head to head · open source
kubernetes vs kics
kubernetes has 127,843 GitHub stars, 44,692 forks, 3,072 open issues and last shipped today. kics has 2,703 stars, 381 forks, 312 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. kubernetes leads on adoption by 4,630% (127,843 vs 2,703 stars). kubernetes is written in Go under Apache-2.0; kics is written in Open Policy Agent under Apache-2.0. kubernetes has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, kics 14%. kubernetes was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| kubernetes | kics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 128K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Open Policy Agent |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 45K | ⑂ 381 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kubernetes if
- You weight community size — 128K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick kics if
- You want the kics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Open Policy Agent
- You evaluated both and kics fits your workflow better
About kubernetes
Kubernetes (K8s) is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed system for managing containerized applications across multiple hosts, hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and aimed at teams who deploy, maintain and scale container packaged and microservices oriented workloads in production.
read the full kubernetes overview →
About kics
KICS is an open source security scanner for infrastructure as code projects. The project name stands for Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure, and the repository describes it as a tool for finding security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and infrastructure misconfigurations early in the development cycle. It is published by Checkmarx under the Apache 2.0 license and is associated with the cloud native, DevSecOps, and application security ecosystems. The repository also lists topics such as infrastructure as code, security, and vulnerability detection.
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Cloud Infrastructure Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Cloud Infrastructure Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is kubernetes or kics more popular?
kubernetes has 127,843 GitHub stars and kics has 2,703. kubernetes has the larger community by that measure.
Are kubernetes and kics free?
Both are open source. kubernetes is licensed under Apache-2.0 and kics under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kubernetes and kics?
kubernetes is written in Go and kics in Open Policy Agent. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, kubernetes or kics?
Choose kubernetes if you want the larger community (127,843 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose kics if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.