head to head · open source
checkov vs ossec-hids
checkov has 9,132 GitHub stars, 1,456 forks, 170 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ossec-hids has 5,070 stars, 1,074 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. checkov leads on adoption by 80% (9,132 vs 5,070 stars). checkov is written in Python under Apache-2.0; ossec-hids is written in C under GPL-2.0. checkov has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, ossec-hids 21%. ossec-hids 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 | ossec-hids | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.1K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 ossec-hids if
- You want the ossec-hids feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ossec-hids 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 ossec-hids
OSSEC v4.3.0 Information about OSSEC OSSEC is a full platform to monitor and control your systems. It mixes together all the aspects of HIDS (host based intrusion detection), log monitoring and SIM/SIEM together in a simple, powerful and open source solution. Visit our website for the latest information. www.ossec.net Current Releases The current stable releases are available on the ossec website. Releases can be downloaded from: Downloads Release documentation is available at: docs Development The development version is hosted on GitHub and just a simple git clone away. Screenshots File Integrity Monitoring…
read the full ossec-hids overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is checkov or ossec-hids more popular?
checkov has 9,132 GitHub stars and ossec-hids has 5,070. checkov has the larger community by that measure.
Are checkov and ossec-hids free?
Both are open source. checkov is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ossec-hids under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between checkov and ossec-hids?
checkov is written in Python and ossec-hids 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 ossec-hids?
Choose checkov if you want the larger community (9,132 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ossec-hids if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.