# Cloud Custodian vs Palo Alto Prisma Cloud

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Cloud Custodian

| Attribute | Cloud Custodian | Palo Alto Prisma Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 51.9 (41% (low)) | 46.7 (26% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 45 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 80 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 6,053 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A comprehensive cloud security platform that provides visibility into cloud assets, enforces compliance policies, detects and blocks threats in real time, and protects applications across their entire lifecycle from code development through production deployment. |
| features.capabilities | `{"ciem":false,"cspm":true,"cwpp":false,"dspm":false,"kspm":true,"iac_scanning":true,"cloud_coverage":"AWS, Azure, GCP (primary); Kubernetes, Tencent Cloud, OpenStack (beta)","open_core_scanner":true,"agentless_scanning":true,"runtime_protection":false}` | `{"ciem":true,"cspm":true,"cwpp":true,"iac_scanning":true,"cloud_coverage":"AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (five large","agentless_scanning":true,"runtime_protection":true,"compliance_frameworks":"Supports more than 75 compliance standards"}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 19 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Terraform"}]` | `[{"name":"Black Duck"},{"name":"Coverity"},{"name":"Checkmarx"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"HashiCorp"},{"name":"Semgrep"},{"name":"Snyk"},{"name":"Veracode"},{"name":"Cortex Cloud"},{"name":"Cortex XDR"},{"name":"Cortex XSOAR"},{"name":"Cortex XSIAM"},{"name":"Cortex Xpanse"},{"name":"Cortex XDS"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud"},{"name":"Alibaba Cloud"},{"name":"Oracle Cloud Infrastructure"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source and free under Apache 2.0 license","sourceUrl":"https://cloudcustodian.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:47:00.704Z"}` | `{"type":"quote","sourceUrl":"https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:46:16.817Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | open_source | quote |
| pricing.price_level | free | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 54 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.51.0","date":"2026-05-28T19:52:40Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.51.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.50.0","date":"2026-03-18T17:16:59Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.50.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.49.0","date":"2026-01-16T21:21:11Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.49.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.48.0","date":"2025-12-01T19:04:50Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.48.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.47.0","date":"2025-09-22T18:14:42Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.47.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.46.0","date":"2025-07-17T18:42:30Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.46.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.45.0","date":"2025-06-02T20:24:02Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.45.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.44.0","date":"2025-04-24T14:12:18Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.44.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.43.0","date":"2025-02-04T15:27:59Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.43.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.42.0","date":"2024-11-14T20:21:44Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.42.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.41.0","date":"2024-09-18T19:08:29Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.41.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.40.0","date":"2024-07-23T20:06:17Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.40.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.39.0","date":"2024-07-23T13:55:45Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.39.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.38.0","date":"2024-06-18T11:56:41Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.38.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.37.0","date":"2024-06-05T14:04:13Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.37.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.36.0","date":"2024-04-29T13:09:49Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.36.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.35.0","date":"2024-03-05T21:30:15Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.35.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.34.0","date":"2024-01-18T18:30:11Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.34.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.33.0","date":"2023-11-29T17:07:21Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.33.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cloud-custodian/cloud-custodian/releases/tag/0.9.32.0","date":"2023-10-03T15:46:00Z","type":"stable","version":"0.9.32.0"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 8.7 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=c7n&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Cloud Security Software)

| Capability | Cloud Custodian | Palo Alto Prisma Cloud |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Posture** |  |  |
| CSPM (posture / misconfig) | ✓ | ✓ |
| KSPM (Kubernetes posture) | ✓ | - |
| **Workload** |  |  |
| CWPP (workload protection) | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Entitlements** |  |  |
| CIEM (entitlements) | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Data** |  |  |
| DSPM (data posture) | ✗ | - |
| **Pipeline** |  |  |
| IaC / pipeline scanning | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Agentless scanning | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Runtime** |  |  |
| Runtime protection | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Coverage** |  |  |
| Cloud coverage | AWS, Azure, GCP (primary); Kubernetes, Tencent Cloud, OpenStack (beta) | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (five large |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| Compliance frameworks assessed | - | Supports more than 75 compliance standards |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-core scanner available | ✓ | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:50:42.516Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*