StackRadar vs Fairwinds Insights
Fairwinds Insights is a Kubernetes governance and cost platform — Polaris policies, deprecated-API detection, right-sizing — that includes container vulnerability scanning by wrapping Trivy.
Facts last checked . Prices and features change — verify with the vendor before deciding.
What Fairwinds Insights does well
- 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.
How Fairwinds Insights and StackRadar differ
The differences are about how the two are built and sold, not a feature checklist. Each point below is a structural fact you can verify on the vendor's own documentation.
- Vulnerability scanning is one checkbox in a governance product: no SBOM surface, and no EPSS or KEV in the ranking.
- Paid pricing is quote-based and reported around $100 per node per month; StackRadar is per cluster.
- The product’s centre of gravity is configuration, cost and policy; StackRadar’s is the dependency inventory and what is exploitable in it.
Side by side
| Axis | StackRadar | Fairwinds Insights |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | One Helm chart in the cluster, source published; managed dashboard | Agent in the cluster; vendor SaaS |
| Kubernetes runtime inventory | Yes — every running image, with its workload, Helm release and ArgoCD application | Yes |
| SBOM | CycloneDX 1.6 per running image (Syft), stored and re-checked as new advisories land | No SBOM surface |
| Prioritisation | Radar Score — CVSS, EPSS and CISA KEV combined in a published formula | CVSS severity (wrapped Trivy) |
| History and trends | 30 days (Free), 1 year (Pro), 2 years (Business) | Yes |
| Multi-cluster view | One dashboard across every cluster in the organisation | Yes |
| Scanner source | Published on GitHub; releases signed and version-pinned | Trivy is open source; platform is closed |
| Pricing | Published: Free $0 · Pro $59/mo · Business $199/mo | Free ≤20 nodes; quote-only above |
| Data residency | EU only; only the SBOM leaves the cluster | US SaaS |
Pricing
Fairwinds Insights: 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.
StackRadar: Free for one cluster with 30 days of history; Pro at $59 per month for up to five clusters and one year of history; Business at $199 per month for up to fifteen clusters and two years. Every plan scans every image you run. Full details on the pricing page.
Which should you choose?
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.