KICS vs Fairwinds Polaris

KICS9.1Visit Fairwinds Polaris7.9Visit

Higher score KICS #2 in IaC Security Scanners 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit KICS

vs

Fairwinds Polaris #7 in IaC Security Scanners 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Polaris

• KICS fits best

  Free, broad open-source IaC scanning

• Fairwinds Polaris fits best

  Kubernetes policy auditing and admission control

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Side by side

Feature	KICS 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Fairwinds Polaris 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	7.9
Ranking	#2 in IaC Security Scanners	#7 in IaC Security Scanners
Best for	Free, broad open-source IaC scanning	Kubernetes policy auditing and admission control
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux, macOS, Windows
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	16 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KICS 2/5 · Fairwinds Polaris 2/5
Custom policies	✓	✓
CI/PR integration	Not published	Not published
Fix suggestions	Not published	Not published
Drift detection	Not published	Not published
Open-source option	✓	✓
Specs
IaC frameworks	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Scans Terraform, Kubernetes and CloudFormation configurations Detects security issues, misconfigurations, passwords and secrets Integrates with CI/CD, GitHub Actions and Visual Studio Code	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
Cons	Self-hosted deployment leaves runtime management to your team CLI or Docker operation may require engineering setup GitHub Actions provides the specifically documented PR annotations	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
Our verdict	KICS is a free, open-source static analysis tool for infrastructure-as-code projects. It is designed for teams that need security, compliance and misconfiguration checks across Terraform, Kubernetes and CloudFormation, with additional… Read the review →	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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• KICS — where it wins

  • Scans Terraform, Kubernetes and CloudFormation configurations
  • Detects security issues, misconfigurations, passwords and secrets
  • Integrates with CI/CD, GitHub Actions and Visual Studio Code

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment leaves runtime management to your team
  • CLI or Docker operation may require engineering setup
  • GitHub Actions provides the specifically documented PR annotations

• 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

• KICS9.1/10 · Free plan

  A free, broad scanner for IaC security, compliance, misconfigurations and secrets.

  Visit KICSFull verdict →
• Fairwinds Polaris7.9/10 · Free plan

  Focused Kubernetes auditing and admission control with flexible policy enforcement.

  Visit PolarisFull verdict →