head to head · open source
prowler vs opa
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars, 2,479 forks, 371 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opa has 12,423 stars, 1,705 forks, 310 open issues and last shipped yesterday. prowler leads on adoption by 22% (15,159 vs 12,423 stars). prowler is written in Python under Apache-2.0; opa is written in Go under Apache-2.0. prowler has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, opa 14%. opa 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 | opa | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 12K |
| 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 opa if
- You want the opa 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 opa 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 opa
Open Policy Agent Open Policy Agent (OPA) is an open source, general purpose policy engine that enables unified, context aware policy enforcement across the entire stack. OPA is proud to be a graduated project in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) landscape. For details read the CNCF announcement. Get started with OPA Write your first Rego policy with the Rego Playground or use it to share your work with others for feedback and support. Have a look at the Access Control examples if you're not sure where to start. Install the VS Code extension to get started locally with live diagnostics, debugging and…
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Frequently asked questions
Is prowler or opa more popular?
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars and opa has 12,423. prowler has the larger community by that measure.
Are prowler and opa free?
Both are open source. prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0 and opa under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between prowler and opa?
prowler is written in Python and opa 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 opa?
Choose prowler if you want the larger community (15,159 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose opa if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.