head to head · open source
checkov vs ossec-hids
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars, 1,415 forks, 170 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ossec-hids has 5,057 stars, 1,074 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. checkov leads on adoption by 78% (9,015 vs 5,057 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%. 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 | ossec-hids | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.0K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 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 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 ossec-hids
OSSEC is an open source host based intrusion detection system written in C and released under the GNU General Public License version 2. It combines several security functions into one platform: log analysis, file integrity checking, policy monitoring, rootkit detection, real time alerting, and active response. The project describes itself as a full platform to monitor and control systems, mixing the aspects of HIDS, log monitoring, and SIM/SIEM into a single solution. It lives in the security and compliance tooling ecosystem, with topics spanning intrusion detection, file integrity management, log analysis, PCI D…
read the full ossec-hids overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is checkov or ossec-hids more popular?
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars and ossec-hids has 5,057. 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 (9,015 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.