Cybersecurity · head to head
Grype vs Semperis
Grype
Cybersecurity
Vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Semperis
Cybersecurity
Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Grype has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Grype depends on public vulnerability databases, so coverage and false positives vary by ecosystem; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- They diverge on capability: Grype covers Image and filesystem scanning, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Grype and Semperis actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).
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 Grype
- Image and filesystem scanning
- SBOM-driven
- Wide ecosystem coverage
- Pipeline friendly
Only in Semperis
- Active Directory Forest Recovery
- Malware-free restore
- Replication-stream monitoring
- Automated rollback
- Attack indicator scoring
- Entra ID and Okta coverage
- Purple Knight
- Forest Druid
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Grype
- Re-scanning stored SBOMs as new CVEs are published, without rebuilding imagesnot Semperis
- Failing CI when a build introduces a known vulnerabilitynot Semperis
- Auditing what is actually installed inside a third-party imagenot Semperis
Semperis
- An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot Grype
- Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Grype
- Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Grype
- Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot Grype
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Grype
- Depends on public vulnerability databases, so coverage and false positives vary by ecosystem
- No triage, exception tracking or reporting UI — that is Anchore’s commercial product
- Overlaps heavily with Trivy, and most teams pick one rather than running both
Semperis
- Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
- It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
- Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
- Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.
Pricing, plan by plan
Grype
Free- GrypeFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
Semperis
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Grype if
- You need image and filesystem scanning.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
- You also want sbom-driven.
Choose Semperis if
- You need active directory forest recovery.
- You also want malware-free restore.
Questions people ask
- Is Grype or Semperis better?
- Neither clearly leads. Grype starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Grype or Semperis?
- Grype has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Grype and On request for Semperis.
- Does Grype or Semperis run on more platforms?
- Grype runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Semperis runs on Web.
- Can I use Grype for free?
- Yes. Grype has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis starts at On request.
- What is Grype best used for?
- Grype is most often used for re-scanning stored sboms as new cves are published, without rebuilding images, failing ci when a build introduces a known vulnerability, auditing what is actually installed inside a third-party image. Of those, re-scanning stored sboms as new cves are published, without rebuilding images and failing ci when a build introduces a known vulnerability are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
- What can Grype do that Semperis cannot?
- Grype covers Image and filesystem scanning, SBOM-driven, Wide ecosystem coverage, Pipeline friendly. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Grype: Is Grype free?
Yes, open source from Anchore. Anchore Enterprise is the paid platform around it.
Semperis: Does this replace my backups?
No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.
Grype: What is the difference between Grype and Syft?
Syft generates the software bill of materials; Grype matches that inventory against vulnerability data. They are designed to be used together.
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?
Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.
Grype: Grype or Trivy?
They cover similar ground. Trivy is broader out of the box, including misconfiguration and secret scanning; Grype pairs more cleanly with an SBOM-first workflow.
Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?
Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.
Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?
The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.
Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?
It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.
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