Terraform vs Checkov

Terraform9.4Visit Checkov8.9Visit

Higher score Terraform #1 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Terraform

vs

Checkov #5 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Checkov

• Terraform fits best

  Multi-cloud Terraform teams

• Checkov fits best

  Open-source IaC scanning teams

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Side by side

Feature	Terraform 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Checkov 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.9
Ranking	#1 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools	#5 in Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools
Best for	Multi-cloud Terraform teams	Open-source IaC scanning teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux, macOS
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Terraform 0/5 · Checkov 0/5
Policy testing	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Admission control	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Runtime enforcement	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
CI/CD integration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Policy reporting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Policy language	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
IaC formats	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Docker, and SaaS APIs Combines plan/apply, state management, imports, drift detection, and policy Offers remote and self-hosted execution through HCP Terraform	Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, secrets and other configurations Supports custom Python and YAML policies with graph-based analysis Fits CI/CD, pull-request, pre-commit and IDE workflows
Cons	Advanced governance features begin on the Standard plan Pricing is based on managed resources rather than users or seats Some capabilities depend on HCP Terraform rather than the CLI alone	Focuses on configuration scanning rather than runtime enforcement Runs on Linux and macOS IDE extensions come through third-party marketplaces
Our verdict	Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure through declarative HCL configuration. It is intended for infrastructure and platform teams managing cloud, private datacenter, SaaS, and… Read the review →	Checkov is an open-source static analysis tool for infrastructure as code, designed for teams that need preventive security and compliance checks before deployment. It scans Terraform and Terraform plans, CloudFormation and AWS SAM,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Terraform — where it wins

  • Supports AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Docker, and SaaS APIs
  • Combines plan/apply, state management, imports, drift detection, and policy
  • Offers remote and self-hosted execution through HCP Terraform

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced governance features begin on the Standard plan
  • Pricing is based on managed resources rather than users or seats
  • Some capabilities depend on HCP Terraform rather than the CLI alone

• Checkov — where it wins

  • Scans Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, secrets and other configurations
  • Supports custom Python and YAML policies with graph-based analysis
  • Fits CI/CD, pull-request, pre-commit and IDE workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Focuses on configuration scanning rather than runtime enforcement
  • Runs on Linux and macOS
  • IDE extensions come through third-party marketplaces

• Terraform9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad Terraform workflow for multi-cloud teams that need policy and state controls.

  Visit TerraformFull verdict →
• Checkov8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad open-source scanner for preventive IaC security and compliance checks.

  Visit CheckovFull verdict →