Alloy Discovery vs CloudQuery

Alloy Discovery is an on-premises network discovery and inventory tool for identifying and tracking computers, servers, and other equipment. Its Windows, Linux, and Mac Inventory Analyzer versions collect hardware, operating system, installed-software, and network details in audit snapshots. Direct Network Scan can examine Windows, Linux, and macOS computers on a local network without installing standalone agents on each remote machine. For offsite or disconnected computers, standalone agents support remote, network-folder, and portable audits. Scanning can run on demand or on a schedule across network segments, while SNMP collection covers printers, scanners, hubs, routers, and other network devices. Chromebook audits can run on demand or on a schedule through Google Directory Audit. Software discovery draws on operating-system-specific data, though detailed file recognition is limited to Windows. The standalone edition monitors licenses in its desktop app; Alloy Navigator integration is for Enterprise and uses Navigator consoles for license management. The product supports network maps and switch-port views. Its free trial is fully functional and includes technical support and licensing for participating staff.

CloudQuery is an open-source context engine for cloud infrastructure that syncs data from more than 80 sources. It maps information from services such as AWS, GCP, Azure, GitHub, and Okta into a normalized relational schema that users can query with standard SQL. Data can be sent to destinations including Postgres, BigQuery, Snowflake, and S3. CloudQuery Platform supports more than 70 integrations and processes synced data into a built-in ClickHouse database for inventory, SQL Console, policies, and reports. An MCP server in PostgreSQL or Snowflake mode lets AI agents and internal systems query synced data without a Platform subscription. Sync definitions use version-controlled YAML, and SDKs in Go, Python, JavaScript, or Java can be used to build unsupported integrations. CloudQuery can run on infrastructure the user controls, keeping data within the network unless configured otherwise. Its Free plan costs nothing, billed Forever, with a 1M rows limitation. Pricing counts rows each time they are synced. The CLI is offered for macOS, Windows, and Linux.