head to head · open source
prowler vs bernstein
prowler has 14,890 GitHub stars, 2,405 forks, 371 open issues and last shipped yesterday. bernstein has 1,312 stars, 176 forks, 368 open issues and last shipped today. prowler leads on adoption by 1,035% (14,890 vs 1,312 stars). prowler is written in Python under Apache-2.0; bernstein is written in Python under Apache-2.0. prowler has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, bernstein 13%. bernstein was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (compliance), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| prowler | bernstein | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 176 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick prowler if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick bernstein if
- You want the bernstein feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and bernstein fits your workflow better
About prowler
Prowler is an Apache 2.0, Python based open source cloud security platform that automates security and compliance assessments across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud through thousands of ready to use checks, aimed at cloud security, compliance, and DevSecOps teams that need continuous posture management without a commercial licence.
read the full prowler overview →
About bernstein
Bernstein is an open source, Apache 2.0 governance and orchestration framework for fleets of AI agents, built for teams that want to write their operating rules declaratively, have those rules enforced at runtime, and keep a verifiable, replayable record of what every agent did.
read the full bernstein overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is prowler or bernstein more popular?
prowler has 14,890 GitHub stars and bernstein has 1,312. prowler has the larger community by that measure.
Are prowler and bernstein free?
Both are open source. prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0 and bernstein under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between prowler and bernstein?
prowler is written in Python and bernstein in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, prowler or bernstein?
Choose prowler if you want the larger community (14,890 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose bernstein if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.