KICS vs Pulumi

KICS9.1Visit Pulumi8.5Visit

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

vs

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

• KICS fits best

  Free, broad open-source IaC scanning

• Pulumi fits best

  IaC teams needing policy and drift management

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

Side by side

Feature	KICS 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Pulumi 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.5
Ranking	#2 in IaC Security Scanners	#4 in IaC Security Scanners
Best for	Free, broad open-source IaC 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	Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations	16 integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KICS 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, Kubernetes and CloudFormation configurations Detects security issues, misconfigurations, passwords and secrets Integrates with CI/CD, GitHub Actions and Visual Studio Code	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 leaves runtime management to your team CLI or Docker operation may require engineering setup GitHub Actions provides the specifically documented PR annotations	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	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 →	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

• 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

• 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

• KICS9.1/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit KICSFull 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 →