KICS vs Kubescape

KICS9.1Visit Kubescape8.1Visit

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

vs

Kubescape #6 in IaC Security Scanners 8.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Kubescape

• KICS fits best

  Free, broad open-source IaC scanning

• Kubescape fits best

  Teams securing Kubernetes beyond configuration scanning

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Side by side

Feature	KICS 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Kubescape 8.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.1
Ranking	#2 in IaC Security Scanners	#6 in IaC Security Scanners
Best for	Free, broad open-source IaC scanning	Teams securing Kubernetes beyond configuration scanning
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	16 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KICS 2/5 · Kubescape 1/5
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	✓	✓
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	Scans Kubernetes configurations, YAML files, Helm charts, clusters, and images Adds eBPF runtime threat detection and continuous cluster monitoring Generates SBOMs and supports Validating Admission Policy enforcement
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	Self-hosted deployment puts operation and upkeep on the team Kubernetes-specific scope may not suit broader infrastructure scanning needs Support channels are community 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 →	Kubescape is an open-source Kubernetes security platform from ARMO for engineers, DevOps teams, and cluster operators. It covers scanning across development and live environments, including Kubernetes configurations, YAML files, Helm… 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

• Kubescape — where it wins

  • Scans Kubernetes configurations, YAML files, Helm charts, clusters, and images
  • Adds eBPF runtime threat detection and continuous cluster monitoring
  • Generates SBOMs and supports Validating Admission Policy enforcement

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment puts operation and upkeep on the team
  • Kubernetes-specific scope may not suit broader infrastructure scanning needs
  • Support channels are community and documentation

• KICS9.1/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit KICSFull verdict →
• Kubescape8.1/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted scanner that extends Kubernetes checks into runtime monitoring and policy enforcement.

  Visit KubescapeFull verdict →