Comparison

Cloud Custodian 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.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Cloud Custodian53
★Prowler75
Score
vioscaleAI score
Cloud Custodian53 / 100low · 41%
Prowler75 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tier
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
Model
Cloud Custodianopen_source
Prowlerfreemium
Price level
Cloud Custodianfree
Prowlerhigh
Starting price
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler$99
Transparent
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
Integrations
Count
Cloud Custodian7
Prowler10
Security
Certifications
Cloud Custodian–
Disclosure policy
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Fedramp
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Gdpr
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Hipaa
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Iso27001
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Pci
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Scorecard
Cloud Custodian8.7
Prowler–
Soc2
Cloud Custodian–
Prowler✓
Reliability
Status page
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Cloud Custodian80
Prowler–
Github stars
Cloud Custodian6,085
Prowler–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Cloud Custodian37
Prowler–
Release
Cadence days
Cloud Custodian54
Prowler–
History
Cloud Custodian20 items
Prowler–
License
Spdx
Cloud CustodianApache-2.0
Prowler–
Language
Primary
Cloud CustodianPython
Prowler–
Market
Availability
Cloud Custodian–
Content
Faq
Cloud Custodian5 items
Prowler7 items

Capabilities

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

Posture
CSPM (posture / misconfig)
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
KSPM (Kubernetes posture)
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
Workload
CWPP (workload protection)
Cloud Custodian✗
Prowler✓
Entitlements
CIEM (entitlements)
Cloud Custodian✗
Prowler✓
Data
DSPM (data posture)
Cloud Custodian✗
Prowler-
Pipeline
IaC / pipeline scanning
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓
Architecture
Agentless scanning
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler-
Runtime
Runtime protection
Cloud Custodian✗
Prowler-
Coverage
Cloud coverage
Cloud CustodianAWS, Azure, GCP (primary); Kubernetes, Tencent Cloud, OpenStack (beta)
ProwlerAWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, Microsoft 365, Oracle Cl
Compliance
Compliance frameworks assessed
Cloud CustodianEncryption, access controls, tag policies, cost management
ProwlerCIS, NIST 800, NIST CSF, CISA, MITRE ATT&CK, RBI, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, NIS2, GDPR,
Licensing
Open-core scanner available
Cloud Custodian✓
Prowler✓

What each one is

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

Cloud Custodian

Automates and enforces policies across cloud infrastructure defined as code

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.

Cloud Custodian

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

Integrations

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

In common (2)
  • Terraform
  • Slack

Cloud Custodian

8 total - 6 not shared
  • AWS CloudWatch Events
  • AWS Config Rules
  • Azure EventGrid
  • GCP AuditLog
  • GCP Pub/Sub
  • EC2 Systems Manager Automation
Independently observed

Prowler

Leader
26 total - 24 not shared
  • AWS
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud
  • Kubernetes
  • GitHub
  • Microsoft 365
  • Oracle Cloud
  • Alibaba Cloud
  • Cloudflare
  • OpenStack
  • AWS Security Hub
  • Jira
  • 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?

Cloud Custodian 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.