: Core security and caching features are free with a Cloudflare account.

Best for: teams already invested in Cloudflare's zero-trust ecosystem who want DLP and data localization enforced at the network edge without standing up separate infrastructure.

AWS Bedrock

Bedrock's security model is a genuine strength if your models and infrastructure already live in AWS. Traffic can stay off the public internet entirely through AWS PrivateLink and VPC endpoints, encryption at rest runs through AWS KMS with support for customer-managed keys when you need control over key policies and rotation, and by default Bedrock does not persist prompts or model responses, inference data is processed transiently unless you explicitly enable model invocation logging. Amazon states it never shares your data with model providers or uses it to train foundation models, and configurable Guardrails filter sensitive or harmful content on the request path.

The tradeoff is scope. This security model is deepest for Bedrock's own hosted models and AWS-native infrastructure; routing to models outside AWS, or maintaining the same private-network guarantees across a multi-cloud setup, requires additional architecture on top of what Bedrock provides natively.

• Private routing: AWS PrivateLink and VPC endpoints keep traffic off the public internet.
• Encryption: KMS-based encryption at rest, with customer-managed key support.
• Data retention: No persistence of prompts or responses by default, transient processing unless logging is explicitly enabled.
• Guardrails: Configurable content filtering built into the platform.

Best for: teams already running their AI workloads inside AWS who want deep, native security controls for Bedrock-hosted models specifically.

Comparison table

FeatureTrueFoundryAWS BedrockCloudflare AI GatewayPrivate network routingYes, VPC/on-prem, no inbound portsYes, via PrivateLink and VPC endpointsZero-trust edge networkEncryption at restYesYes, KMS with customer-managed keysInherits Cloudflare's platform encryptionDefault data retentionConfigurable, deployed inside your environmentNo persistence by default unless logging enabledLogging configurable via DLP profilesPII/DLP scanningBuilt-in contextual PII detection plus guardrail integrationsConfigurable GuardrailsDLP scanning via FirewallMulti-provider consistencySame policy across 1,000+ LLMsDeepest for Bedrock-native modelsConsistent across providers routed through CloudflareComplianceSOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAAInherits AWS compliance programsInherits Cloudflare's compliance programCostContact for enterprise pricingPay-as-you-go AWS pricingFree for core DLP and routing features

How to choose

Choose TrueFoundry if: you route to multiple model providers and need the gateway itself deployed inside your own VPC or on-prem environment, with one consistent security and PII policy regardless of provider.

Choose AWS Bedrock if: your models and infrastructure already live in AWS and you want deep, native PrivateLink, KMS, and Guardrails support for Bedrock-hosted models specifically.

Choose Cloudflare AI Gateway if: you're already using Cloudflare's zero-trust stack and want DLP scanning and data localization enforced at the network edge for free.

FAQ

Q: What's the best AI gateway for secure data routing?A: It depends on where your infrastructure already lives. TrueFoundry fits teams that need the gateway deployed inside their own VPC or on-prem environment with consistent security across every model provider. AWS Bedrock fits teams already running natively on AWS. Cloudflare AI Gateway fits teams already using Cloudflare's zero-trust ecosystem.

Q: Does AWS Bedrock store my prompts and responses by default?A: No. By default, Bedrock does not persist prompts or model responses; inference data is processed transiently unless you explicitly enable model invocation logging.

Q: Can TrueFoundry's AI gateway run entirely inside my own network?A: Yes. It deploys in your VPC, on-prem, air-gapped, or hybrid, with the compute plane using an outbound-only connection to the control plane, so no inbound ports need to open in your firewall.

Q: Is Cloudflare AI Gateway's DLP scanning free?A: Yes, the core DLP scanning, caching, and rate limiting features are included with a Cloudflare account, with higher log volumes requiring a paid Workers plan.

Q: Does TrueFoundry support HIPAA and GDPR for secure routing of sensitive data?A: Yes. The managed infrastructure carries SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance, and the platform can deploy fully inside your own VPC or on-prem environment so sensitive data never has to leave your domain.

Related reading

• What is an LLM Gateway?: the architectural primer behind routing, guardrails, and encryption at the gateway layer
• LLM Deployment in Regulated Industries: The HIPAA, SOC2 & GDPR Playbook for 2026: the compliance side of secure data handling for AI workloads
• Best AI Gateway for Enterprise Teams in 2026: Full Comparison: the broader enterprise evaluation beyond data routing security specifically
• Cloudflare AI Gateway Pricing Explained For 2026: a deeper look at Cloudflare's pricing and feature tiers

Conclusion

AWS Bedrock offers deep, native security for teams already running on AWS, and Cloudflare AI Gateway brings genuinely strong zero-trust DLP and data localization to the edge, both for free. TrueFoundry's case for secure data routing comes down to running the gateway itself inside your own VPC or on-prem environment, with one consistent encryption, PII, and compliance posture that applies the same way whether a request is headed to a model on AWS, Azure, GCP, or anywhere else. If secure routing across multiple providers is the actual problem you're solving, not just security for one cloud's native models, book a demo to see how the gateway handles it in your own environment.

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