Grype vs SBOM Observer
Grype
github.com
SBOM Observer
sbom.observerSide by side
| Figure | Grype | SBOM Observer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €69/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 2 |
| Spec score · Software Composition Analysis Software | 8.7 (#4) | 7.6 (#43) |
| Headquarters | Santa Barbara, California, United States | Sweden |
| Integrations | The installation documentation provides a Docker image and lists community installation options including Homebrew, MacPorts, Winget, Scoop, and Snapcraft. | The Observer CLI is described as usable in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, CircleCI or any CI that runs a shell step. |
| Intended users | The project documentation describes individual package scanning as useful for lightweight vulnerability checks and compliance scanning of specific dependencies. | Business is presented for small teams in security, compliance and product, while Enterprise is for 25 or more users, larger rollouts and regulated industries. |
| Purpose | Grype scans container images, filesystems, and SBOMs for known vulnerabilities. | SBOM Observer analyzes SBOMs from builds and suppliers, monitors vulnerabilities and license issues, and enforces policies in CI/CD. |
| SBOM formats | Grype accepts Syft JSON, SPDX JSON/XML/tag-value and CycloneDX JSON/XML SBOMs. | It supports CycloneDX 1.3 and later and SPDX 2.2 and later in JSON, XML, YAML and tag-value formats. |
Plans
In their own words
Grype
Grype is a free, Apache-2.0-licensed scanner for known vulnerabilities in container images, filesystems, and software bills of materials (SBOMs). It can also scan directories, individual files, archives, and packages identified by PURL or CPE. Coverage includes major operating-system package ecosystems and language packages such as Ruby, Java, JavaScript, Python, .NET, Go, PHP, and Rust; supported image formats include Docker, OCI, and Singularity. Grype uses EPSS, KEV, and risk scoring to help prioritize findings. OpenVEX can filter results or add context. Reports can be emitted as a table, JSON, SARIF, or a custom Go template. The project supports SBOM generation and runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, or in a self-hosted setup. Installation options include a Docker image and community packages such as Homebrew, MacPorts, Winget, Scoop, and Snapcraft. Individual package scanning is described as useful for lightweight vulnerability checks and compliance scanning of specific dependencies. Security updates are applied only to the most recent release, and vulnerability-report support is described as best effort.
SBOM Observer
SBOM Observer has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.