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CNAPP Software · Rank #3 of 10

Aqua Security review and pricing

The kubernetes-native original; container security extended to full CNAPP.

By Aqua Security · Founded 2015 · Ramat Gan, Israel · private

Aqua Security is the original kubernetes-native container security company, founded 2015 in Israel before CNAPP existed as a Gartner category. The product extended over the last decade from image scanning and runtime container protection into a full CNAPP including CSPM, CIEM, KSPM, and code-to-cloud posture. Aqua sponsors the popular open-source Trivy vulnerability scanner (acquired with Argon in 2021) and remains the deepest kubernetes-native CNAPP in the category. Strengths: longest kubernetes track record in the category, deepest admission-control and runtime container security, defensible open-source heritage through Trivy and Tracee, strong container-image and supply-chain security story, and credible standalone platform position through 2025 without acquisition pressure. Trade-offs: agentless multi-cloud breadth trails Wiz and Orca for buyers whose primary need is cloud-account posture rather than kubernetes depth, brand momentum has slowed since Wiz reset category expectations in 2020 to 2022, and the platform breadth (CSPM, CIEM) added to compete with Wiz feels less mature than the kubernetes-native core. Aqua remains a strong default for kubernetes-first estates and a defensible Wiz challenger for buyers prioritizing container-native depth.

Visit Aqua Security Vendor pricing Compare to Orca Security
Best for

Kubernetes-first security teams that prioritize container-native depth, admission-control, and runtime forensics over agentless multi-cloud breadth. Particularly strong for OpenShift estates, container-platform teams, and CISOs who want open-source-aligned tooling through Trivy and Tracee. Sweet spot 200 to 20,000 employees with substantial kubernetes investment.

Worst for

Buyers whose primary need is agentless multi-cloud account posture (Wiz or Orca is better), non-kubernetes estates, CrowdStrike-stack or Palo Alto-stack consolidators, and buyers who want the platform-leader brand and renewal-pricing-power dynamic of Wiz.

Vendor Trust Score

Is Aqua Security a trustworthy vendor?

7.7/10
Mixed
Pricing transparency
Published rates; no hidden fees
5.5
Contract fairness
Reasonable terms; no auto-renew traps
8.0
Incident response
How they handle outages and breaches
8.0
Post-acquisition behavior
Customer treatment after M&A or PE
8.0
Executive stability
Leadership churn over 24 months
8.0
Roadmap honesty
Public commitments held
8.5
Trust signal log
  • 2021-12-15
    Aqua acquired Argon for software supply-chain security
    The Argon acquisition added supply-chain security and the Trivy team to Aqua, strengthening the open-source-aligned product strategy.
  • 2023-09-18
    Trivy reached broad CNCF community adoption
    Trivy became the leading open-source vulnerability scanner with deep integration into kubernetes and container pipelines; strengthens Aqua brand among practitioners.
  • 2025-04-10
    Continued independent operation through CNAPP consolidation
    Aqua has neither been acquired nor announced IPO timing as of 2025; multi-year runway reported in late 2024.
Vendor Trust is scored independently of product quality. A great product from an unfair vendor still earns a low trust score.
Review Intelligence

What 280 reviews actually say

Synthesized from G2, Capterra, Reddit, Trustpilot. Patterns >15% prevalence shown.

Last synthesized
2026-04-29

Praise patterns

  • Deepest kubernetes-native security in the category
    87% →
  • Trivy open-source heritage drives practitioner trust
    78% →
  • Strong admission-control and runtime container forensics
    71% →
  • Defensible standalone path without acquisition pressure
    51% →

Complaint patterns

  • CSPM and CIEM modules less mature than kubernetes core
    47% ↓
  • Agentless multi-cloud breadth trails Wiz and Orca
    41% →
  • Module-to-module integration friction reported by some buyers
    38% →
  • Brand momentum slower than Wiz in net-new evaluations
    31% →
Sentiment trend (6 months)
79/100 -1 pts
12
01
02
03
04
05
Patterns are extracted from review corpus and human-verified. We surface trends, not anecdotes.
Verified Pricing

What buyers actually pay

124 anonymized deal disclosures · last updated 2026-05-01

Contribute your deal price
Company size Median annual
50 to 500 employees (kubernetes-heavy) $60,000
500 to 5,000 employees (kubernetes-heavy) $240,000
5,000+ employees (kubernetes-heavy) $900,000
Verified pricing is crowdsourced from buyers under anonymity guarantees. Vendor-listed prices are validated against actual deals quarterly.
Compliance & Security

Auto-verified certifications

Verified 2026-05-01
SOC 2 Type II
ISO 27001
HIPAA
GDPR
CCPA
PCI DSS
◐ FedRAMP In-Process

Editorial: Strengths

  • Longest kubernetes-native track record in the category (since 2015)
  • Deepest admission-control and runtime container security
  • Open-source heritage through Trivy (vulnerability scanner) and Tracee (runtime)
  • Strong container-image and software-supply-chain security
  • Credible standalone position through 2025 without acquisition pressure
  • Multi-environment coverage including hybrid kubernetes and OpenShift
  • Active CNCF ecosystem participation

Editorial: Weaknesses

  • Agentless multi-cloud breadth trails Wiz and Orca
  • Brand momentum slowed since Wiz reset category expectations
  • CSPM and CIEM modules feel less mature than kubernetes core
  • List pricing not public; everything goes through quote
  • Some buyer reports of integration friction between modules
  • Net-new mindshare in non-kubernetes-first deals trails Wiz

Key features & integrations

  • +Kubernetes admission-control with policy enforcement
  • +Runtime container protection with eBPF
  • +Image scanning with Trivy open-source heritage
  • +Software supply-chain security including SBOM and signing
  • +CSPM across AWS, Azure, GCP
  • +CIEM with permission analysis
  • +KSPM with cluster posture and runtime detection
  • +IaC scanning across Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM
  • +Open-source Tracee runtime detection contribution
  • +SIEM, SOAR, and ticketing integrations
70+ integrations
KubernetesOpenShiftAWSAzureGCPDockerGitHubGitLabJenkinsSplunkServiceNow
Geography supported
Global; strongest in US, EMEA, Israel
Best fit
200 to 50,000 employees · Kubernetes-first mid-market and enterprise security teams
Editorial deep-dive

Read our full ranking of CNAPP Software

Aqua Security ranks #3 in our editorial review of 10 cnapp software platforms. The deep-dive covers methodology, comparison tables, decision matrix, migration scoring, and FAQs.

Read the full ranking

Closest alternatives in CNAPP Software

#2
Orca Security
Agentless cloud security pioneer with deep SideScanning IP.
★ 4.6 opaque
#4
Sysdig
Runtime visibility leader; Falco creator extended into full CNAPP.
★ 4.6 opaque
#1
Wiz
Agentless graph-based CNAPP that reset category expectations.
★ 4.7 opaque
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