Prowler vs ScoutSuite: Open-Source Cloud Scanners Compared
Prowler and ScoutSuite are the two best-known open-source tools for auditing cloud accounts. They started in the same place: read-only API calls against AWS, then Azure and Google Cloud. In 2026 they are in very different states. Figures below come from each project's GitHub repository, checked October 23, 2026 (Prowler, ScoutSuite).
Quick answer
| Prowler | ScoutSuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintainer | Prowler (company) and community | NCC Group |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Latest release | October 2026 | May 2024 |
| Release pace | 65 releases in the last 12 months | None since May 2024 |
| Checks | About 1,630 | About 580 rules |
| Providers | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Microsoft 365, GitHub, Google Workspace, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Cloudflare, Okta, MongoDB Atlas and more | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud, DigitalOcean |
| Compliance frameworks | More than 100, including CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, NIS2 and DORA | Older CIS rule sets (AWS 1.2.0, Azure up to 1.2.0, Google Cloud up to 1.1.0) |
| Interface | CLI, web app and REST API | CLI that writes a static HTML report |
| Output | CSV, JSON (OCSF and ASFF), HTML, PDF compliance reports | HTML report with JSON data |
| Integrations | AWS Security Hub, Jira, Amazon S3, Slack (CLI) | None built in |
Verdict: choose Prowler for ongoing scanning and compliance work. ScoutSuite still produces a readable one-off report, but its checks and CIS mappings have not changed since 2024, and cloud providers have changed a lot since then.
Coverage
Prowler's AWS provider alone has about 660 checks, more than ScoutSuite has across all of its providers. Prowler also covers SaaS and identity platforms that ScoutSuite never did: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, GitHub, Okta and Cloudflare. That matters if part of your attack surface is your identity provider or source control.
Kubernetes is ScoutSuite's relative strength, with about 170 rules and profiles for EKS, AKS and GKE. Prowler's Kubernetes provider has about 90 checks plus CIS Kubernetes Benchmarks up to 2.0.1.
Compliance
Prowler maps every finding to the frameworks it supports and exports a report per framework, as CSV or PDF. That is the main reason teams preparing for SOC 2, ISO 27001 or PCI-DSS choose it. ScoutSuite ships CIS rule sets for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, but they target benchmark versions from 2018 to 2020. The current CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark is several versions newer.
Maintenance
Cloud providers add services and change defaults every month, and a scanner that does not keep up reports stale results and misses new risks. Prowler ships weekly. ScoutSuite's latest release was in May 2024 and its develop branch has had no commits since November 2024. The repository is not archived, but it has not shipped since.
Running it
Both run as a Python CLI or a Docker image with read-only credentials. ScoutSuite writes an HTML file you open in a browser. Prowler can do the same, and also has a self-hosted web app with a database, scan history, compliance dashboards and an API. The web app is more to operate: the official Docker Compose setup runs eight containers. That is the part Kevra Security runs for you.
Related: Prowler Cloud pricing vs self-hosted Prowler vs Kevra.
FAQ
Is ScoutSuite still maintained?
ScoutSuite's latest release was published in May 2024, and the last commit to its develop branch is from November 2024. The repository is not archived, but it has not shipped since.
Is Prowler better than ScoutSuite?
For most teams today, yes. Prowler has about three times as many checks, maps findings to more than 100 compliance frameworks, has a web app and an API, and releases every week. ScoutSuite is still a quick way to get a one-off HTML report of an AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account.
Can I run both?
Yes. Both are read-only scanners that use read-only credentials, so running both against the same account is safe.
What licenses do they use?
Prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0. ScoutSuite is licensed under GPL-2.0.
Is there a hosted version of either?
ScoutSuite has no hosted version. Prowler has Prowler Cloud, sold by Prowler, and managed hosting from Kevra Security.
Get the Prowler web app without running it
Kevra Security hosts and upgrades open-source Prowler for you. Plans start at USD 49 per month with unlimited cloud accounts. Want to try it first? Ask us for a trial.
Prowler is a trademark of its owners. Kevra is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Prowler. Kevra Security runs the open-source Prowler project (Apache-2.0) as a managed service.