Sysdig vs Aqua: Secure CNAPP modules vs Aqua Platform modules across build and runtime

Container security work rarely fails in one place. An image clears CI, a pod still ships a package nobody uses at runtime, and the ticket that burns the week is either a noisy CVE backlog or a runtime event the agent should have caught. Both Sysdig Secure and the Aqua Platform cover that path: pipeline and registry scanning, cloud and Kubernetes posture, and eBPF-backed runtime controls. The hire is which modules you will staff, how workload coverage is metered, and whether free Falco or free Trivy already covers a stage.

Sysdig Secure documents vulnerability management across CI, registry, and runtime images, Falco-rooted threat detection and response, CSPM/CIEM, and related Secure modules, with in-use context used to prioritize. Aqua documents Dev Security (image and supply-chain controls, including Dynamic Threat Analysis), Cloud Security (agentless posture plus CWPP runtime protection), and shared platform risk views. Free Trivy is Aqua’s open-source scanner, not the commercial Platform. Adjacent agentless CNAPP packaging sits on Wiz vs Prisma Cloud; broader shortlists live under CNAPP tools and container security tools.

	Sysdig	Aqua
Primary use case	Commercial CNAPP modules on Sysdig Secure: vulnerability management (CI, registry, runtime), Falco-rooted detection/response, CSPM/CIEM, and related Secure workflows with in-use prioritization	Commercial Aqua Platform modules: Dev Security for image and supply-chain controls, Cloud Security for CSPM and CWPP runtime protection, plus shared platform risk and compliance views
How a bad day closes	In-use vulnerability or Falco-rooted runtime event lands with Kubernetes and cloud context; Secure triage (and Sage / headless paths when licensed) drives response on the correlated path	Pipeline or DTA sandbox blocks a bad image, or CWPP runtime policy stops drift / exploit behavior on the workload; incidents and response policies drive containment
Day-to-day workflow	Shield / agent paths plus agentless cloud posture; Secure vulnerability, runtime, and posture queues; CI and registry scans tied to runtime prioritization	Dev Security scanners and admission gates; Cloud Security agents/enforcers and agentless cloud scanning; shared risk views across those modules
Deploy	SaaS Sysdig Secure; agents on hosts and Kubernetes nodes; agentless CSPM and optional agentless host/workload scanning on connected clouds; on-prem / air-gapped options on enterprise quotes	SaaS Aqua Platform; agents/enforcers for CWPP; agentless cloud workload scanning; GovCloud / FedRAMP High path for regulated buyers
License/pricing	Sales quote on sysdig.com. AWS Marketplace lists Sysdig CNAPP Enterprise at 72 USD per host per month, public minimum 20 hosts, plus host-hour and other overages (checked 3 Oct 2026). A host hour is one running server, VM, or node for one hour. Free Falco is not that SKU	Workload-based quote on Aqua pricing for Cloud Security coverage across instances, containers, and functions (examples named: EC2, Fargate, Lambda). Marketplace Shift Left / Protect / Ultimate dimensions exist as 12-month contract lines; what one Marketplace unit maps to was not defined on the public listing, so those dollars are not used here as a budget total. Free Trivy is not the Platform
Who operates it	Cloud security / platform / SOC teams staffing Secure vulnerability, runtime, and posture modules on Kubernetes and cloud hosts	Container and cloud security programs staffing Aqua Dev Security and Cloud Security modules, including regulated or FedRAMP-scoped deployments when in scope

We reviewed Sysdig Secure vulnerability and runtime docs, the Sysdig CNAPP Marketplace listing (including the host-hour definition), Aqua Platform pricing (workload examples and Dev Security / Cloud Security packaging), the Trivy commercial compare page, Aqua Marketplace plan names, and live community threads, all on 3 Oct 2026. We did not run either product in a paid tenant, so this is not a hands-on benchmark.

Sysdig

Aqua

Both vendors ship build-stage scanning and runtime controls. Sysdig Secure’s vulnerability module covers CI, registry, and runtime images, and its detection stack stays on the Falco lineage with managed content. Aqua’s Dev Security module covers image and supply-chain controls (including DTA), and Cloud Security covers CSPM plus CWPP runtime protection. Recent packaging signals include Sysdig Headless Cloud Security (6 May 2026) and Aqua Compass (22 April 2026) for agentic investigation. Neither announcement removes the module split above.

Editions and pricing

Neither vendor publishes a simple self-serve credit card total for the full CNAPP. Public floors still matter when the unit is defined. Evaluate host versus workload coverage before either floor.

