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Fairwinds Insights alternatives for Kubernetes vulnerability scanning

Fairwinds Insights alternatives are sought by teams who like its governance checks but need vulnerability management with real SBOMs and exploitability ranking, or who have outgrown the 20-node free tier and balk at per-node pricing.

Facts last checked . Prices and features change — verify with the vendor before deciding.

What Fairwinds Insights does well

Before the list: Fairwinds Insights is a good tool for the right team. Fairwinds Insights is a Kubernetes governance and cost platform — Polaris policies, deprecated-API detection, right-sizing — that includes container vulnerability scanning by wrapping Trivy.

  • Broad Kubernetes governance: policy enforcement, deprecated-API detection (Pluto), Helm chart currency (Nova) and right-sizing in one product.
  • A generous free tier: up to 20 nodes and two clusters.
  • Automated fix pull requests for many findings.
  • Backed by a Kubernetes consultancy with a long open-source track record.

Fairwinds Insights pricing

Fairwinds Insights is free for up to 20 nodes across two clusters. Paid tiers are quote-based; marketplace anchors sit around $100 per node per month. StackRadar’s Free plan is one cluster of any size, and paid plans are flat per cluster.

Fairwinds Insights alternatives

1. StackRadar (that's us)

StackRadar keeps a CycloneDX SBOM for every image running in your Kubernetes clusters and re-checks it against OSV.dev advisories as they land — no rescan. Findings are ranked by the Radar Score, which combines CVSS, EPSS and the CISA KEV catalogue in a published formula, and every finding carries its workload, Helm release and ArgoCD application. One dashboard covers every cluster, with 30 days to two years of history by plan. The scanner installs as one Helm chart, its source is published, releases are signed, and data stays in the EU. Free for one cluster; Pro $59 per month; Business $199 per month.

Where Fairwinds Insights is stronger: your main problem is configuration, policy and cost, and vulnerabilities are secondary. See StackRadar vs Fairwinds Insights for the full comparison.

2. Kubescape / ARMO Platform

Kubescape is a CNCF-incubating open-source Kubernetes security scanner; ARMO Platform is the commercial SaaS built on it, adding vulnerability management, eBPF runtime relevancy and, more recently, cloud detection and response.

Best for: You want misconfiguration, compliance and RBAC scanning in the same tool as vulnerabilities. Pricing: Quote-only (was ~$59/node/mo; free ≤10 nodes). Compare with StackRadar · Kubescape website

3. Trivy Operator

Trivy Operator is the free, Apache-2.0 Kubernetes operator from Aqua Security that scans running workloads with Trivy and writes the results into the cluster as custom resources.

Best for: You run one or two clusters and mainly want to know what is vulnerable right now. Pricing: Free (Apache-2.0); you run and operate it. Compare with StackRadar · Trivy Operator website

4. Sysdig Secure

Sysdig Secure is an enterprise cloud-native application protection platform built on Falco, with an eBPF agent per node, runtime threat detection, and vulnerability management that pairs SBOMs with runtime “in use” data.

Best for: You need runtime threat detection and response, not just vulnerability tracking. Pricing: Quote-only; reported ~$40–120 per host per month. Compare with StackRadar · Sysdig Secure website

Should you switch?

Choose Fairwinds Insights if

  • Your main problem is configuration, policy and cost, and vulnerabilities are secondary.
  • You want deprecated-API and chart-currency checks alongside security.
  • You fit inside the 20-node free tier.

Choose StackRadar if

  • You want a real SBOM per running image, stored and re-checked as advisories land.
  • You want findings ranked by EPSS and KEV, not CVSS alone.
  • You have large clusters where per-node pricing hurts.

Frequently asked questions

Does Fairwinds Insights generate SBOMs?

No. Insights reports Trivy vulnerability results per image but does not expose or store a software bill of materials.

How much does Fairwinds Insights cost?

Free for up to 20 nodes and two clusters. Above that, pricing is quote-based, with marketplace listings around $100 per node per month.

More alternatives pages