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Cybersecurity · head to head

Aikido vs OpsLevel

Aikido logo

Aikido

Cybersecurity

Unified security platform automating vulnerability detection and fixing across development

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Aikido has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Aikido free plan includes fair-usage limits on repos and container images; OpsLevel opsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • They diverge on capability: Aikido covers Static Application Security Testing (SAST), OpsLevel covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aikido and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Aikido and OpsLevel differ
AttributeAikidoOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelSubscription with free tierquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CI/CD, IDEWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2022Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aikido

  • Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
  • Software Composition Analysis (SCA)
  • AutoFix
  • Secrets detection
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • AI-powered penetration testing
  • Device protection
  • False positive reduction

Only in OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aikido

  • Developer-friendly security integrated into PR workflowsnot OpsLevel
  • Automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alertsnot OpsLevel
  • Consolidation of fragmented security tools across development lifecyclenot OpsLevel
  • Cloud infrastructure security posture monitoringnot OpsLevel
  • Supply chain attack prevention and malware detectionnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Aikido
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Aikido
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Aikido
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot Aikido

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aikido

  • Free plan includes fair-usage limits on repos and container images
  • Pricing increases significantly with user and repository scale
  • Advanced features like penetration testing and VM scanning limited to higher tiers
  • Device protection limited to Development environments only
  • Requires multiple plan tiers for full platform coverage

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing.
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them.
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings.
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aikido

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Up to 2 users
    • Dependency scanning (SCA)
    • SAST and AI SAST
  • Pro$600/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • All Basic features
    • On-premise scanning
  • Advanced$600/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • All Pro features
    • Broker for internal apps
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom pricing for tailored modules
    • Dedicated account management
    • Custom SLAs

OpsLevel

On request
  • Standard$undefined/year
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Aikido if

  • You need static application security testing (sast).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CI/CD, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis (sca).
Aikido review

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Aikido or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Aikido starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aikido or OpsLevel?
Aikido has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Aikido and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Aikido or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Aikido runs on Web, CI/CD, IDE. OpsLevel runs on Web.
Can I use Aikido for free?
Yes. Aikido has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
What is Aikido best used for?
Aikido is most often used for developer-friendly security integrated into pr workflows, automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alerts, consolidation of fragmented security tools across development lifecycle, cloud infrastructure security posture monitoring. Of those, developer-friendly security integrated into pr workflows and automated vulnerability remediation with context-aware alerts are not what OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Aikido do that OpsLevel cannot?
Aikido covers Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), AutoFix, Secrets detection. OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aikido: What is included in Aikido's free Developer plan?

The free Developer plan includes up to 2 users with SAST, SCA, secrets detection, cloud scanning, and license risk detection. Fair-usage limits apply: 10 repos, 2 container images, 1 domain, and 1 cloud account.

Source
OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

Aikido: What is AutoFix and how does it work?

AutoFix is Aikido's automated vulnerability remediation feature that identifies vulnerabilities and suggests or applies specific code fixes automatically, reducing manual remediation effort.

Source
OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

Aikido: How many false positives does Aikido reduce?

Aikido reduces false positives by 99%, using AI-powered context awareness to filter noise and focus on vulnerabilities that present real business risk.

Source
OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

Aikido: What integrations does Aikido support?

Aikido integrates with Jira, Linear, Slack, Teams, GitHub, GitLab, and other popular development tools to fit into existing workflows.

Source
OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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