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Government · head to head

American Legal Publishing vs Chainguard

A

American Legal Publishing

Government

Municipal Code Solutions

From
$150/month
Free plan
No
Chainguard logo

Chainguard

Cybersecurity

Secure-by-default open source software with hardened container images and libraries

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Only Chainguard has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: American Legal Publishing a 2019 recodification contract between American Legal Publishing Corporation and the City of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, publicly posted by a separate Kentucky municipality as a model agreement, sets a base codification cost of $9,485 (USD) plus per-page increase rates of $18 (single column) and $21 (dual column) once the code exceeds the estimated page count, a one-time $550 setup fee to put the code in a searchable online format, $495 per year to host the code online after that, and a five-year supplement plan billed at $18-21 per reprinted page plus $200 per annual statutory update. This is one specific signed municipal contract, not a general price list, and actual costs for other municipalities will scale with code length.; Chainguard containers Catalog at 19,000 USD/year expensive for teams under 10 people
  • They diverge on capability: American Legal Publishing covers Code Codification, Chainguard covers Hardened container images.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which American Legal Publishing and Chainguard actually diverge.

Attributes where American Legal Publishing and Chainguard differ
AttributeAmerican Legal PublishingChainguard
Starting price$150/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionLicensing by artifact type and team size
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebCloud, Container, VM
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded1912Unknown

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 American Legal Publishing

  • Code Codification
  • Online Publishing
  • Print Services
  • Editorial Support
  • Code Search
  • Legislative Systems
  • Document Management
  • Public Portals

Only in Chainguard

  • Hardened container images
  • CVE remediation SLA
  • SLSA L2/L3 builds
  • Sigstore signatures
  • SBOM generation
  • Language libraries
  • VM images
  • Artifact scanning

What people use each for

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

American Legal Publishing

  • Citizen Servicesnot Chainguard
  • Records Managementnot Chainguard
  • Public Safetynot Chainguard
  • Civic Engagementnot Chainguard

Chainguard

  • Deploying hardened container images with minimal attack surfacenot American Legal Publishing
  • Meeting supply chain security requirements for regulated industriesnot American Legal Publishing
  • Reducing CVE exposure with contractual remediation guaranteesnot American Legal Publishing
  • Building secure language packages with automatic backportsnot American Legal Publishing
  • Verifying artifact provenance with Sigstore signaturesnot American Legal Publishing

Where each one falls short

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

American Legal Publishing

  • A 2019 recodification contract between American Legal Publishing Corporation and the City of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, publicly posted by a separate Kentucky municipality as a model agreement, sets a base codification cost of $9,485 (USD) plus per-page increase rates of $18 (single column) and $21 (dual column) once the code exceeds the estimated page count, a one-time $550 setup fee to put the code in a searchable online format, $495 per year to host the code online after that, and a five-year supplement plan billed at $18-21 per reprinted page plus $200 per annual statutory update. This is one specific signed municipal contract, not a general price list, and actual costs for other municipalities will scale with code length.

Chainguard

  • Containers Catalog at 19,000 USD/year expensive for teams under 10 people
  • Per-image pricing for containers requires custom quotes with no transparency
  • Free tier limited to 5 container images for testing
  • Libraries pricing by ecosystem and developer count lacks transparent per-developer cost
  • VM image catalog pricing opacity makes cost estimation difficult

Pricing, plan by plan

American Legal Publishing

$150/month
  • Online Code$150/month
    • Online Publishing
    • Code Updates
    • Search

Chainguard

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Five container images to test and deploy
  • Containers Per-Image$undefined/custom
    • Licensed by quantity and type
    • Base images, application images, AI/ML images, FIPS variants
    • Custom pricing per image
  • Containers Catalog$19000/year
    • For 10-person engineering teams
    • 2,000+ container images
    • Contractual CVE remediation SLAs
  • Libraries Licensing$undefined/custom
    • Licensed by ecosystem (Python, Java, JavaScript)
    • Licensed by developer count
    • Unlimited pulls with no metering

Which should you pick?

Choose American Legal Publishing if

  • You need code codification.
  • You also want online publishing.

Choose Chainguard if

  • You need hardened container images.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Container, VM.
  • You also want cve remediation sla.

Questions people ask

Is American Legal Publishing or Chainguard better?
Neither clearly leads. American Legal Publishing starts at $150/month and Chainguard at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, American Legal Publishing or Chainguard?
Chainguard has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $150/month for American Legal Publishing and Free for Chainguard.
Does American Legal Publishing or Chainguard run on more platforms?
American Legal Publishing runs on Web. Chainguard runs on Cloud, Container, VM.
Can I use Chainguard for free?
Yes. Chainguard has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. American Legal Publishing starts at $150/month.
What is American Legal Publishing best used for?
American Legal Publishing is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Chainguard is typically brought in for.
What can American Legal Publishing do that Chainguard cannot?
American Legal Publishing covers Code Codification, Online Publishing, Print Services, Editorial Support. Chainguard covers Hardened container images, CVE remediation SLA, SLSA L2/L3 builds, Sigstore signatures.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chainguard: How much is the Chainguard Containers Catalog?

The Containers Catalog is 19,000 USD per year for 10-person engineering teams, providing access to 2,000+ hardened container images.

Source
Chainguard: What SLAs does Chainguard offer?

Chainguard provides contractual CVE remediation SLAs: 7 days for critical vulnerabilities, 14 days for high/medium/low severity, all with priority support.

Source
Chainguard: Can I try Chainguard before purchasing?

Yes. The free tier includes five container images for testing and deployment, allowing hands-on evaluation.

Source
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