Anchore alternatives

We build CRACI, so weigh that in; we describe every option from its own documentation and say when another tool fits better.

Why teams look beyond Anchore

Start with the naming, because it matters here. Anchore makes two open-source tools, Syft (SBOM generation) and Grype (vulnerability scanning), both under Apache 2.0. Anchore Enterprise is the separate commercial platform that "builds on open source Syft and Grype." This page is about alternatives to Anchore Enterprise.

If you are here because of Anchore Engine, the older open-source service: its README says it has not been maintained since 2023, and the repository was archived on March 24, 2026. Anchore points its users to Syft and Grype, or to Anchore Enterprise.

Anchore Enterprise does a lot well. It creates SBOMs for containers, source code and filesystems, imports SBOMs made elsewhere, rescans stored SBOMs without the original artifact, and enforces policy packs for FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, PCI DSS and CMMC. It runs on your own Kubernetes or Docker Compose, including air-gapped installs, and integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, AWS CodeBuild and Azure Pipelines.

Teams still compare alternatives, usually for reasons of scope and fit:

• Where the SBOM comes from. Anchore's SBOMs describe what a scanner finds in an image or a directory. Some teams want a record of what the build fetched.
• A different center of gravity. License compliance, supplier SBOM collection or sharing SBOMs with customers may matter more to you than container policy.
• Operating model. You may want a free, self-hosted open-source platform, or a managed service instead of one you run.
• Pricing. Anchore Enterprise is quoted on request (as of September 2026). Some teams prefer a published price.

What to look for

• How the SBOM is produced: scanned from files, analyzed from source, or recorded from the build.
• Whether the tool tells you when an SBOM is incomplete, not just badly formatted.
• Supplier SBOM intake, VEX and sharing with customers or authorities.
• License policy and attribution, if your legal team relies on it.
• Self-hosting, air-gap and the CI systems you run.

The options

1. CRACI (our product)

CRACI is a GitHub Actions runner that records the SBOM while the build runs. A package-aware proxy captures traffic to package sources, including packages restored from CI caches, and each SBOM carries a completeness state per job and per cache. CRACI enforces an egress policy that fails closed and re-evaluates monitored SBOMs continuously. It exports CycloneDX and SPDX, which Anchore Enterprise can import. CRACI's inventory view shows exactly which software versions are deployed to which products, globally.

Best for: teams on GitHub Actions that need to show what each release was built from. Consider if: you can live without what CRACI does not do: scanning images you did not build, policy packs, self-hosting (customer-hosted runners are on the roadmap for Enterprise), and CI systems other than GitHub Actions (GitLab CI and Jenkins are on the roadmap). CRACI vs Anchore

2. FOSSA

FOSSA started with license compliance: full-text license detection, automatic policies, copyright extraction and attribution notices. It generates SPDX and CycloneDX SBOMs, optionally with VDR or VEX, imports supplier SBOMs with policies for NTIA and FDA minimum elements, and shares SBOMs through an SBOM Portal on Enterprise.

Best for: teams where license risk sits next to security. Consider if: per-project pricing fits; there is a free plan for 5 projects, and Business costs $20 per project per month, billed annually (as of September 2026). CRACI vs FOSSA

3. Cybeats SBOM Studio

SBOM Studio calls itself "the SBOM system of record." It stores SBOMs from your products and suppliers across SPDX 2.2 through 3.0.1 and CycloneDX 1.2 through 1.7, checks them with a Quality Score before import, matches every component continuously, and produces VEX. It shares SBOMs with customers, including over the Transparency Exchange API.

Best for: product security teams in sectors such as ICS and OT, medical devices, telecom and automotive. Consider if: you have a separate way to generate SBOMs; Cybeats points to vendors in its Marketplace for that. CRACI vs Cybeats

4. Manifest

Manifest creates, imports, enriches and shares SBOMs for your own products, your vendors' software and your AI models. Vendors upload SBOMs through a portal, and when they cannot provide one, Manifest can generate it from the compiled binary. Findings turn into tickets, supplier outreach and risk reports.

Best for: organizations whose main exposure is software they buy. Consider if: you want a different generation method; its GitHub Action runs Syft by default, much like Anchore. CRACI vs Manifest

5. Dependency-Track (open source)

OWASP Dependency-Track is a free, Apache 2.0 platform that tracks components across every version of every application in your portfolio. It pulls vulnerability data from sources including the NVD and GitHub Advisories, has a policy engine for security, license and operational rules, and consumes and produces CycloneDX VEX.

Best for: teams that want a transparent, self-hosted SBOM platform without a license fee. Consider if: you are ready to operate it and to feed it; it analyzes the SBOMs you upload and does not generate them. CRACI for Dependency-Track users

6. Trivy (open source)

Trivy is a free Apache-2.0 scanner for container images, filesystems, repositories, virtual machine images and Kubernetes. It finds vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, secrets and licenses, writes CycloneDX and SPDX SBOMs, and scans existing SBOMs with trivy sbom.

