Checkov vs Pulumi

Checkov8.7Visit Pulumi8.5Visit

Higher score Checkov #3 in IaC Security Scanners 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Checkov

vs

Pulumi #4 in IaC Security Scanners 8.5/10 Free plan · paid from $40/mo Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Pulumi

• Checkov fits best

  Open-source multi-framework scanning

• Pulumi fits best

  IaC teams needing policy and drift management

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Side by side

Feature	Checkov 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Pulumi 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.5
Ranking	#3 in IaC Security Scanners	#4 in IaC Security Scanners
Best for	Open-source multi-framework scanning	IaC teams needing policy and drift management
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux, macOS	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations	9 integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Checkov 2/5 · Pulumi 2/5
Custom policies	✓ (best)	Not published
CI/PR integration	Not published	Not published
Fix suggestions	Not published	Not published
Drift detection	Not published	✓ (best)
Open-source option	✓	✓
Specs
IaC frameworks	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes and Terraform plans Supports secrets detection, graph analysis and custom Python or YAML policies Integrates with major CI/CD tools, pre-commit and IDE environments	Define infrastructure in TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, or YAML Centralize policy enforcement across cloud and Kubernetes resources Import infrastructure and schedule drift detection with remediation
Cons	Self-hosted deployment requires your team to operate the scanner Support channels are limited to community resources and documentation Runs on Linux and macOS, narrowing supported host platforms	The Free plan is limited to 1 user and advisory policy is on Essentials Preventative policies and drift remediation require the $400/month Pro plan Enterprise pricing is contract-based, and self-hosting has edition requirements
Our verdict	Checkov is an open-source static analysis tool for infrastructure as code, designed for teams that need policy checks across multiple configuration frameworks. It scans Terraform and Terraform plans, CloudFormation and AWS SAM, Kubernetes… Read the review →	Pulumi combines infrastructure as code with cloud resource management and governance. Developers and platform teams can define infrastructure in TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, or YAML, and work across AWS, Azure, Google… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Checkov — where it wins

  • Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes and Terraform plans
  • Supports secrets detection, graph analysis and custom Python or YAML policies
  • Integrates with major CI/CD tools, pre-commit and IDE environments

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires your team to operate the scanner
  • Support channels are limited to community resources and documentation
  • Runs on Linux and macOS, narrowing supported host platforms

• Pulumi — where it wins

  • Define infrastructure in TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, or YAML
  • Centralize policy enforcement across cloud and Kubernetes resources
  • Import infrastructure and schedule drift detection with remediation

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan is limited to 1 user and advisory policy is on Essentials
  • Preventative policies and drift remediation require the $400/month Pro plan
  • Enterprise pricing is contract-based, and self-hosting has edition requirements

• Checkov8.7/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted, multi-framework IaC scanner with broad policy and CI/CD coverage.

  Visit CheckovFull verdict →
• Pulumi8.5/10 · Free plan · paid from $40/mo

  A code-first IaC platform whose policy and drift controls deepen on paid plans.

  Visit PulumiFull verdict →