StackRadar vs 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.
Facts last checked . Prices and features change — verify with the vendor before deciding.
What Kubescape does well
- CNCF-incubating project with a large open-source community and a wide feature surface: misconfigurations, compliance frameworks, RBAC and vulnerabilities in one tool.
- The ARMO Platform adds eBPF-based “relevancy”: it can tell which vulnerable packages are actually loaded in memory, which StackRadar does not do.
- Prioritisation uses CVSS, EPSS, KEV and fixability — the same signals StackRadar uses.
- Enterprise logos and a sales-led motion if you want a vendor relationship.
How Kubescape 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.
- ARMO withdrew its public pricing. It was previously listed at around $59 per worker node per month with a free tier up to 10 nodes; today it is quote-only.
- The company has repositioned from Kubernetes security toward cloud detection and response (CADR), and the free SaaS tier is the top of a sales funnel rather than a product in its own right.
- Runtime relevancy depends on an eBPF agent per node and a learning period; it filters what you see, and a filter you cannot audit can hide risk as easily as noise.
- StackRadar is a narrower tool: SBOM and vulnerability tracking for what runs in the cluster, with the scanner source published and a flat per-cluster price.
Side by side
| Axis | StackRadar | Kubescape |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | One Helm chart in the cluster, source published; managed dashboard | Open-source CLI/operator; eBPF agent per node for the platform |
| 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 | Yes (platform) |
| Prioritisation | Radar Score — CVSS, EPSS and CISA KEV combined in a published formula | CVSS, EPSS, KEV, fixability, plus eBPF runtime relevancy |
| History and trends | 30 days (Free), 1 year (Pro), 2 years (Business) | Platform: yes; retention by plan |
| Multi-cluster view | One dashboard across every cluster in the organisation | Platform: yes |
| Scanner source | Published on GitHub; releases signed and version-pinned | Kubescape is open source (Apache-2.0); platform is closed |
| Pricing | Published: Free $0 · Pro $59/mo · Business $199/mo | Quote-only (public pricing withdrawn) |
| Data residency | EU only; only the SBOM leaves the cluster | Vendor SaaS; US-based company |
Pricing
Kubescape: ARMO no longer publishes pricing. Before it was withdrawn, the platform was listed at roughly $59 per worker node per month with a free tier of up to ten nodes and one month of retention. Per-node pricing scales with cluster size; StackRadar’s Pro plan is $59 per month for up to five clusters regardless of node count.
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 Kubescape if
- You want misconfiguration, compliance and RBAC scanning in the same tool as vulnerabilities.
- Runtime “is this package actually loaded?” filtering is a hard requirement.
- You prefer a CNCF project with a large community behind the open-source half.
- You want a sales-led vendor relationship with an enterprise contract.
Choose StackRadar if
- You want a published price you can put on a credit card, not a quote.
- You want the scanner’s source, release signatures and scoring formula open to audit.
- You want EU-only data residency and only the SBOM leaving the cluster.
- You want vulnerability history and a multi-cluster view without a per-node bill.
Frequently asked questions
How much does ARMO Platform cost?
ARMO does not publish current pricing. Earlier public listings showed roughly $59 per worker node per month with a free tier up to ten nodes. Contact ARMO for a quote; for comparison, StackRadar publishes flat per-cluster prices starting at $0.
Is Kubescape free?
Kubescape, the open-source project, is free under Apache-2.0. The ARMO Platform SaaS built on it has a free tier and paid plans that are quote-based.
Does StackRadar have runtime reachability like ARMO?
No. StackRadar shows every vulnerable package in every running image and ranks by real-world exploitability (EPSS and CISA KEV). It does not use eBPF to filter out packages that are not loaded, because a filter you cannot audit can hide risk. If runtime relevancy is a hard requirement, ARMO is the better fit.