vioscaleAI
Comparison

Checkov vs Prowler

On the evidence we track, Prowler leads this comparison with a composite score of 75/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Checkov full profile →Prowler full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Checkov61
★Prowler75
Score
vioscaleAI score
Checkov61 / 100low · 45%
Prowler75 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tier
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
Model
Checkovopen_source
Prowlerfreemium
Price level
Checkovfree
Prowlerhigh
Starting price
Checkov–
Prowler$99
Transparent
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Integrations
Count
Checkov13
Prowler10
Security
Certifications
Checkov–
ProwlerSOC 2 Type II
Disclosure policy
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Fedramp
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Gdpr
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Hipaa
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Iso27001
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Pci
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Scorecard
Checkov7
Prowler–
Soc2
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
Checkov–
Prowler✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Checkov138
Prowler–
Github stars
Checkov9,068
Prowler–
Package downloads weekly
Checkov4,830,339
Prowler–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Checkov36
Prowler–
Release
Cadence days
Checkov4
Prowler–
History
Checkov20 items
Prowler–
License
Spdx
CheckovApache-2.0
Prowler–
Language
Primary
CheckovPython
Prowler–
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Checkov6 items
Prowler7 items

Capabilities

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

Posture
CSPM (posture / misconfig)
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
KSPM (Kubernetes posture)
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
Workload
CWPP (workload protection)
Checkov-
Prowler✓
Entitlements
CIEM (entitlements)
Checkov-
Prowler✓
Data
DSPM (data posture)
Checkov-
Prowler-
Pipeline
IaC / pipeline scanning
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
Architecture
Agentless scanning
Checkov✓
Prowler-
Runtime
Runtime protection
Checkov-
Prowler-
Coverage
Cloud coverage
CheckovAWS, Google Cloud, Azure
ProwlerAWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, Microsoft 365, Oracle Cl
Compliance
Compliance frameworks assessed
Checkov-
ProwlerCIS, NIST 800, NIST CSF, CISA, MITRE ATT&CK, RBI, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, NIS2, GDPR,
Licensing
Open-core scanner available
Checkov✓
Prowler✓

What each one is

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

Checkov

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

Prowler

Leader

An open-source and managed platform that automatically scans cloud environments for security misconfigurations and compliance violations. Offers multiple deployment options—cloud-hosted, self-hosted, or air-gapped—with 2,500+ checks, customizable compliance frameworks, remediation guidance, and integrations with security and workflow tools.

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

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Prowler

Leader
from $99/cloud account/moHybridFree tier15-day trial

Free trial and open-source options. Managed SaaS from $99/cloud account/month. Private Cloud pricing available on quote.

  • Free TrialFree
    • All checks and compliance frameworks
    • Cloud infrastructure posture scanning
    • Access to Prowler Hub
    • SOC 2 Type 2 assurance
  • Prowler Cloud$99/cloud account/month; 20% discount with annual billing
    • Continuous compliance across 70+ frameworks
    • Onboard whole AWS Organizations, Azure Management Groups, GCP Organizations
    • Jira, Slack and email alerts
    • SAML SSO and API access
    • Enterprise support
    • +5 more
  • Prowler Private CloudContact sales
    • Deployment in customer's cloud, data center or air-gapped environment
    • Data residency of choice and unlimited resources
    • Private Registry for custom providers, checks and frameworks
    • AWS Security Lake (Parquet) and custom SIEM integration
    • White glove onboarding
    • +3 more
  • Open SourceFree
    • 2,500+ checks across all cloud providers
    • Run from terminal, CI/CD pipeline or Kubernetes
    • All public compliance frameworks
    • Custom checks and frameworks support
    • Optional integration with Prowler Cloud
    • +1 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Checkov✗
Prowler✓
CLI
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
Self-hosted
Checkov✓
Prowler✓
On-premise
Checkov✗
Prowler✓
Hybrid
Checkov✗
Prowler✓
Air-gapped
Checkov✗
Prowler✓

Integrations

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

In common (5)
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud
  • Terraform
  • Kubernetes
  • GitHub

Checkov

13 total - 8 not shared
  • Azure
  • Docker
  • CloudFormation
  • Dockerfile
  • Git
  • Helm
  • Kustomize
  • Serverless
Independently observed

Prowler

Leader
26 total - 21 not shared
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Microsoft 365
  • Oracle Cloud
  • Alibaba Cloud
  • Cloudflare
  • OpenStack
  • AWS Security Hub
  • Jira
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Power BI
  • AWS Security Lake
  • Censys
  • GitHub Code Scanning
  • AWS CloudFormation
  • Email
  • Custom SIEM
  • Power BI
  • GitHub Actions
  • Vercel
  • Google
  • Claude Code
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Checkov or Prowler: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

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