Datadog Secret Scanning review
A mature managed scanner with broad enforcement, priced from $15 per committer monthly.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Datadog Secret Scanning detects exposed API keys, tokens, passwords, and encryption keys in source code and configuration files. It is designed for development, security, and DevOps teams that need managed scanning across repositories and delivery pipelines. The product supports GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps, with findings that include repository, branch, and file-path context for remediation. It is offered as part of Datadog Code Security.
Pricing is structured around the number of committers. According to the published plans, Secret Scanning costs $15 per committer per month when billed annually, $18 per committer per month when billed month-to-month, or $22 per committer per month on-demand. A 14-day free trial is available. The annual option has the lowest listed rate, while month-to-month and on-demand billing provide alternatives for teams that do not want annual billing. There is no free plan, so ongoing use requires a paid tier.
Its strongest differentiator is enforcement across several points in the development workflow. Repository and CI/CD scanning can be combined with hosted scanning, pull-request inline comments, merge-blocking gates, and pre-commit hooks for local blocking. Third-party live validation can check some detected secrets, while custom regex rules extend detection beyond built-in patterns. Jira ticket creation and bidirectional syncing support remediation workflows, and findings can be filtered by severity, status, validation status, team, and repository visibility. Choose Datadog Secret Scanning if your team wants centralized scanning with merge and commit controls across supported VCS platforms. Consider another option if a free plan or a non-web product is essential.
Datadog Secret Scanning pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Scans repositories, CI/CD pipelines, pull requests, and pre-commit activity
- Blocks merges with pull-request gates and supports local pre-commit blocking
- Connects GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, and Jira workflows
- Where it doesn't
- No free plan; access starts with paid pricing
- Annual billing is required for the $15 per committer monthly rate
- The product is offered through a web platform rather than desktop or mobile apps
Datadog Secret Scanning fact sheet, pricing and score →
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