Proxon vs QUALITY.md (2026)
A side-by-side comparison of Proxon and QUALITY.md on pricing, features, and fit, so you can decide which is right for you.
Quick answer
Proxon and QUALITY.md are both strong choices, but they fit different needs. Choose Proxon if you mainly need auditing all ai applications in use across a large enterprise to identify shadow it risks — its edge is provides comprehensive visibility into both approved and unauthorized ai tool usage. Choose QUALITY.md if you need enforcing consistent coding standards across team pull requests — its edge is completely free and open-source with no usage limits. Proxon starts at On request; QUALITY.md starts at Free.
Features compared
- Automated discovery and inventory of all AI tools across an organization, including shadow AI
- Ownership assignment and policy binding per AI system
- Real-time spend tracking and budget attribution for each AI tool
- Centralized compliance and governance dashboard for IT and security teams
- AI-powered pull request review against project-specific QUALITY.md standards
- Reads plain-text quality specification files stored in your repository
- Integrates with CI/CD pipelines for automated code quality enforcement
- Open-source codebase for full transparency and self-hosting support
Pros & cons
- Provides comprehensive visibility into both approved and unauthorized AI tool usage
- Directly links AI tools to owners, policies, and costs for clear accountability
- Designed specifically for enterprise security and IT governance workflows
- Pricing is not publicly available, making it difficult to budget without a sales conversation
- May require significant onboarding effort to fully integrate with existing IT infrastructure
- Completely free and open-source with no usage limits
- Customizable quality standards defined in plain, human-readable text
- Reduces manual review burden by automating standard enforcement
- Requires initial setup and authoring of a QUALITY.md specification file
- As an open-source project, enterprise-level support may be limited
The verdict
Choose Proxon if
you mainly need to auditing all ai applications in use across a large enterprise to identify shadow it risks. Its edge: provides comprehensive visibility into both approved and unauthorized ai tool usage.
Choose QUALITY.md if
you mainly need to enforcing consistent coding standards across team pull requests. Its edge: completely free and open-source with no usage limits.
Frequently asked questions
Is Proxon better than QUALITY.md?
Neither is universally better. Proxon is stronger for auditing all ai applications in use across a large enterprise to identify shadow it risks, with an edge in provides comprehensive visibility into both approved and unauthorized ai tool usage. QUALITY.md is stronger for enforcing consistent coding standards across team pull requests, with an edge in completely free and open-source with no usage limits. Pick based on your main task.
Which is cheaper, Proxon or QUALITY.md?
Proxon starts at On request and QUALITY.md starts at Free. Free tier: Proxon — No public free tier; QUALITY.md — Fully free and open-source.
What is Proxon best for?
Proxon is best for auditing all ai applications in use across a large enterprise to identify shadow it risks, enforcing ai usage policies and mapping each tool to a responsible owner, tracking and controlling ai-related software spend across business units.
What is QUALITY.md best for?
QUALITY.md is best for enforcing consistent coding standards across team pull requests, reducing repetitive code review feedback from senior developers, maintaining quality control in open-source projects with many contributors.
Do Proxon and QUALITY.md have free plans?
Proxon: No public free tier. QUALITY.md: Fully free and open-source. Check each tool's pricing page for current limits, as plans change.