Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper vs Trivy Operator
Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper
open-policy-agent.github.ioTrivy Operator
aquasecurity.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper | Trivy Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Kubernetes Security Software | 8.3 (#5) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Documentation depth | The documentation includes installation, examples, audit, mutation, external data, debugging, metrics, performance, architecture, runtime flags, API reference, and contribution material. | Official documentation includes installation, configuration, troubleshooting, quick starts, tutorials, integrations, scanner settings, private registries, compliance, CRD schemas, and FAQ material. |
| Installation | Installation supports prebuilt release images, development images, locally built images, and Helm-based deployment. | It can be installed through Helm, kubectl manifests, or Operator Lifecycle Manager; Helm is recommended for tracking custom configuration. |
| Maker facts | LinkedIn lists Open Policy Agent as a nonprofit computer and network security organization founded in 2016, headquartered in Redwood City, with 5,001–10,000 employees. | LinkedIn lists Aqua Security as privately held, founded in 2015, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with an additional Ramat Gan, Israel location and a 501–1,000 employee size band. |
| Purpose | Gatekeeper is a validating and mutating Kubernetes webhook that enforces CRD-based policies evaluated by Open Policy Agent. | Trivy Operator continuously scans Kubernetes clusters for security issues and makes reports accessible through the Kubernetes API. |
| What it does | Gatekeeper is a Kubernetes policy controller that enforces policy during admission and can audit running resources. | Trivy Operator continuously watches Kubernetes state, launches Trivy scans after workload changes, and stores findings as Kubernetes Custom Resources accessible through the Kubernetes API. |
Plans
Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper
- GatekeeperFree
- Open-source GatekeeperFree
In their own words
Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper
Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper is a free, open-source Kubernetes policy controller for Linux and self-hosted deployments. It runs as a validating and mutating webhook, enforcing CRD-based policies evaluated by Open Policy Agent. Validation constraints can deny requests, warn, run in dry-run mode or report violations without changing resources. Mutation policies can alter matching resources during admission before validation checks the final object. An audit function periodically evaluates existing cluster resources against constraints to identify pre-existing misconfigurations. The project includes an extensible policy library with parameterized examples, and provider connections to external data such as image registries and directory services. Named integrations or backed services include Azure Policy for Kubernetes, Google Kubernetes Engine Policy Controller, Rancher, AWS EKS Blueprints and Alibaba Cloud. Installation options include prebuilt, development or locally built images and Helm. Gatekeeper requires Kubernetes resources introduced in version 1.16 and cluster-admin permissions for installation. The gator CLI is documented as beta from version 3.11.
Trivy Operator
Trivy Operator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.