	Sysdig	Aqua
How you buy it now	Contact sales for Sysdig Secure. Marketplace contract for CNAPP Enterprise and optional Monitor Enterprise Host. Private offers for custom scope	Sales quote for Aqua Platform modules (Dev Security, Cloud Security, platform). Marketplace listings name Shift Left, Protect, and Ultimate plan shapes; private offers are common
Public units (3 Oct 2026)	Sysdig CNAPP Enterprise: 72 USD per host per month on AWS Marketplace, public minimum 20 hosts for that product. Monitor Enterprise Host: 36 USD per host per month, same 20-host public minimum. CNAPP overage example on that listing: 0.13 USD per additional CNAPP host-hour. A host is a running server, VM, or node	Aqua’s pricing page meters Cloud Security by workloads (examples: EC2 instances, Fargate containers, Lambda functions). No dollar rate sits on aquasec.com. Marketplace lists 12-month contract dimensions named Shift Left, Protect, and Ultimate; the public listing does not define what one unit equals, so those dollar figures are not treated here as a program budget
What the invoice covers	Committed Sysdig CNAPP Enterprise hosts (and related overages) for Secure capabilities on the contract; optional Monitor Enterprise Host; serverless and cloud-log meters when those lines are on the order	Aqua Platform modules and the workload count in scope for Cloud Security. Dev Security and plan-shape coverage are quote items. Free Trivy scanning is outside that invoice
Open-source floor	Falco (CNCF graduated) for runtime rules and detection without Sysdig Secure’s commercial console, managed content, or vulnerability/posture modules	Trivy for image, IaC, filesystem, and related scanning without Aqua Platform management, CWPP enforcement, DTA, or commercial feeds. Trivy is not a substitute for the paid Platform on Aqua’s own compare page
Workload coverage to evaluate	Which hosts (servers, VMs, Kubernetes nodes) will run under the CNAPP Enterprise commitment, and which serverless or cloud-log meters will add overages?	Which workload types (instances, containers, functions) and which modules (Dev Security vs Cloud Security CWPP) are on the quote?
Main buying consideration	Will you staff Secure’s vulnerability, Falco-rooted runtime, and posture modules on a defined host commitment?	Will you staff Aqua’s Dev Security and Cloud Security modules on a defined workload count, knowing Trivy alone is not that hire?

Treat the Sysdig Marketplace floor as a defined host commitment: 20 hosts times 72 USD is 1,440 USD per month for CNAPP Enterprise before overages, checked 3 Oct 2026. Aqua’s own meter is workloads on the pricing page. Marketplace plan names (Shift Left, Protect, Ultimate) describe coverage shape; without a defined unit on the public listing, do not multiply those contract dollars into a node budget.

Agent and runtime detection

	Sysdig	Aqua
Runtime module	Sysdig Secure threat detection and response on Falco rules plus managed content; eBPF / kernel instrumentation; drift and response workflows in commercial packaging	Aqua Cloud Security CWPP: eBPF-based real-time detection, drift prevention, malware blocking, service-identity segmentation, and response policies
What “in use” means	Secure vulnerability views spotlight packages and risks active on running workloads, so CI and registry findings are not ranked only by static severity	Aqua monitors running workload behavior to decide which vulnerabilities and actions impact live apps; CWPP enforcement can stop unsafe actions without waiting on a rebuild
Response shape	Detection/response and attack-path correlation in Secure; Sage / headless agentic paths for triage when licensed	Incidents view, response policies, and Compass MCP workflows for investigation and containment with human-in-the-loop controls
Main buying consideration	Will the team staff Falco-rooted Secure runtime detection on the same host commitment that also pays for vulnerability and posture modules?	Will the team operate Aqua CWPP enforcers and policies as runtime controls, not only as another alert source beside Dev Security scanning?

Both sides scan images and watch runtime. The split is emphasis and packaging: Sysdig Secure’s documented center ties vulnerability queues to Falco-rooted runtime context on a host meter, while Aqua’s documented center pairs Dev Security gates (including DTA) with CWPP enforcement on a workload meter. Pick the module set and meter you will staff, not a build-only versus runtime-only story.

Image scanning and admission

	Sysdig	Aqua
Pipeline / registry module	Sysdig Secure vulnerability management: CI/CD pipeline scanning, registry scanning, and runtime image scanning, with policies and in-use prioritization	Aqua Dev Security: image vulnerability and risk scanning, IaC and pipeline posture, SBOM, and supply-chain integrity controls. Free Trivy can cover a scanner-only slice of this without the Platform
Pre-deploy depth	Pipeline and registry scans plus runtime filter on what is active in production. A sandbox detonation product name equivalent to Aqua DTA was not found on the Sysdig Secure pages opened for this compare	Static image scanning plus Dynamic Threat Analysis (DTA): run the image in a sandbox to surface malicious behavior before deploy
Admission / gate	Vulnerability policies and scanning integrated with Secure; exact admission controller options depend on the deploy and integrations on the quote	Dev Security gates that can block vulnerable, malicious, or noncompliant artifacts in the pipeline when risk thresholds fail policy
Kubernetes and cloud posture	KSPM and CSPM / CIEM modules tied to runtime and vulnerability views; compliance frameworks in Secure reporting	Cloud Security CSPM with agentless discovery paths and compliance checks, alongside CWPP runtime controls on the same Platform
Main buying consideration	Will Secure vulnerability management (CI, registry, runtime) be staffed as a first-class module beside Falco-rooted detection?	Do you need Dev Security depth (including DTA and admission) on the same quote as Cloud Security CWPP, or is Trivy enough for the scanner stage?

Teams that already run free Trivy hard in CI often keep that gate and buy commercial modules for runtime and posture separately. That is not evidence Aqua Platform lacks scanning. Teams consolidating onto one commercial platform should score Sysdig Secure’s vulnerability-plus-runtime-plus-posture modules against Aqua’s Dev Security-plus-Cloud Security modules, including whether DTA is required, and which hosts or workloads the invoice will count.

Choose Sysdig Secure when you will staff its vulnerability, Falco-rooted runtime, and posture modules on a host commitment you can define (Marketplace public floor: 72 USD per host per month for CNAPP Enterprise, minimum 20 hosts, checked 3 Oct 2026). Choose Aqua Platform when you will staff Dev Security and Cloud Security modules on a workload count you can define, knowing free Trivy is only the scanner floor and Marketplace plan names still need a quoted unit map.