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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs Sysdig

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

Runs Terraform plan and apply from pull request comments, self-hosted and free

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Sysdig logo

Sysdig

Cybersecurity

Cloud-native runtime security platform with real-time detection and response

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Atlantis has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Atlantis there is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.; Sysdig custom pricing requires sales contact, difficult to compare costs
  • They diverge on capability: Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Sysdig covers Real-time threat detection and response.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and Sysdig actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and Sysdig differ
AttributeAtlantisSysdig
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeCustom pricing based on number of hosts, events processed, or time series data
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedKubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Atlantis

  • Pull request plans
  • Comment driven apply
  • Workspace locking
  • Policy checking
  • Multi-platform webhooks
  • Custom workflows

Only in Sysdig

  • Real-time threat detection and response
  • Runtime intelligence
  • AI-powered security agents
  • Vulnerability management
  • Cloud Security Posture Management
  • Container and Kubernetes security
  • Infrastructure as Code security
  • Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management

What people use each for

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

Atlantis

  • Making Terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approvernot Sysdig
  • Removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keysnot Sysdig
  • Getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platformnot Sysdig
  • Enforcing Conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can runnot Sysdig

Sysdig

  • Real-time threat detection in Kubernetes clustersnot Atlantis
  • Container workload vulnerability prioritizationnot Atlantis
  • Cloud security posture compliance monitoringnot Atlantis
  • Infrastructure entitlement and permission analysisnot Atlantis
  • AI workload security and threat remediationnot Atlantis

Where each one falls short

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

Atlantis

  • There is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.
  • The security surface is inherently sharp, because it is an internet-reachable webhook endpoint that executes applies with privileged credentials, gated by pull request comment authorisation that is coarse next to a real policy engine.
  • It is stateful, holding a working directory and lock database on local disk, so high availability and horizontal scaling are awkward and you own upgrades, webhook plumbing, secret rotation and the host itself.
  • It lacks the features that distinguish the commercial alternatives, with no native drift detection, no cost estimation, no managed state interface and no policy engine beyond the Conftest integration.
  • Terragrunt and monorepo layouts are not first-class, requiring hand-written custom workflows and repository configuration that becomes a growing maintenance burden as the number of repositories increases.

Sysdig

  • Custom pricing requires sales contact, difficult to compare costs
  • No published pricing tiers or calculator available
  • Primarily focused on cloud-native environments
  • Requires integration with existing SIEM or monitoring tools for full visibility
  • Steep learning curve for runtime security concepts

Pricing, plan by plan

Atlantis

Free
  • AtlantisFree
    • Apache-2.0, no usage limits and no seat count
    • No commercial edition and no paid support tier
    • Community support through GitHub and the CNCF Slack channel

Sysdig

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Sysdig review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlantis if

  • You need pull request plans.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want comment driven apply.
Atlantis review

Choose Sysdig if

  • You need real-time threat detection and response.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native.
  • You also want runtime intelligence.
Sysdig review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or Sysdig better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and Sysdig at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or Sysdig?
Atlantis has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Atlantis and On request for Sysdig.
Does Atlantis or Sysdig run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. Sysdig runs on Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native.
Can I use Atlantis for free?
Yes. Atlantis has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sysdig starts at On request.
What is Atlantis best used for?
Atlantis is most often used for making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver, removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys, getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platform, enforcing conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can run. Of those, making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver and removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys are not what Sysdig is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that Sysdig cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. Sysdig covers Real-time threat detection and response, Runtime intelligence, AI-powered security agents, Vulnerability management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Atlantis: Is there a company behind Atlantis?

No. It runs as a series of LF Projects under the Linux Foundation and is maintained by volunteers. There is no vendor to buy support from and no service level agreement.

Sysdig: How does Sysdig achieve real-time threat detection?

Sysdig uses runtime intelligence with kernel-level system visibility, capturing live system calls to detect threats at machine speed, typically within 2 seconds.

Source
Atlantis: Is it a CNCF project?

No. It uses a channel in the CNCF Slack, which is often misread as membership, but the project sits under LF Projects rather than the CNCF.

Sysdig: What is runtime intelligence and how does it differ from configuration-based security?

Runtime intelligence reveals what is actually executing in cloud environments through kernel-level visibility, rather than relying on theoretical risks from configuration analysis alone.

Source
Atlantis: Does it work with OpenTofu?

Yes, there is a dedicated integration guide alongside Terraform, and it also has configuration for working with hosted Terraform backends.

Sysdig: What cloud platforms does Sysdig support?

Sysdig supports AWS, GCP, Azure, and IBM Cloud with multiple regional data centers across US, EU, and other regions.

Source
Atlantis: What does it not do that a paid platform does?

Drift detection, cost estimation, a managed state and run interface, and a real policy engine. Atlantis does pull request plan and apply well and stops there.

Sysdig: Does Sysdig integrate with existing security tools?

Yes, Sysdig integrates with existing SIEM and monitoring tools to provide unified security visibility across cloud infrastructure.

Source
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