CIS-CAT Pro Assessor vs Serverspec
CIS-CAT Pro Assessor
cisecurity.orgServerspec
serverspec.orgSide by side
| Figure | CIS-CAT Pro Assessor | Serverspec |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $200/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 1 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure Testing Tools | 9.3 (#2) | 7.5 (#17) |
| Maker | The Center for Internet Security, Inc. describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. | The official site says the project is maintained by Gosuke Miyashita. |
| Operating systems | The documented target OS families are Microsoft Windows, Linux distributions and macOS. | The tutorial lists AIX, Arch Linux, macOS, Debian, Fedora/Red Hat/CentOS, FreeBSD, Gentoo Linux, NixOS, OpenBSD, openSUSE, Plamo Linux, SmartOS, Solaris, SUSE, Ubuntu, and Windows, while noting that not all are fully supported. |
| Purpose | CIS-CAT Pro Assessor scans systems and reports their compliance with CIS Benchmarks. | Serverspec lets users write RSpec tests to check that servers are configured correctly. |
Plans
CIS-CAT Pro Assessor
- CIS-CAT LiteFree
- CIS SecureSuite End User Membership (up to 99 employees)$2,400 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User (up to 99 employees)$2,400 a year
- CIS SecureSuite Controls Membership$3,600 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User (100–499 employees)$5,500 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User Membership (100–499 employees)$5,500 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User (500–999 employees)$7,900 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User Membership (500–999 employees)$7,900 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User Membership (1,000–4,999 employees)$10,900 a year
- CIS SecureSuite End User Membership (5,000–24,999 employees)$12,800 a year
In their own words
CIS-CAT Pro Assessor
CIS-CAT Pro Assessor has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Serverspec
Serverspec is an open-source Ruby gem for writing RSpec tests that verify server configuration. It examines actual machine state by executing commands locally or through SSH, WinRM, and the Docker API, without requiring agent software on target servers. Checks cover packages, services, files, ports, users, Docker containers and images, Windows features, and X.509 certificates and private keys. Both RSpec should and expect syntax are supported. Serverspec can accompany Puppet, Ansible, CFEngine, Itamae, and Chef, with infrastructure-code refactoring stated as its central aim. The tutorial names Linux distributions, macOS, Windows, BSD systems, Solaris, SmartOS, and others, while noting incomplete support for some. Each suite targets one machine or Docker container, so separate RSpec commands are advised for separate targets. Install through Bundler or gem install serverspec. It is MIT licensed and maintained by Gosuke Miyashita.