head to head · open source
checkov vs Harden-Windows-Security
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars, 1,415 forks, 170 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Harden-Windows-Security has 4,746 stars, 337 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped yesterday. checkov leads on adoption by 90% (9,015 vs 4,746 stars). checkov is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Harden-Windows-Security is written in C# under MIT. checkov has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Harden-Windows-Security 7%. Harden-Windows-Security 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 | Harden-Windows-Security | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.0K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 337 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick checkov if
- You weight community size — 9.0K 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 Harden-Windows-Security if
- You want the Harden-Windows-Security feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Harden-Windows-Security fits your workflow better
About checkov
Checkov is an open source static code analysis and software composition analysis tool that scans infrastructure as code, container images and open source packages for security and compliance misconfigurations during the build, and it is aimed at developers, DevOps engineers and security teams who want those checks to run before anything is deployed to AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
read the full checkov overview →
About Harden-Windows-Security
Harden Windows Security is a GitHub repository and Windows focused security project written in C under the MIT license. It provides guides and tools for hardening Windows devices by using official, supported Microsoft methods rather than third party components. The project lives in the Windows and Microsoft security ecosystem, including Defender, BitLocker, firewall configuration, audit, encryption, compliance, enterprise security, and Intune.
read the full Harden-Windows-Security overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is checkov or Harden-Windows-Security more popular?
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars and Harden-Windows-Security has 4,746. checkov has the larger community by that measure.
Are checkov and Harden-Windows-Security free?
Both are open source. checkov is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Harden-Windows-Security under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between checkov and Harden-Windows-Security?
checkov is written in Python and Harden-Windows-Security in C#. 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 Harden-Windows-Security?
Choose checkov if you want the larger community (9,015 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Harden-Windows-Security if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.