Alternatives
Dependabot alternatives
Dependabot is the default for a reason: it is built into GitHub and keeps dependencies patched with little effort. Teams look at other tools when they need other platforms, finer control, prioritization, or a view of what their builds actually used.
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 for alternatives
Dependabot does three useful things. Alerts tell you when a dependency matches a known vulnerability in an advisory reviewed by GitHub. Security updates open pull requests that upgrade vulnerable dependencies. Version updates keep dependencies current even when nothing is vulnerable. It all runs on GitHub's dependency graph, which parses the manifests and lockfiles in your repository, and alerts are included in every GitHub plan.
The reasons to look further are about scope and fit, not about Dependabot doing its job badly:
- You are not only on GitHub. Dependabot lives in GitHub repositories.
- You want a different kind of control over update noise, such as shareable presets and a dependency dashboard.
- You want prioritization, such as reachability analysis, before anyone opens a pull request.
- You are consolidating dependency, code and cloud scanning into one product.
- You need to know what your builds used, not only what the repository declares. GitHub's own docs say alerts cannot catch every issue and depend on up-to-date manifests and lockfiles.
What to look for
- What starts a pull request: a new version or a vulnerability alert.
- How findings are prioritized, and how you control the volume of pull requests.
- Which package managers and code hosting platforms it supports.
- Whether it sees dependencies outside your manifests.
- Whether it is one tool or part of a wider suite, and what that costs.
The options
CRACI (our product)
CRACI is a GitHub Actions-compatible runner. You change runs-on to craci, and a
package-aware proxy records what each job fetches, including packages restored from CI caches. CRACI monitors those
build SBOMs for new vulnerabilities, aggregates findings across builds and repositories, and lets security teams
triage them and route each one to the team that owns the fix. It does not open pull requests.
Best for: teams on GitHub Actions that need to know which shipped builds a new advisory affects, plus the build evidence (SBOMs, egress policy, signed provenance) that comes with running on CRACI.
Consider if: you want build-time evidence and monitoring next to your update bot. CRACI is not an update bot, so keep Dependabot or Renovate for update pull requests. It only covers builds that run on CRACI.
Renovate
Renovate is open source under AGPL-3.0 and maintained by Mend. It supports over 90 package managers and runs on
GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Gitea and Forgejo. Shareable presets, packageRules, schedules
and automerge control the pull requests, and a Dependency Dashboard issue shows what is pending. For security
updates it can read GitHub's vulnerability alerts, or check the OSV database, which its docs say covers direct
dependencies only. You can self-host it or use the free Mend Renovate Community app on GitHub.com and Bitbucket
Cloud.
Best for: keeping many repositories current across several platforms.
Consider if: you want a free, open-source update bot you can tune per package, or run yourself.
Snyk
Snyk is a developer security platform with software composition analysis at its core. It builds the dependency tree
from manifests and lockfiles, prioritizes findings with reachability, exploit maturity, EPSS and CVSS, opens
one-click and automatic upgrade pull requests, and monitors projects for new vulnerabilities. It runs in the IDE,
CLI, SCM integrations and CI, and adds Snyk Code, Snyk Container and Snyk IaC. SBOM export with
snyk sbom is on Enterprise plans only.
Best for: developer-first scanning from the editor to the pull request.
Consider if: you want prioritized fixes plus code, container and IaC scanning.
Mend.io
Mend AppSec combines Mend SCA and Mend SAST. Mend SCA traces the call graph through direct and transitive dependencies to decide whether a vulnerable function is reachable, enforces license policies, flags malicious packages, and produces SBOMs. Mend Renovate handles the pull requests, so you get update automation and prioritization from one vendor.
Best for: teams with a large findings backlog across code and dependencies.
Consider if: your pipelines also run on Azure DevOps, Bitbucket or CircleCI.
Aikido
Aikido bundles SCA, SAST, secrets, IaC, cloud posture, container scanning and DAST behind one dashboard. Its SCA uses function-level reachability, AutoFix opens pull requests with patched versions, and it can block pull requests with critical findings. Safe Chain, a free tool, blocks npm and PyPI packages with known malware before they install, locally and in CI.
Best for: small teams that want broad coverage from one product.
Consider if: you are consolidating tools and also use GitLab, Jenkins or Bitbucket.
GitHub Code Security
If you want to stay inside GitHub, the paid Code Security product builds on Dependabot rather than replacing it. It adds dependency review, which shows what a pull request changes before merge, premium Dependabot features, and code scanning with CodeQL and Copilot Autofix. Automatic dependency submission can add build-resolved data for Maven, Gradle and Python to the dependency graph. It requires a Team or Enterprise plan.
Best for: GitHub teams that want more without adding a vendor.
Consider if: you also need SAST and secret scanning in pull requests.
CRACI and GitHub Advanced Security
Side by side
| Capability | CRACI | Dependabot | Renovate | Snyk | Mend.io | Aikido | GitHub Code Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where dependency data comes from | What the build fetched | Manifests and lockfiles | Package files | Manifests and lockfiles | Project scan after the build | Manifests and lockfiles | Dependency graph |
| Routine version updates | Not stated | Mend Renovate | Not stated | Through Dependabot | |||
| Monitors what shipped builds used | Build SBOMs re-evaluated | ||||||
| Reachability prioritization | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | ||||
| SAST for your own code | CodeQL | ||||||
| SBOM export | Per build | SPDX graph export | Enterprise only | SPDX graph export | |||
| Controls what builds can fetch | Egress policy | Safe Chain, npm and PyPI | |||||
| Works outside GitHub | IDE, CLI, CI | ||||||
| Works without changing runners | |||||||
| Price (September 2026) | Pro €30 per month until end of 2026 | Alerts in all GitHub plans | Open source; free Community app | Free; Team from $25 per developer per month | Up to $1,000 per developer per year | Free plan; paid from $300 per month | $30 per active committer per month |
- Included
- Partly
- Not included
"Not stated" means we could not confirm it in the vendor's public pages. Prices are as of September 2026; check each vendor before you buy.
When to stay with Dependabot
- Your code is on GitHub and you want patched dependencies with no extra vendor or cost.
- Your builds install from manifests and lockfiles, so the repository view is close to what ships.
- You mainly need version and security updates, not prioritization or a wider scanning suite.
- You want build evidence too. Keep Dependabot and add a tool alongside it; nothing here requires removing it.
More on the build side: vulnerability tracking and build-time SBOM generation.
See what your builds actually fetched
Run one GitHub Actions workflow on CRACI and compare its build record with your Dependabot alerts.
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