Comparisons
Exam Proctoring Software Alternatives
Lockdown browsers and proctoring services enforce at the application or camera layer. The AI-cheating tools that matter in 2026 operate beneath that layer. Here is how each tool compares against network-layer enforcement. How you detect matters more than which tools you name.
The detection that's losing: name lists
Some tools have started catching Cluely by matching its process name. That closes one named binary and goes blind the moment the name changes: a renamed build, an open-source fork, or the next invisible overlay walks straight through. It's a permanent arms race the defender is always losing by one release.
The detection that holds: the technique
Aiseptor doesn't chase names. Every overlay that hides from screen-share must set the same OS screen-capture-exclusion flag; every on-device LLM leaves process, model-file, and GPU-memory signatures; every AI API call resolves a domain Aiseptor can block. Aiseptor detects the invariant, so renamed and never-before-seen tools are caught the same way the known ones are.
Lockdown browsers
Respondus LockDown Browser
Respondus locks the browser window. It cannot see invisible AI overlays, on-device LLMs, or any process running outside the browser.
Browser layer only: blind to the OS layer beneath it.
Safe Exam Browser (SEB)
SEB is a free, open-source kiosk lockdown. It controls the exam window well but has no visibility into other OS processes, overlays, or the network stack.
Kiosk window control, no device or network enforcement.
ExamSoft / Examplify
ExamSoft secures a high-stakes exam application, including offline. But a sandboxed exam app cannot enforce OS-wide network policy or detect a second-process overlay running beside it.
Application sandbox: blind to overlays and on-device LLMs.
Lockdown browsers (category)
Every lockdown browser enforces rules inside one exam window. The 2026 AI-cheating threats run below that window. Here's the category-level gap and the network-layer fix.
One window on a multi-process machine.
Pearson OnVUE
Pearson OnVUE delivers certification exams through a locked-down secure browser with webcam and proctoring. The secure window can't see an OS-layer overlay or an on-device LLM running beside it.
Secure browser + camera, blind to the OS layer beneath.
PSI Secure Browser
PSI's secure browser locks the exam window for certification and licensure tests. It controls that window but not the operating system, a second device, or the path to AI endpoints.
Locked window, no OS or network enforcement.
Proctoring services
Honorlock
Honorlock adds webcam proctoring on top of browser lockdown and now flags Cluely by matching its process name (see the full comparison for detail). It still misses renamed and unknown overlays, and silent on-device LLMs.
Camera + browser + a name list, not the technique.
Proctorio
Proctorio uses behavioral AI and screen analysis and has begun flagging Cluely by process name. It has a history of privacy-related incidents, detailed with sources on the Proctorio comparison page, and cannot catch overlays it hasn't named.
Behavioral flags + a name list, no OS/network enforcement.
ProctorU
ProctorU pairs live human proctors with AI monitoring and webcams. Strong on physical-room cheating; blind to invisible overlays and local LLMs by design.
Watches the candidate, not the device beneath the camera.
AutoProctor
AutoProctor adds webcam and tab-switch monitoring to quizzes like Google Forms. Tab-switch detection and a camera don't fire for an invisible overlay or a local LLM running outside the quiz.
Tab-switch + camera, no event for OS-layer AI.
Talview
Talview's 7-layer trust framework (identity, behavioral biometrics, content analysis, cross-session intelligence, and more) is the most comprehensive detection stack we've evaluated. All seven layers still read from a webcam and browser feed an invisible overlay is built to be absent from.
Seven layers of observation, still no network or device layer.
Examity
Examity pairs live and AI proctors with ID verification and a browser lockdown extension. It confirms who is testing and watches the browser window, but not what else runs on the device once the exam starts.
Identity + browser lockdown, no OS or network enforcement.
Mercer | Mettl
Mettl proctors hiring and skills assessments at volume with AI face/noise detection and browser lockdown. The same $20/month overlay tool scales across every candidate in the pipeline at no extra cost to defeat it.
Face + noise detection at scale, no device or network layer.
ProctorExam
ProctorExam pairs identity verification and browser lockdown with live or AI-recorded review, plus a room-scan camera, used widely by universities and certification bodies. It confirms who is testing and watches the room, but not what else runs on the device once the exam starts.
Identity + room scan + browser lockdown, no OS or network enforcement.
SMOWL
SMOWL is a lightweight browser-extension proctoring tool, popular with European universities, built on webcam monitoring and keystroke/mouse biometrics. It profiles behavior inside the browser tab, but has no visibility into an OS-layer overlay or a local model with no browser footprint.
Browser extension + biometrics, no device or network layer.
What's next: covering the application layer too
Aiseptor is expanding to cover all three software layers in one platform: the device and network layers today, plus the exam-window lockdown via Aiseptor Secure Browser (now in beta), so it can replace a standalone lockdown browser rather than only sit beside one. To be clear about scope: Aiseptor does not cover physical or environment security. It does not verify identity, watch the room, or catch a phone, a paper note, or an in-person accomplice off-camera. Pair it with a live proctor or identity check for that.