Amazon Inspector vs cdxgen

Amazon Inspector8.6Visit Ccdxgen7.9Visit

Higher score Amazon Inspector #2 in SBOM Generation Tools 8.6/10 15-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 6 features Try Amazon Inspector

vs

C cdxgen #6 in SBOM Generation Tools 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit cdxgen

• Amazon Inspector fits best

  AWS teams needing managed SBOM exports

• cdxgen fits best

  Multi-ecosystem source, container, and binary SBOMs

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Side by side

Feature	Amazon Inspector 8.6/10 Visit ↗	Ccdxgen 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	7.9
Ranking	#2 in SBOM Generation Tools	#6 in SBOM Generation Tools
Best for	AWS teams needing managed SBOM exports	Multi-ecosystem source, container, and binary SBOMs
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	15-day trial	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	15 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted, Cloud
Platforms	Web	Linux, macOS, Windows
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	4 integrations	1 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon Inspector 0/6 · cdxgen 6/6
SPDX output	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
CycloneDX output	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Source code input	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Container image input	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Binary input	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Build-pipeline support	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Our review
Pros	Scans EC2, ECR, Lambda, code repositories, and CI/CD container images Combines continuous scanning with findings, risk scoring, and remediation guidance Connects with AWS Organizations, Security Hub, and EventBridge	Generates CycloneDX BOMs from source, repositories, containers, and binaries Exports SPDX 3.0.1 JSON-LD and supports CI/CD pipelines Companion commands audit, validate, sign, and convert BOMs
Cons	Usage-based pricing varies by workload and AWS Region SBOM export formats and breadth are not specified CIS Benchmark assessments are excluded from the AWS trial	Command-line workflow may not suit teams seeking a graphical interface Support channels are community and documentation Its primary native output is CycloneDX, with SPDX available as an export
Our verdict	Amazon Inspector is a cloud vulnerability management service for teams running workloads in AWS and selected Azure environments. It automatically discovers eligible workloads and scans EC2 instances, ECR container images, Lambda functions,… Read the review →	cdxgen is an open-source command-line tool for generating software bills of materials from source code, repositories, package URLs, container images, and binary artifacts. It is aimed at developers, build engineers, and AppSec or… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon Inspector — where it wins

  • Scans EC2, ECR, Lambda, code repositories, and CI/CD container images
  • Combines continuous scanning with findings, risk scoring, and remediation guidance
  • Connects with AWS Organizations, Security Hub, and EventBridge

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage-based pricing varies by workload and AWS Region
  • SBOM export formats and breadth are not specified
  • CIS Benchmark assessments are excluded from the AWS trial

• cdxgen — where it wins

  • Generates CycloneDX BOMs from source, repositories, containers, and binaries
  • Exports SPDX 3.0.1 JSON-LD and supports CI/CD pipelines
  • Companion commands audit, validate, sign, and convert BOMs

  Where it doesn't

  • Command-line workflow may not suit teams seeking a graphical interface
  • Support channels are community and documentation
  • Its primary native output is CycloneDX, with SPDX available as an export

• Amazon Inspector8.6/10 · 15-day trial

  A managed AWS security service that pairs continuous scanning with SBOM exports.

  Try Amazon InspectorFull verdict →
• Ccdxgen7.9/10 · Free plan

  A flexible SBOM command-line tool spanning source, containers, and binaries.

  Visit cdxgenFull verdict →