KubeLinter vs terraform-compliance
KubeLinter
github.comterraform-compliance
terraform-compliance.comSide by side
| Figure | KubeLinter | terraform-compliance |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure Testing Tools | 7.7 (#15) | 7.2 (#20) |
| Spec score · IaC Security Scanners | 7.8 (#9) | 7.2 (#11) |
| Install options | The project documents installation through Go, release binaries, Homebrew or LinuxBrew, nix-shell, and Docker. | The documentation provides installation through pip and Docker; pip installation requires Python 3.x. |
| License | KubeLinter is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. | The maker’s site says the project is open source, free to use, and distributed under the MIT license. |
| Purpose | KubeLinter statically analyzes Kubernetes YAML files, Helm charts, and Kustomize manifests against best practices for production readiness and security. | terraform-compliance is a lightweight, security- and compliance-focused test framework for negative testing of infrastructure as code written with Terraform. |
Plans
In their own words
KubeLinter
KubeLinter is a free, open-source static analyzer for Kubernetes YAML files, Helm charts, and Kustomize manifests. It checks production-readiness and security practices, including non-root containers, least privilege, and keeping sensitive information in secrets. Users can enable or disable checks and create custom checks for organizational policies. Failed checks produce remediation recommendations and a non-zero exit code. KubeLinter can generate several output formats in one run, including SARIF and JSON, and supports pull request scanning. Documented installation methods include Go, release binaries, Homebrew or LinuxBrew, nix-shell, and Docker. Container images are signed with cosign, with a public verification key supplied. The project uses the Apache License 2.0 and lists no paid tiers. Its README identifies StackRox as creator and Red Hat as current maintainer. The README also warns that commands, flags, and configuration formats may change. The latest listed release is v0.8.3.
terraform-compliance
terraform-compliance is a free, open-source framework for security and compliance testing of Terraform infrastructure as code. It checks Terraform plan or state output against policies written as behavior-driven feature files, and it can read plan output converted to JSON. Given steps establish context, When steps filter it, and Then steps fail scenarios when conditions are unmet. The project says it works with any Terraform provider and supports Terraform versions newer than 0.12. Checks can run before deployment, in pipelines, or through git hooks. Feature files may come from a local directory or Git repository, with SSH authentication for private repositories. Installation is documented through pip, requiring Python 3.x, or Docker. CI/CD examples cover CircleCI and GitHub Actions. Controls include warning-only failures, skipped-step failures, case-sensitive matching, and resource exclusion. The tool supports policy testing, admission control, and policy reporting, but not runtime enforcement. Its MIT license permits free use.