Checkov Alternatives

Why Look for Checkov Alternatives?

Checkov is the most widely adopted open-source IaC scanner. Over 80 million downloads, 3,000+ built-in policies, and graph-based cross-resource checks that no other free tool matches. Palo Alto Networks maintains it as part of Prisma Cloud, but the standalone CLI runs without any paid subscription. For teams that live in Terraform and CloudFormation, it is hard to beat.

So why look elsewhere?

The most common reason is scope. Checkov scans IaC files and that is it. Teams running containers, managing dependencies, and writing application code often want a single tool that covers more ground. Running Checkov alongside a separate container scanner and a separate SCA tool means three pipelines, three result formats, and three sets of findings to triage.

Custom policy language is another driver. Checkov uses Python and YAML for custom checks. Teams already invested in Open Policy Agent and Rego – the policy language behind Conftest, Gatekeeper, and several other IaC security tools – would rather not maintain a second policy language just for their IaC scanner.

Some teams also want a different vendor ecosystem. Checkov feeds naturally into Prisma Cloud. If your security stack centers on a different platform, the integration story matters.

Top Checkov Alternatives

1. Trivy

Trivy is the Swiss Army knife of open-source security scanners. It covers container images, filesystems, git repositories, Kubernetes clusters, and IaC files in a single Go binary. After absorbing tfsec in 2023, its misconfiguration scanner handles Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Helm, Dockerfiles, ARM templates, and Ansible.

With 31.7k GitHub stars, Trivy is the most popular open-source security scanner on GitHub. It ships as a static binary with no dependencies and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

The trade-off is IaC depth. Trivy has fewer IaC-specific policies than Checkov and lacks graph-based cross-resource checks. For a detailed breakdown, see our Checkov vs Trivy comparison.

Best for: Teams that want IaC, container, and dependency scanning in one tool without stitching together separate scanners. License: Open-source (Apache 2.0) Key difference: Breadth over depth. One binary for five target types versus Checkov’s deep focus on IaC alone.

Trivy review

2. KICS

KICS (Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure) is an open-source scanner from Checkmarx with the widest platform coverage of any IaC tool. It supports 22+ formats: Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Docker, Ansible, Helm, OpenAPI, gRPC, Bicep, Pulumi, Crossplane, GitHub Workflows, and more. 2,400+ built-in queries, all written in Rego.

The Rego-based query system is the main draw for teams already working with OPA. Custom queries use the same language as Conftest and Gatekeeper, so there is no second policy language to learn. KICS also ships severity-mapped exit codes (60 for Critical, 50 for High, 40 for Medium), making CI/CD gating straightforward.

Best for: Teams that need the widest IaC platform coverage or prefer Rego for custom policies. License: Open-source (Apache 2.0) Key difference: 22+ platforms versus Checkov’s 12. Rego queries versus Python/YAML. No graph-based checks.

KICS review

3. Terrascan

Terrascan was an open-source IaC scanner from Tenable with 500+ policies, OPA/Rego custom rules, and a Kubernetes admission controller that blocked non-compliant resources at deploy time. It also offered drift detection to compare IaC definitions against live cloud resources.

The project was archived in November 2025. The GitHub repository is now read-only with no new releases, patches, or issue tracking. Existing installs still work, but there will be no updates for newer Terraform versions or cloud provider APIs. Existing Terrascan users should plan a migration to an actively maintained alternative.

Best for: Historical reference only. Existing users should migrate to Checkov, KICS, or Trivy. License: Open-source (Apache 2.0) – archived Key difference: Drift detection and K8s admission controller were unique strengths. Project no longer maintained.

Terrascan review

4. Snyk IaC

Snyk IaC is the commercial option on this list. It scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Helm, and ARM templates with inline fix suggestions that tell developers exactly what code to change. The Terraform plan scanner catches issues that only surface after variable interpolation and module resolution.

The real value comes from platform integration. If your team already uses Snyk for SCA or container scanning, adding IaC means one dashboard, one CLI, and one set of IDE plugins across all security domains. Cloud environment scanning on paid plans connects to live AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud to detect drift.

Best for: Teams already on the Snyk platform that want unified IaC scanning with inline fix suggestions. License: Freemium Key difference: Inline fix suggestions and Terraform plan scanning. Commercial platform with drift detection on paid plans.

Snyk IaC review

5. Kubescape

Kubescape is a CNCF incubating project focused entirely on Kubernetes security. It scans manifests, Helm charts, Kustomize directories, and container images against CIS Benchmarks, NSA-CISA hardening guidance, and the MITRE ATT&CK framework for containers. 11.2k GitHub stars.

What sets Kubescape apart is what happens after deployment. The in-cluster operator provides continuous scanning, runtime threat detection via eBPF, and automatic network policy generation based on observed traffic patterns. The kubescape fix command corrects misconfigurations directly in YAML files.

Kubescape does not scan Terraform or CloudFormation. It is a Kubernetes specialist, not a general-purpose IaC scanner.

Best for: Kubernetes-focused teams that need pre-deployment scanning plus runtime security and compliance validation. License: Open-source (Apache 2.0) Key difference: Runtime threat detection, network policy generation, and Kubernetes admission policies. No Terraform or CloudFormation support.

Kubescape review

6. tfsec (now part of Trivy)

tfsec was a Terraform-specific security scanner that gained a strong following for its speed and focused rule set. Aqua Security acquired it and merged the entire check library into Trivy’s misconfiguration scanner. The standalone tfsec repository now redirects users to Trivy.

Mentioning tfsec separately because some teams still reference it. If you were a tfsec user looking for a Checkov alternative, Trivy is where those checks live now. All tfsec check IDs (like AVD-AWS-0086) work directly in Trivy. Custom Rego checks written for tfsec also carry over.

Best for: Former tfsec users. Use Trivy instead. License: Merged into Trivy (Apache 2.0) Key difference: No longer a standalone tool. All checks available through trivy config.

Feature Comparison

When to Stay with Checkov

Checkov remains the right choice in several scenarios:

• Graph-based checks matter to your team. No other open-source IaC scanner validates cross-resource relationships. If you need to verify that an EC2 instance connects to a network interface in a VPC-attached subnet, Checkov is the only free tool that does this.
• You need the largest built-in policy set. At 3,000+ checks including 800+ graph-based policies, Checkov covers more out of the box than any alternative. Less time writing custom rules, more time fixing actual issues.
• Python custom policies fit your workflow. Teams that prefer Python over Rego for writing custom checks will find Checkov’s policy framework more natural. The YAML syntax offers a simpler declarative option for straightforward attribute checks.
• Compliance framework mappings are a requirement. Checkov maps policies to CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI DSS out of the box. Generating compliance reports against these standards takes a single command-line flag.
• You use or plan to use Prisma Cloud. Checkov integrates directly with Prisma Cloud for centralized policy management, drift detection, and runtime scanning. If Palo Alto Networks is your security vendor, the integration is seamless.
• IaC scanning is your only need. If you are not scanning containers or dependencies and just need the deepest IaC coverage available, Checkov is purpose-built for exactly that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Written by

Suphi Cankurt

Suphi Cankurt is an application security enthusiast based in Helsinki, Finland. He reviews and compares 129 AppSec tools across 10 categories on AppSec Santa. Learn more.