Checkov vs dive

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureCheckovdive
CategoryDeveloper Tools & GitDeveloper Tools & Git
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguagePythonGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentbinary, dockerbinary, docker
GitHub stars★ 8,920★ 54,426
First released20192018
ReplacesSnyk IaCDocker Desktop

Why pick each one

Choose Checkov if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 8.9k GitHub stars
Checkov details

Choose dive if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 54.4k GitHub stars
dive details

Frequently asked questions

Is Checkov or dive better?

Neither is universally better. dive has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Checkov and dive free and open-source?

Yes. Checkov is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dive under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Checkov and dive with Docker?

Checkov: yes. dive: yes.

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