Comparison

Checkov vs Cloud Custodian

On the evidence we track, Checkov leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Checkov64
Cloud Custodian53
Score
Vioscale score
Checkov64 / 100low · 47%
Cloud Custodian53 / 100low · 41%
Pricing
Free tier
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Model
Cloud Custodianopen_source
Price level
Checkovfree
Cloud Custodianfree
Transparent
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Integrations
Count
Checkov13
Cloud Custodian1
Reliability
Status page
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Adoption
Dependent repos
Checkov138
Cloud Custodian80
Github stars
Checkov8,973
Cloud Custodian6,053
Package downloads weekly
Checkov4,830,339
Cloud Custodian
Activity
Commits last 30d
Checkov17
Cloud Custodian45
Release
Cadence days
Checkov4
Cloud Custodian54
History
Checkov20 items
Cloud Custodian20 items
License
Spdx
CheckovApache-2.0
Cloud CustodianApache-2.0
Language
Primary
CheckovPython
Cloud CustodianPython

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for cloud security software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Posture
CSPM (posture / misconfig)
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
KSPM (Kubernetes posture)
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Workload
CWPP (workload protection)
Checkov-
Cloud Custodian
Entitlements
CIEM (entitlements)
Checkov-
Cloud Custodian
Data
DSPM (data posture)
Checkov-
Cloud Custodian
Pipeline
IaC / pipeline scanning
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Architecture
Agentless scanning
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Runtime
Runtime protection
Checkov-
Cloud Custodian
Coverage
Cloud coverage
CheckovAWS, Google Cloud, Azure
Cloud CustodianAWS, Azure, GCP (primary); Kubernetes, Tencent Cloud, OpenStack (beta)
Compliance
Compliance frameworks assessed
Checkov-
Cloud Custodian-
Licensing
Open-core scanner available
Checkov
Cloud Custodian

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Checkov

Leader

Checkov scans infrastructure-as-code configurations across Terraform, Kubernetes, CloudFormation, Dockerfile, and other IaC formats to detect security vulnerabilities and compliance violations before deployment.

Independently observed

Cloud Custodian

Cloud Custodian enables management of cloud resources through filtering, tagging, and policy-driven actions using a YAML DSL. It supports real-time compliance enforcement and cost optimization across AWS, Azure, GCP, and other cloud platforms.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Checkov

Leader
Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Cloud Custodian

Open source

Open source and free under Apache 2.0 license

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
CLI
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Checkov
Cloud Custodian
Self-hosted
Checkov
Cloud Custodian

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • Terraform

Checkov

Leader
13 total - 12 not shared
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • CloudFormation
  • Dockerfile
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • Helm
  • Kustomize
  • Serverless
Independently observed

Cloud Custodian

1 total - 0 not shared
  • Terraform
Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.