Comparison

Checkov vs Falco

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
Falco58
Score
Vioscale score
Checkov64 / 100low · 47%
Falco58 / 100low · 38%
Pricing
Free tier
Checkov
Falco
Model
Price level
Checkovfree
Falcofree
Transparent
Checkov
Falco
Integrations
Count
Checkov13
Falco50
Adoption
Dependent repos
Checkov138
Falco0
Github stars
Checkov8,973
Falco9,305
Package downloads weekly
Checkov4,830,339
Falco
Activity
Commits last 30d
Checkov17
Falco11
Release
Cadence days
Checkov4
Falco4
History
Checkov20 items
License
Spdx
Language
Primary
CheckovPython
FalcoC++

Capabilities

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

Posture
CSPM (posture / misconfig)
Checkov
Falco-
KSPM (Kubernetes posture)
Checkov
Falco
Workload
CWPP (workload protection)
Checkov-
Falco
Entitlements
CIEM (entitlements)
Checkov-
Falco-
Data
DSPM (data posture)
Checkov-
Falco-
Pipeline
IaC / pipeline scanning
Checkov
Falco-
Architecture
Agentless scanning
Checkov
Falco
Runtime
Runtime protection
Checkov-
Falco
Coverage
Cloud coverage
CheckovAWS, Google Cloud, Azure
FalcoMulti-cloud: hosts, containers, Kubernetes, and cloud environments
Compliance
Compliance frameworks assessed
Checkov-
FalcoRule-based detection for regulatory compliance violations
Licensing
Open-core scanner available
Checkov
Falco

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

Falco

Cloud-native runtime security tool that monitors hosts, containers, Kubernetes, and cloud environments for abnormal behavior and security threats using eBPF and kernel events.

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 ↗

Falco

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Linux
Checkov
Falco
CLI
Checkov
Falco
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Checkov
Falco
Self-hosted
Checkov
Falco
On-premise
Checkov
Falco

Integrations

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

In common (3)
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • GitHub

Checkov

Leader
13 total - 10 not shared
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure
  • Terraform
  • CloudFormation
  • Dockerfile
  • Git
  • Helm
  • Kustomize
  • Serverless
Independently observed

Falco

11 total - 8 not shared
  • AWS EKS
  • AWS CloudTrail
  • Okta
  • Nomad
  • Fluent Bit
  • Elasticsearch
  • S3
  • Slack
Independently observed

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