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Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs OpsLevel

Arnica logo

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

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 Arnica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; 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: Arnica covers AI SAST, OpsLevel covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnica and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and OpsLevel differ
AttributeArnicaOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer-identity subscription with annual discountquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, GitHub, IDEWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 Arnica

  • AI SAST
  • Software Composition Analysis
  • Secrets detection
  • IaC scanning
  • Container scanning
  • SBOM generation
  • Agentic rules
  • Pipelineless integration

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.

Arnica

  • Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot OpsLevel
  • Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot OpsLevel
  • Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot OpsLevel
  • Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot OpsLevel
  • Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

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

Where each one falls short

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

Arnica

  • Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
  • Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
  • Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
  • Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
  • On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

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

Arnica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • No credit card required
    • 14-day trial available
    • Weekly risk identification updates
  • Core Business$360/year
    • Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
    • Real-time risk scanning and notifications
  • Core Enterprise$720/year
    • Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
    • All Core Business features

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 Arnica if

  • You need ai sast.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis.
Arnica review

Choose OpsLevel if

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

Questions people ask

Is Arnica or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnica 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, Arnica or OpsLevel?
Arnica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arnica and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Arnica or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. OpsLevel runs on Web.
Can I use Arnica for free?
Yes. Arnica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
What is Arnica best used for?
Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that OpsLevel cannot?
Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

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.

Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

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.

Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

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.

OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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