StackRadar vs Microsoft Defender for Containers
Microsoft Defender for Containers is the container-security plan in Defender for Cloud: agentless vulnerability assessment of AKS, EKS, GKE and Arc-connected clusters, registry scanning and an optional runtime sensor, priced per vCore.
Facts last checked . Prices and features change — verify with the vendor before deciding.
What Microsoft Defender for Containers does well
- The only large incumbent with published pricing: about $7 per vCore per month, with registry scans included.
- Native for Azure shops: integrated into the portal, Defender CSPM and Microsoft Sentinel.
- Agentless assessment plus an optional sensor for runtime detection.
- Queryable SBOMs and “exploitability insights” on findings.
How Microsoft Defender for Containers 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.
- Per-vCore pricing scales with cluster size: a 12-vCore cluster is about $82 per month, a 100-vCore cluster about $700. StackRadar charges per cluster regardless of size.
- Azure-portal-native: the experience is built around Defender for Cloud, and attack-path context needs Defender CSPM as well.
- The scanner and scoring are Microsoft’s; StackRadar’s scanner source and scoring formula are published and its advisory data is the open OSV.dev feed.
- Data lives in Microsoft’s regions; StackRadar is EU-only.
Side by side
| Axis | StackRadar | Microsoft Defender for Containers |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | One Helm chart in the cluster; self-hosted (AGPL-3.0) or reporting to the cloud dashboard | Agentless assessment; optional sensor; Azure portal |
| Kubernetes runtime inventory | Yes — every running image, with its workload, Helm release and ArgoCD application | Yes (AKS, EKS, GKE, Arc) |
| SBOM | CycloneDX 1.6 per running image (Syft), stored and re-checked as new advisories land | Yes, queryable |
| Prioritisation | Radar Score — CVSS, EPSS and CISA KEV combined in a published formula | Severity with exploitability insights |
| History and trends | 1 year (Pro), 2 years (Business); 1 year self-hosted | Yes |
| Multi-cluster view | One cloud dashboard across every cluster in the organisation; self-hosted is one cluster | Yes, in Defender for Cloud |
| Scanner source | Open source: scanner Apache-2.0, server and dashboard AGPL-3.0; releases signed and version-pinned | Closed |
| Pricing | Free to self-host · Cloud: 14-day free trial, then Pro $59/mo · Business $199/mo at beta price ($99 / $299 standard) | ~$7 per vCore per month |
| Data residency | Self-hosted: stays in your cluster. Cloud: EU only, and only the SBOM leaves the cluster | Microsoft regions |
Pricing
Microsoft Defender for Containers: Microsoft publishes Defender for Containers at roughly $7 per vCore per month, including 20 registry scans per vCore with an overage of about $0.29 per image digest. Cost scales with the compute in your clusters. StackRadar prices per cluster: five clusters on Pro cost $59 per month at the beta price ($99 standard) whether they have 12 vCores or 1,200.
StackRadar: Free to self-host for one cluster (AGPL-3.0). The cloud starts with a 14-day free trial; then 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. Those are beta prices, for the first 10 Pro and 5 Business subscriptions; after that Pro is $99 and Business $299 a month. Every plan scans every image you run. Full details on the pricing page.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Defender for Containers if
- You are an Azure-centric organisation already in Defender for Cloud and Sentinel.
- You want runtime detection and posture from the same vendor as your cloud.
- Your clusters are small enough that per-vCore pricing is cheap.
Choose StackRadar if
- You run clusters outside Azure or outside the big three clouds entirely.
- You want a flat per-cluster price that does not grow with node count.
- You want an auditable scanner, open advisory data and EU-only residency.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Defender for Containers cost?
About $7 per vCore per month, published by Microsoft, with registry scanning included up to 20 scans per vCore. A 12-vCore cluster is roughly $82 per month; cost grows with cluster size.
Does Defender for Containers work outside Azure?
Yes, for EKS, GKE and Arc-enabled clusters, though the experience is centred on the Azure portal and Defender for Cloud.