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Cybersecurity · head to head

Chainguard vs NEOGOV

Chainguard logo

Chainguard

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
NEOGOV logo

NEOGOV

Government

Public sector HR suite covering civil service recruiting, onboarding, training and policy management

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Chainguard has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Chainguard containers Catalog at 19,000 USD/year expensive for teams under 10 people; NEOGOV each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • They diverge on capability: Chainguard covers Hardened container images, NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chainguard and NEOGOV actually diverge.

Attributes where Chainguard and NEOGOV differ
AttributeChainguardNEOGOV
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelLicensing by artifact type and team sizequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCloud, Container, VMWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment

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 Chainguard

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

Only in NEOGOV

  • Civil service recruiting
  • Veterans preference handling
  • GovernmentJobs.com posting
  • Onboarding workflows
  • Learning and training records
  • Policy management

What people use each for

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

Chainguard

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

NEOGOV

  • A city or county HR department that must run scored examinations and ranked eligibility listsnot Chainguard
  • A public safety agency needing policy acknowledgement records that stand up in litigationnot Chainguard
  • An agency replacing a commercial applicant tracking system that cannot handle veterans preferencenot Chainguard
  • A school district or university consolidating recruiting, onboarding and mandated training recordsnot Chainguard

Where each one falls short

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

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

NEOGOV

  • Each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • Policy management arrived through the PowerDMS acquisition rather than being built in, and the join between it and the rest of the suite still reads as two products.
  • Implementation is long and configuration heavy because the civil service rules that make the product valuable have to be encoded for your jurisdiction, and that work is billed.
  • Pricing is not published and scales with headcount, so a large agency can pay several times what a comparable one pays without knowing it unless someone reads the public contracts.
  • Private equity ownership since the Warburg Pincus investment has coincided with an acquisition led strategy, and buyers should expect further products bolted on rather than deeper integration of the existing ones.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

NEOGOV

On request
  • NEOGOV Suite$undefined/year
    • Quoted per module and scaled by employee headcount
    • Implementation and data migration priced separately from the subscription
    • Available through cooperative purchasing and state term contracts

Which should you pick?

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.
Chainguard review

Choose NEOGOV if

  • You need civil service recruiting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want veterans preference handling.
NEOGOV review

Questions people ask

Is Chainguard or NEOGOV better?
Neither clearly leads. Chainguard starts at Free and NEOGOV at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chainguard or NEOGOV?
Chainguard has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chainguard and On request for NEOGOV.
Does Chainguard or NEOGOV run on more platforms?
Chainguard runs on Cloud, Container, VM. NEOGOV runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Chainguard for free?
Yes. Chainguard has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NEOGOV starts at On request.
What is Chainguard best used for?
Chainguard is most often used for deploying hardened container images with minimal attack surface, meeting supply chain security requirements for regulated industries, reducing cve exposure with contractual remediation guarantees, building secure language packages with automatic backports. Of those, deploying hardened container images with minimal attack surface and meeting supply chain security requirements for regulated industries are not what NEOGOV is typically brought in for.
What can Chainguard do that NEOGOV cannot?
Chainguard covers Hardened container images, CVE remediation SLA, SLSA L2/L3 builds, Sigstore signatures. NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting, Veterans preference handling, GovernmentJobs.com posting, Onboarding workflows.

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
NEOGOV: Why not use a commercial applicant tracking system?

Because civil service rules such as ranked eligibility lists, rule of three certification and veterans preference are not expressible in commercial products, so the statutory steps end up in spreadsheets.

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
NEOGOV: Can I find out what other agencies pay?

Yes. These are public procurements, so executed contract values appear in council agenda packets and state term contract listings. Read several before negotiating.

Chainguard: Can I try Chainguard before purchasing?

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

Source
NEOGOV: What did NEOGOV acquire?

PowerDMS, a policy management and accreditation product, in 2021, which is now sold as the policy module of the suite.

NEOGOV: Is it only for the United States?

Effectively yes. The value is in encoding US civil service and public safety requirements.

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