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Head-to-head · Infrastructure Testing Tools

KICS vs TaskCat

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score KICS #5 in Infrastructure Testing Tools 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit KICS
TaskCat #7 in Infrastructure Testing Tools 8.6/10 Open source ✓ 2 of 4 features Visit TaskCat

KICS leads on 0 checks, TaskCat on 0, and 3 are 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 scoreKICS · 8.8/10
  • Free planonly KICS
  • Most featuresTaskCat · 2 of 4

KICS scores higher on our rubric for infrastructure testing tools: 8.8 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #7.

KICS is the better fit for multi-format IaC security scanning. TaskCat is the better fit for multi-Region CloudFormation integration testing.

  • KICS fits best

    Multi-format IaC security scanning

  • TaskCat fits best

    Multi-Region CloudFormation integration testing

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Side by side

Feature KICS 8.8/10 Visit ↗ TaskCat 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.6
Ranking #5 in Infrastructure Testing Tools #7 in Infrastructure Testing Tools
Best for Multi-format IaC security scanning Multi-Region CloudFormation integration testing
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Email, Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 16 integrations 7 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KICS 0/4 · TaskCat 2/4
Config compliance Not checked yet Not checked yet
Provisioning tests Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Deployed checks Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Policy as code Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
IaC support Not checked yet AWS CloudFormation
Execution model Not checked yet Not checked yet
Cloud support Not checked yet AWS
Our review
Pros
  • Scans Terraform, Kubernetes, CloudFormation, Pulumi, and many other formats
  • Customizable OPA Rego queries support policy testing and tailored checks
  • CI/CD integrations and reports in JSON, SARIF, HTML, PDF, CSV, and more
  • Validates stacks and resources across selected AWS Regions
  • Supports cross-account testing, profiles, and dynamic test data
  • Produces pass/fail results and HTML reports for CI/CD workflows
Cons
  • CLI-first workflows may not suit teams seeking a hosted SaaS interface
  • Broad format coverage can require different policies across technologies
  • Automatic remediation is provided as a command rather than a managed workflow
  • Focused on AWS CloudFormation rather than multiple IaC frameworks
  • Tests can incur AWS infrastructure charges during deployment
  • Command-line and YAML configuration require engineering involvement
Our verdict

KICS, or Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure, is an open-source command-line tool from Checkmarx for infrastructure-as-code security scanning. It is designed for engineering and security teams that need to identify vulnerabilities,…

Read the review →

TaskCat is an open-source Python testing framework for AWS CloudFormation templates. It is designed for teams that need to deploy templates across selected AWS Regions, validate stack and resource behavior, and capture test results in…

Read the review →
  1. KICSInfrastructure Testing Tools 8.8Free plan
  2. TaskCatInfrastructure Testing Tools 8.6Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • KICS — where it wins

    • Scans Terraform, Kubernetes, CloudFormation, Pulumi, and many other formats
    • Customizable OPA Rego queries support policy testing and tailored checks
    • CI/CD integrations and reports in JSON, SARIF, HTML, PDF, CSV, and more

    Where it doesn't

    • CLI-first workflows may not suit teams seeking a hosted SaaS interface
    • Broad format coverage can require different policies across technologies
    • Automatic remediation is provided as a command rather than a managed workflow

  • TaskCat — where it wins

    • Validates stacks and resources across selected AWS Regions
    • Supports cross-account testing, profiles, and dynamic test data
    • Produces pass/fail results and HTML reports for CI/CD workflows

    Where it doesn't

    • Focused on AWS CloudFormation rather than multiple IaC frameworks
    • Tests can incur AWS infrastructure charges during deployment
    • Command-line and YAML configuration require engineering involvement
  • KICS8.8/10 · Free plan

    A free, open-source CLI for broad IaC security, compliance, secrets, and policy scanning.

    Visit KICSFull verdict →
  • TaskCat8.6/10 · Open source

    A focused open-source framework for validating CloudFormation deployments across AWS Regions.

    Visit TaskCatFull verdict →

More comparisons

All infrastructure testing tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update