Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Infrastructure as Code Security Software

KICS vs TigerGate IaC Security

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 8 checks side by side
Higher score KICS #1 in Infrastructure as Code Security Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 7 of 7 features Visit KICS
TigerGate IaC Security #8 in Infrastructure as Code Security Software 8.6/10 Pricing on request · 14-day trial Free trial✓ 6 of 7 features Visit TigerGate

KICS leads on 1 check, TigerGate IaC Security on 0, and 7 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 8 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreKICS · 9.4/10
  • Free planonly KICS
  • Free trialonly TigerGate IaC Security
  • Most featuresKICS · 7 of 7

KICS scores higher on our rubric for infrastructure as code security software: 9.4 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #8.

KICS offers free plan; TigerGate IaC Security doesn't.

KICS is the better fit for broad, free IaC security coverage. TigerGate IaC Security is the better fit for enterprise multi-cloud IaC programs.

  • KICS fits best

    Broad, free IaC security coverage

  • TigerGate IaC Security fits best

    Enterprise multi-cloud IaC programs

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature KICS 9.4/10 Visit ↗ TigerGate IaC Security 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.6
Ranking #1 in Infrastructure as Code Security Software #8 in Infrastructure as Code Security Software
Best for Broad, free IaC security coverage Enterprise multi-cloud IaC programs
Pricing model Free Paid
Starting price Free plan —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — 14 days
Deployment Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Web
Support Email, Community, Docs Email, Community, Docs, Live chat
Integrations 16 integrations 100+ integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KICS 7/7 · TigerGate IaC Security 6/7
Terraform analysis ✓ ✓
Kubernetes analysis ✓ ✓
CloudFormation analysis ✓ ✓
Custom policies ✓ ✓
Secrets detection ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Pull request scanning ✓ ✓
IDE integration ✓ ✓
Our review
Pros
  • Scans Terraform, Kubernetes, and CloudFormation
  • Detects security issues, compliance gaps, misconfigurations, and secrets
  • Connects with CI/CD tools, GitHub Actions, and Visual Studio Code
  • Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker Compose, and ARM
  • Supports AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and Kubernetes environments
  • Adds custom OPA policies, pull-request checks, remediation, and compliance reports
Cons
  • Primarily focuses on infrastructure-as-code configuration files
  • Custom queries may require security and policy knowledge
  • Workflow coverage depends on configuring its listed integrations
  • Paid pricing requires contact with sales
  • No free plan is available
  • Enterprise features are concentrated in the Enterprise tier
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, misconfiguration, and secrets checks across Terraform, Kubernetes, and CloudFormation. The…

Read the review →

TigerGate IaC Security scans infrastructure-as-code files for security misconfigurations and compliance issues before deployment. It is designed for development and security teams managing Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests,…

Read the review →
  1. KICSInfrastructure as Code Security Software 9.4Free plan
  2. TigerGate IaC SecurityInfrastructure as Code Security Software 8.6Pricing on request · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • KICS — where it wins

    • Scans Terraform, Kubernetes, and CloudFormation
    • Detects security issues, compliance gaps, misconfigurations, and secrets
    • Connects with CI/CD tools, GitHub Actions, and Visual Studio Code

    Where it doesn't

    • Primarily focuses on infrastructure-as-code configuration files
    • Custom queries may require security and policy knowledge
    • Workflow coverage depends on configuring its listed integrations
  • TigerGate IaC Security — where it wins

    • Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker Compose, and ARM
    • Supports AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and Kubernetes environments
    • Adds custom OPA policies, pull-request checks, remediation, and compliance reports

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid pricing requires contact with sales
    • No free plan is available
    • Enterprise features are concentrated in the Enterprise tier
  • KICS9.4/10 · Free plan

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

    Visit KICSFull verdict →
  • TigerGate IaC Security8.6/10 · Pricing on request · 14-day trial

    Broad multi-cloud IaC coverage with policy controls, workflow checks, and compliance reporting.

    Visit TigerGateFull verdict →

More comparisons

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update