Checkov vs Firefly

Checkov8.9Visit Firefly8.7Visit

Higher score Checkov #5 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Checkov

vs

Firefly #7 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools 8.7/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Firefly

• Checkov fits best

  Open-source IaC scanning teams

• Firefly fits best

  Enterprise multi-cloud IaC governance

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Side by side

Feature	Checkov 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Firefly 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools	#7 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools
Best for	Open-source IaC scanning teams	Enterprise multi-cloud IaC governance
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$2,499/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux, macOS	Web
Support	Community, Docs	Email, Live chat, Docs
Integrations	9 integrations	20 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Checkov 0/5 · Firefly 0/5
Policy testing	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Admission control	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Runtime enforcement	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
CI/CD integration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Policy reporting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Policy language	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
IaC formats	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, secrets and other configurations Supports custom Python and YAML policies with graph-based analysis Fits CI/CD, pull-request, pre-commit and IDE workflows	Orchestrates Terraform, OpenTofu, and Terragrunt workflows Detects drift and supports automated remediation Covers five clouds with policy-as-code and Git workflows
Cons	Focuses on configuration scanning rather than runtime enforcement Runs on Linux and macOS IDE extensions come through third-party marketplaces	Essential starts at $2,499 per month with annual billing There is no free plan Enterprise pricing is custom
Our verdict	Checkov is an open-source static analysis tool for infrastructure as code, designed for teams that need preventive security and compliance checks before deployment. It scans Terraform and Terraform plans, CloudFormation and AWS SAM,… Read the review →	Firefly is a cloud infrastructure management platform for enterprise CloudOps, platform engineering, security, and governance teams. It combines infrastructure-as-code orchestration, cloud inventory, policy-as-code, state management, drift… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Checkov — where it wins

  • Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, secrets and other configurations
  • Supports custom Python and YAML policies with graph-based analysis
  • Fits CI/CD, pull-request, pre-commit and IDE workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Focuses on configuration scanning rather than runtime enforcement
  • Runs on Linux and macOS
  • IDE extensions come through third-party marketplaces

• Firefly — where it wins

  • Orchestrates Terraform, OpenTofu, and Terragrunt workflows
  • Detects drift and supports automated remediation
  • Covers five clouds with policy-as-code and Git workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Essential starts at $2,499 per month with annual billing
  • There is no free plan
  • Enterprise pricing is custom

• Checkov8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad open-source scanner for preventive IaC security and compliance checks.

  Visit CheckovFull verdict →
• Firefly8.7/10 · 14-day trial

  Enterprise multi-cloud governance with orchestration, drift remediation, and policy controls.

  Visit FireflyFull verdict →