Chainguard Pricing
Plans and cost breakdown for 2026
Free Tier Available
Up to 5 free images per organisation; Catalog starts at $19,000 for a team of 10
by Chainguard Inc. · Security
Is Chainguard Worth It?
What You Get
- + Minimal images cut CVE counts dramatically
- + Contractual CVE remediation SLA
- + Signed artifacts with build-time SBOMs
- + Covers images libraries VMs and GitHub Actions
- + Removes most scanner noise at the source
What to Watch Out For
- - Catalog pricing starts near $19K
- - Free tier capped at five images
- - Distroless images complicate debugging
- - Deep vendor dependency for base images
Security Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Pricing Model | Starting Price | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chainguard (this tool) | Freemium | Up to 5 free images per organisation; Catalog starts at $19,000 for a team of 10 | Chainguard Inc. |
| Aikido Security | Freemium | Free tier (2 users, 10 repos); Basic $300/month (10 users, 100 repos); Pro $600/month | Aikido Security |
| Allstar by OpenSSF | Free | Free and open source | Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) |
| Apiiro | Paid | Contact for pricing | Apiiro |
| Aqua Security AI | Paid | Custom pricing | Aqua Security |
| Arnica | Freemium | Free tier available; paid plans from $300/year (Core Business), Core Enterprise from $600/year | Arnica |
| Bearer | Freemium | Free tier available | Bearer Inc. |
| Bytebase | Freemium | Free (self-hosted Community, up to 20 users); Pro from $20/user/month (cloud-only); self-hosted paid features require Enterprise | Bytebase |
| Checkmarx | Enterprise | Custom pricing (typically ~$8K–$50K+/year depending on developers, modules, and term) | Checkmarx |
| Checkov | Open Source | Free and open source (Apache 2.0) | Prisma Cloud (Palo Alto Networks) |
| Cycode | Freemium | Usage-based pricing tied to active developer count and AI usage (free trial available; no permanent free tier) | Cycode |
Pricing FAQ
How much does Chainguard cost?
Chainguard uses a freemium pricing model. Plans start at Up to 5 free images per organisation; Catalog starts at $19,000 for a team of 10.
Does Chainguard have a free plan?
Yes, Chainguard offers a free tier with limited features. Paid plans start at Up to 5 free images per organisation; Catalog starts at $19,000 for a team of 10.
Is Chainguard worth the price?
Chainguard offers minimal images cut cve counts dramatically and contractual cve remediation sla. However, consider that catalog pricing starts near $19k. Compare with alternatives to find the best value for your needs.
What are cheaper alternatives to Chainguard?
Check our alternatives page for Chainguard to find more affordable options in the Security category.
Not sure about Chainguard?
Explore alternatives or compare with other tools.