head to head · open source
checkov vs tfsec
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars, 1,415 forks, 170 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. tfsec has 7,038 stars, 558 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. checkov leads on adoption by 28% (9,015 vs 7,038 stars). checkov is written in Python under Apache-2.0; tfsec is written in Go under MIT. checkov has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, tfsec 8%. checkov was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 6 topic tags (aws, azure, compliance, devops), 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 | tfsec | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.0K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-03-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 558 |
| 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 tfsec if
- You want the tfsec feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and tfsec 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 tfsec
tfsec is a static analysis security scanner for Terraform code, written in Go and released under the MIT license. It lives in the infrastructure as code and DevSecOps ecosystem, alongside tools such as linters and CI scanners. The project is now part of Trivy, Aqua Security's broader open source security scanner, and its Terraform scanning engine forms the foundation of Trivy's IaC and misconfiguration scanning capabilities. The repository remains available, but engineering attention is directed at Trivy going forward.
read the full tfsec overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is checkov or tfsec more popular?
checkov has 9,015 GitHub stars and tfsec has 7,038. checkov has the larger community by that measure.
Are checkov and tfsec free?
Both are open source. checkov is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tfsec under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between checkov and tfsec?
checkov is written in Python and tfsec 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, checkov or tfsec?
Choose checkov if you want the larger community (9,015 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tfsec if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.