Kingfisher vs ggshield

KKingfisher9.1Visit ggshield9.0Visit

Higher score K Kingfisher #3 in Secrets Scanning Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Kingfisher

vs

ggshield #4 in Secrets Scanning Software 9.0/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit GitGuardian

• Kingfisher fits best

  Broad open-source scanning across code and cloud

• ggshield fits best

  Free multi-platform scanning and developer hooks

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Side by side

Feature	KKingfisher 9.1/10 Visit ↗	ggshield 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	9.0
Ranking	#3 in Secrets Scanning Software	#4 in Secrets Scanning Software
Best for	Broad open-source scanning across code and cloud	Free multi-platform scanning and developer hooks
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Docs, Community
Integrations	14 integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Kingfisher 5/5 · ggshield 5/5
CI/CD scanning	✓	✓
Pre-commit scanning	✓	✓
Pull-request scanning	✓	✓
Push protection	✓	✓
Custom detection rules	✓	✓
Specs
Supported VCS	Local Git, GitHub, GitLab, Azure Repos, Bitbucket, Gitea, Hugging Face	GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps
Repository limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Scans code, history, files, archives, cloud storage, and containers Validates credentials and maps permissions, resources, and blast radius Supports CI, pull requests, pre-commit hooks, and custom rules	Scans more than 600 secret types across code, Docker, and CI/CD Supports pre-commit, pre-push, and pre-receive Git hooks Works with major CI platforms and Windows, macOS, Linux, and APIs
Cons	Revocation workflows apply only to supported credential providers Command-line workflows may require security and developer expertise No separate paid or enterprise tier for centralized commercial support	Teams pricing requires contacting sales Starter includes 10,000 API calls per month Does not include AI features
Our verdict	Kingfisher is an Apache-2.0 open-source secret scanner from MongoDB for developers, security engineers, and incident responders. It scans source code, Git history, local files, archives, cloud storage, container images, and supported… Read the review →	ggshield is GitGuardian’s open-source command-line application for finding and preventing hardcoded secrets in developer workflows. It scans local files, repositories, commits, CI/CD content, Docker image layers, build arguments, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Kingfisher — where it wins

  • Scans code, history, files, archives, cloud storage, and containers
  • Validates credentials and maps permissions, resources, and blast radius
  • Supports CI, pull requests, pre-commit hooks, and custom rules

  Where it doesn't

  • Revocation workflows apply only to supported credential providers
  • Command-line workflows may require security and developer expertise
  • No separate paid or enterprise tier for centralized commercial support

• ggshield — where it wins

  • Scans more than 600 secret types across code, Docker, and CI/CD
  • Supports pre-commit, pre-push, and pre-receive Git hooks
  • Works with major CI platforms and Windows, macOS, Linux, and APIs

  Where it doesn't

  • Teams pricing requires contacting sales
  • Starter includes 10,000 API calls per month
  • Does not include AI features

• KKingfisher9.1/10 · Free plan

  A broad, free scanner for exposed credentials across code, cloud, containers, and developer platforms.

  Visit KingfisherFull verdict →
• ggshield9.0/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A broad, developer-focused scanner with a free workspace plan and extensive CI coverage.

  Visit GitGuardianFull verdict →