head to head · open source
prowler vs kyverno
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars, 2,479 forks, 371 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kyverno has 8,310 stars, 1,693 forks, 703 open issues and last shipped yesterday. prowler leads on adoption by 82% (15,159 vs 8,310 stars). prowler is written in Python under Apache-2.0; kyverno is written in Go under Apache-2.0. prowler has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, kyverno 20%. kyverno 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
| prowler | kyverno | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 8.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick prowler if
- You weight community size — 15K 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 kyverno if
- You want the kyverno feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and kyverno fits your workflow better
About prowler
Prowler is the Open Cloud Security Platform trusted by thousands to automate security and compliance in any cloud environment. With thousands of ready to use checks and compliance frameworks, Prowler delivers real time, customizable monitoring and seamless integrations, making cloud security simple, scalable, and cost effective for organizations of any size. The Agentic Cloud Defender Try Prowler Cloud Join our Prowler community! Description Prowler is the world’s most widely used Open Source Cloud Security Platform that automates security and compliance across any cloud environment . With thousands of ready to…
read the full prowler overview →
About kyverno
Kyverno Cloud Native Policy Management 🎉 📑 Table of Contents About Kyverno Non Goals Documentation Demos & Tutorials Popular Use Cases Explore the Policy Library Getting Help Contributing Software Bill of Materials Contributors License About Kyverno Kyverno is a Kubernetes native policy engine designed for platform engineering teams. It enables security, compliance, automation, and governance through policy as code. Kyverno can: Validate, mutate, generate, and clean up resources using Kubernetes admission controls and background scans. Verify container image signatures for supply chain security. Operate with…
read the full kyverno overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is prowler or kyverno more popular?
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars and kyverno has 8,310. prowler has the larger community by that measure.
Are prowler and kyverno free?
Both are open source. prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0 and kyverno under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between prowler and kyverno?
prowler is written in Python and kyverno in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, prowler or kyverno?
Choose prowler if you want the larger community (15,159 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose kyverno if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.