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Head-to-head · IaC Security Scanners

Fairwinds Polaris vs TFLint

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Fairwinds Polaris #7 in IaC Security Scanners 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Polaris
TFLint #8 in IaC Security Scanners 7.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit TFLint

Fairwinds Polaris leads on 2 checks, TFLint on 0, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreFairwinds Polaris · 7.9/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresFairwinds Polaris · 2 of 5

Fairwinds Polaris scores higher on our rubric for iac security scanners: 7.9 against 7.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

Fairwinds Polaris offers custom policies; TFLint doesn't publish it. Fairwinds Polaris offers open-source option; TFLint doesn't publish it.

Fairwinds Polaris is the better fit for kubernetes policy auditing and admission control. TFLint is the better fit for terraform linting and provider best practices.

  • Fairwinds Polaris fits best

    Kubernetes policy auditing and admission control

  • TFLint fits best

    Terraform linting and provider best practices

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. We may earn a commission when you click some links. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Fairwinds Polaris 7.9/10 Visit ↗ TFLint 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 7.9 7.8
Ranking #7 in IaC Security Scanners #8 in IaC Security Scanners
Best for Kubernetes policy auditing and admission control Terraform linting and provider best practices
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Not published Not published
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms Linux, macOS, Windows Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Community, Docs Docs, Community
Integrations 2 integrations 2 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Fairwinds Polaris 2/5 · TFLint 0/5
Custom policies ✓ (best) Not published
CI/PR integration Not published Not published
Fix suggestions Not published Not published
Drift detection Not published Not published
Open-source option ✓ (best) Not published
Specs
IaC frameworks Not published Not published
Our review
Pros
  • Free open-source plan with dashboard, admission controller, and CLI modes
  • 30+ built-in policies plus custom JSON Schema checks
  • CI thresholds and automatic remediation for supported YAML resources
  • Checks Terraform syntax, semantics, deprecated syntax, and unused declarations.
  • Adds AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud rules through a plugin-based architecture.
  • Offers JSON, Checkstyle, JUnit, compact, and SARIF output plus automatic fixing.
Cons
  • Focused on Kubernetes resources rather than Terraform-based IaC
  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to operate the software
  • Support is limited to community resources and documentation
  • Scans Terraform rather than multiple infrastructure-as-code languages.
  • Does not provide configuration compliance or provisioning and deployed tests.
  • Support is through documentation and community channels.
Our verdict

Fairwinds Polaris is an open-source policy engine for teams managing Kubernetes resources. It validates configuration, security, efficiency, and reliability settings across Kubernetes environments, serving small, mid-market, and enterprise…

Read the review →

TFLint is a command-line linter for developers and infrastructure teams maintaining Terraform configurations. It checks syntax and semantics, flags deprecated syntax and unused declarations, and can identify invalid resource settings and…

Read the review →
  1. Fairwinds PolarisIaC Security Scanners 7.9Free plan
  2. TFLintIaC Security Scanners 7.8Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Fairwinds Polaris — where it wins

    • Free open-source plan with dashboard, admission controller, and CLI modes
    • 30+ built-in policies plus custom JSON Schema checks
    • CI thresholds and automatic remediation for supported YAML resources

    Where it doesn't

    • Focused on Kubernetes resources rather than Terraform-based IaC
    • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to operate the software
    • Support is limited to community resources and documentation

  • TFLint — where it wins

    • Checks Terraform syntax, semantics, deprecated syntax, and unused declarations.
    • Adds AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud rules through a plugin-based architecture.
    • Offers JSON, Checkstyle, JUnit, compact, and SARIF output plus automatic fixing.

    Where it doesn't

    • Scans Terraform rather than multiple infrastructure-as-code languages.
    • Does not provide configuration compliance or provisioning and deployed tests.
    • Support is through documentation and community channels.
  • Fairwinds Polaris7.9/10 · Free plan

    Focused Kubernetes auditing and admission control with flexible policy enforcement.

    Visit PolarisFull verdict →
  • TFLint7.8/10 · Free plan

    A free, local Terraform linter with cloud-provider rules, plugins, and autofixing.

    Visit TFLintFull verdict →

More comparisons

All IaC security scanners comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update