head to head · open source
checkov vs dep-scan
checkov has 9,132 GitHub stars, 1,456 forks, 170 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. dep-scan has 1,324 stars, 140 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. checkov leads on adoption by 590% (9,132 vs 1,324 stars). checkov is written in Python under Apache-2.0; dep-scan is written in Python under MIT. checkov has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, dep-scan 11%. checkov 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
| checkov | dep-scan | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.1K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 140 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick checkov if
- You weight community size — 9.1K 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 dep-scan if
- You want the dep-scan feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and dep-scan fits your workflow better
About checkov
Checkov is a static code analysis tool for infrastructure as code (IaC) and also a software composition analysis (SCA) tool for images and open source packages. It scans cloud infrastructure provisioned using Terraform, Terraform plan, Cloudformation, AWS SAM, Kubernetes, Helm charts, Kustomize, Dockerfile, Serverless, Bicep, OpenAPI, ARM Templates, or OpenTofu and detects security and compliance misconfigurations using graph based scanning. It performs Software Composition Analysis (SCA) scanning which is a scan of open source packages and images for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs). Checkov also…
read the full checkov overview →
About dep-scan
Introduction OWASP dep scan is a next generation security and risk audit tool based on known vulnerabilities, advisories, and license limitations for project dependencies. Both local repositories and container images are supported as the input, and the tool is ideal for integration with ASPM/VM platforms and in CI environments. Contents Features Precise reachable data flows Reachability matrix Rust reachability (via rusi) Go reachability (via golem) .NET reachability (via dosai) JVM, JavaScript, Python, and PHP reachability (via atom) Vulnerability Data sources Linux distros Quick Start Scanning projects locally…
read the full dep-scan overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is checkov or dep-scan more popular?
checkov has 9,132 GitHub stars and dep-scan has 1,324. checkov has the larger community by that measure.
Are checkov and dep-scan free?
Both are open source. checkov is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dep-scan under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between checkov and dep-scan?
checkov is written in Python and dep-scan 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, checkov or dep-scan?
Choose checkov if you want the larger community (9,132 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dep-scan if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.