Best for: teams that want free image and SBOM scanning plus IaC and secret checks in one binary. Consider if: you can do without a central platform; storing results, policy and monitoring are yours to build. CRACI vs Trivy

7. Snyk Container

Snyk Container scans container images and the open-source dependencies inside them, recommends base images with fewer vulnerabilities, and monitors Kubernetes workloads. It connects to registries including Docker Hub, Amazon ECR, Azure ACR, Google GCR, Artifactory, Harbor and Red Hat Quay, and prioritizes findings by exploit maturity and workload configuration. It sits next to Snyk's code, dependency and IaC scanning.

Best for: developers who want base image upgrade advice in the same tool as their other scans. Consider if: per-developer pricing fits; Snyk has a Free plan, Team from $25 per month, and an Enterprise plan (as of September 2026). CRACI vs Snyk

8. Docker Scout

Docker Scout analyzes container images: it compiles an SBOM of their components and matches it against a continuously updated vulnerability database. You use it from Docker Hub, the Docker CLI and the Docker Scout Dashboard, and it integrates with GitHub Actions, GitLab, Azure DevOps Pipelines, CircleCI and Jenkins and with OCI registries such as Amazon ECR, Azure Container Registry, JFrog Artifactory, Harbor and Sonatype Nexus.

Best for: teams that already build and store images with Docker's tools. Consider if: the plan fits your repository count; as of September 2026 the free Personal plan includes 1 Scout-enabled repository and Pro includes 2, while Team, at $15 per user per month billed annually, and Business include unlimited repositories.

9. Chainguard

Chainguard takes the other route to fewer image findings: it builds open-source software from source and ships it hardened. Its container images, which it calls zero-CVE, come with a signed SBOM and SLSA provenance, and for customers with an order it commits to remediating critical CVEs within 7 days and other severities within 14 days of a qualifying patch. It also offers rebuilt language libraries, VM images and hardened GitHub Actions.

Best for: teams that would rather start from clean base images than triage scan results. Consider if: you can move to its images; five are free, and catalog pricing starts at $19K for a team of 10 (as of September 2026). CRACI and Chainguard

Side by side

"Anchore" means Anchore Enterprise. "Not stated" means the capability is not described in the vendors' documentation, not that it is missing. The table covers the SBOM platforms; Snyk Container, Docker Scout and Chainguard are described above.

A note on scanned SBOMs

Most options here generate SBOMs by scanning, or depend on a scanner upstream. A scanner reports what the files in front of it declare. A repository that commits no lockfile gives it nothing to resolve, and which catalogers run is a setting rather than a property of the project, so the same tool at the same version can return very different lists from the same checkout. That says more about scanning as a method than about any one tool. CRACI cannot be compared this way at all, because it records builds and cannot scan a directory.

When to stay with Anchore

• You scan many container images across several CI systems, not only GitHub Actions.
• You need prebuilt policy packs for FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, PCI DSS or CMMC.
• You must self-host, including in an air-gapped network.
• You already run Syft and Grype and want the enterprise layer from the same maintainers. If you only need generation and matching, the free tools may be enough on their own: CRACI vs Syft and Grype.

For more on recording SBOMs at the source, see build-time SBOM generation and CRA compliance.

Anchore alternatives FAQ

Short answers to the questions teams ask when they compare

What is Anchore used for?

Anchore is used to generate SBOMs and scan them for vulnerabilities, mostly for container images. Its free open-source tools are Syft, which generates SBOMs, and Grype, which scans for vulnerabilities. Anchore Enterprise builds on them to manage SBOMs across a portfolio, rescan stored SBOMs, and enforce policy packs for FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, PCI DSS and CMMC, self-hosted or air-gapped.

Is Grype free?

Yes. Grype is open source under Apache-2.0, and so is Syft. Anchore Enterprise, the commercial platform built on them, is priced by quote (as of September 2026).

What is Anchore Grype?

Grype is Anchore's open-source vulnerability scanner for container images, filesystems and SBOMs. It covers OS packages and languages such as Java, JavaScript, Python, .NET, Go, PHP, Ruby and Rust, prioritizes with EPSS and KEV data, and supports OpenVEX to filter results. It pairs with Syft, which generates the SBOM.

Is Anchore Engine still maintained?

No. Its README says that as of 2023 Anchore Engine is no longer maintained and no future versions will be released, and the GitHub repository was archived on March 24, 2026. Anchore points users to Syft and Grype, or to Anchore Enterprise for a supported platform.

What are good container security tools besides Anchore?

For scanning images, Trivy and Grype are free, and Snyk Container and Docker Scout are commercial with free tiers. To start from images with fewer CVEs, Chainguard ships hardened images. To record what your own builds pulled in, including base images, CRACI records the SBOM while a GitHub Actions build runs.