head to head · open source
osv-scanner vs cset
osv-scanner has 11,083 GitHub stars, 797 forks, 113 open issues and last shipped today. cset has 1,899 stars, 336 forks, 45 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. osv-scanner leads on adoption by 484% (11,083 vs 1,899 stars). osv-scanner is written in Go under Apache-2.0; cset is written in TSQL under MIT. osv-scanner has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, cset 18%. osv-scanner was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (security-audit), 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
| osv-scanner | cset | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TSQL |
| Last push | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 797 | ⑂ 336 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick osv-scanner if
- You weight community size — 11K 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 cset if
- You want the cset feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TSQL
- You evaluated both and cset fits your workflow better
About osv-scanner
OSV Scanner is an Apache 2.0 licensed vulnerability scanner written in Go that connects a project's list of dependencies with the vulnerabilities affecting them, using data from the open OSV.dev database, and it is aimed at developers, maintainers, and security teams who need to find known vulnerabilities in the dependencies they already ship.
read the full osv-scanner overview →
About cset
CSET (Cybersecurity Evaluation Tool) is a free, MIT licensed tool from the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) that walks asset owners step by step through collecting facility specific hardware, software, policy and user obligation information, compares it against relevant security standards and regulations, and recommends improvements — it is built for critical infrastructure and industrial control system owners, and for the security professionals who assess them.
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Frequently asked questions
Is osv-scanner or cset more popular?
osv-scanner has 11,083 GitHub stars and cset has 1,899. osv-scanner has the larger community by that measure.
Are osv-scanner and cset free?
Both are open source. osv-scanner is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cset under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between osv-scanner and cset?
osv-scanner is written in Go and cset in TSQL. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, osv-scanner or cset?
Choose osv-scanner if you want the larger community (11,083 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cset if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.