# cside vs Source Defense: which do AI models recommend for client-side protection, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Client-side protection. One of fourteen models named cside first on the direct prompt; one named Source Defense. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/client-side-protection/cside-vs-source-defense/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cside | 13% | #1 of 8 | 0% | 26 | 11 of 14 |
| Source Defense | 4% | #4 of 8 | 27% | 26 | 11 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- DeepSeek V4 Flash: cside first (first choices: Reflectiz, cside) (alternatives: Cloudflare's Client-Side Security)
- Kimi K2: source defense first (first choices: Source Defense, c/side) (alternatives: Cloudflare Page Shield, Feroot Security)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Akamai Client-Side Protection & Compliance) (alternatives: Jscrambler Webpage Integrity, cside)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Imperva Client-Side Protection) (alternatives: Akamai Client-Side Protection, Jscrambler Webpage Integrity, Source Defense)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security) (alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Imperva Client-Side Protection, Source Defense)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: F5 Distributed Cloud Client-Side Defense) (alternatives: Feroot Security Inspector, Imperva Client-Side Protection)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Cloudflare Client-Side Security) (alternatives: Reflectiz, Report URI, c/side)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Akamai Client-Side Protection & Compliance, Jscrambler Webpage Integrity)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Akamai Client-Side Protection & Compliance, Jscrambler Client-Side Protection and Compliance Platform)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: CrowdStrike Falcon) (alternatives: Akamai Client-Side Protection, Imperva Client-Side Protection, Jscrambler Webpage Integrity, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Jscrambler Webpage Integrity) (alternatives: Akamai Client-Side Protection & Compliance, Cloudflare Page Shield, Imperva Client-Side Protection)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Bitdefender GravityZone) (alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne Singularity)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Sophos MDR Complete) (alternatives: Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for Cloud)

## What the models said about cside

- "cside is cited in current round-ups as a platform that does server-side payload analysis + client-side Script Method and Scan Method with 100% real-user session coverage." (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)
- "cside (Highly ranked in comparisons): Server-side payload analysis + client-side runtime monitoring of 100% real sessions." (Grok 4.1 Fast, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "the best fit is usually cside, because it has a public starting price of $99/month and also offers a free tier" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Source Defense

- "solutions from vendors like JScrambler, Reflectiz, Source Defense, and Human Security ... often fail to block the majority of sophisticated e-skimming attacks" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Popular vendors include Human Security, SourceDefense, JScrambler, and Reflectiz. ... JS agents detect behavior after a script has already executed." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "you do not need to pay $15,000+ per year for enterprise-grade solutions (like Akamai, Jscrambler, or Source Defense)" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Choose In-Browser Runtime Agents (Source Defense / HUMAN) if you operate a high-volume checkout or login page and want *active prevention*" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend starting with c/side (free tier) or Source Defense Essentials ($98/month)" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, first choice)
- "I'd start with Source Defense's PCI Compliance product for a mid-sized B2B company" (GPT-6 Luna, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.