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APIs · head to head

PocketBase vs Syft

PocketBase logo

PocketBase

APIs

Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Syft logo

Syft

Cybersecurity

Generates a software bill of materials from images, filesystems and archives

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: PocketBase requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain; Syft lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • They diverge on capability: PocketBase covers REST API, Syft covers Multi-format output.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PocketBase and Syft actually diverge.

Attributes where PocketBase and Syft differ
AttributePocketBaseSyft
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSDmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded2021Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 PocketBase

  • REST API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Admin UI
  • SQLite
  • Webhooks
  • File storage
  • Go support
  • Docker support

Only in Syft

  • Multi-format output
  • Broad ecosystem coverage
  • Binary classifiers
  • In-toto attestations
  • Library and CLI
  • Pairs with Grype

What people use each for

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

PocketBase

  • Embedded realtime database with REST APInot Syft
  • Backend-as-a-service for single-file deploymentsnot Syft
  • Rapid application development with email/OAuth2 authenticationnot Syft
  • File storage and media attachment managementnot Syft
  • Lightweight alternative to Firebase or traditional backend infrastructurenot Syft
  • Go and JavaScript customisable application frameworknot Syft

Syft

  • Producing a bill of materials for a customer or regulator that requires onenot PocketBase
  • Feeding an inventory into a vulnerability scanner rather than scanning images directlynot PocketBase
  • Recording what shipped in a build so a future disclosure can be answered quicklynot PocketBase
  • Public sector work where an SBOM is a contractual deliverablenot PocketBase

Where each one falls short

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

PocketBase

  • Requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain
  • No built-in hosting provided
  • Community support only

Syft

  • Lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • Fidelity varies sharply by ecosystem. Conan for C and C++, Haskell and Terraform get cataloguer support with no licence data, no dependency relationships and no file ownership, so a C and C++ shop gets the least from it.
  • Binary classification yields no licence or dependency metadata, and vendored or statically linked code is exactly where supply chain risk hides, so the blind spot and the risk overlap.
  • Incorrect CPE values and CPE collisions are recorded as open issues, and since Grype matches on CPE and PURL, an inventory error becomes a false negative in the security report downstream.
  • An inventory is not a risk assessment. Even a perfect bill of materials says a vulnerable version is present, never that the vulnerable function is called, and the triage burden lands entirely on the reader.

Pricing, plan by plan

PocketBase

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PocketBase review.

Syft

Free
  • SyftFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • No usage limits
    • Community support
  • Anchore Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Policy enforcement and reporting
    • Federal and commercial tiers
    • Pricing not published, quoted on request

Which should you pick?

Choose PocketBase if

  • You need rest api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
PocketBase review

Choose Syft if

  • You need multi-format output.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want broad ecosystem coverage.
Syft review

Questions people ask

Is PocketBase or Syft better?
Neither clearly leads. PocketBase starts at Free and Syft at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PocketBase or Syft?
PocketBase starts at Free and Syft at Free.
Does PocketBase or Syft run on more platforms?
PocketBase runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD. Syft runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
Can I use PocketBase for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PocketBase best used for?
PocketBase is most often used for embedded realtime database with rest api, backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments, rapid application development with email/oauth2 authentication, file storage and media attachment management. Of those, embedded realtime database with rest api and backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments are not what Syft is typically brought in for.
What can PocketBase do that Syft cannot?
PocketBase covers REST API, Real-time subscriptions, Admin UI, SQLite. Syft covers Multi-format output, Broad ecosystem coverage, Binary classifiers, In-toto attestations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PocketBase: How much does PocketBase cost?

PocketBase is completely free and open-source. It is a self-hosted backend solution with database, authentication, and file storage capabilities at no cost.

Source
Syft: Does Syft find vulnerabilities?

No. It produces an inventory. Grype, from the same company, matches that inventory against vulnerability feeds. They are separate tools and the distinction is frequently lost.

PocketBase: Is PocketBase open-source?

Yes, PocketBase is open-source software. You can download, modify, and deploy it yourself at no cost with no licensing restrictions.

Source
Syft: Does anything in the Anchore stack do reachability analysis?

No. Neither Syft, Grype nor the commercial Anchore platform performs call graph or reachability analysis, so none of them tells you whether a vulnerable code path is actually invoked.

Syft: Is it a CNCF or OpenSSF project?

No. It is single-vendor open source owned by Anchore, with no foundation governance. That is a different licence risk profile from Sigstore.

Syft: What does Anchore Enterprise cost?

Not published. The pricing page is contact-sales only, with named but unpriced commercial and federal tiers.

Syft: How do I know my SBOM is complete?

You largely cannot, which is the honest answer. Silent partial parsing is a known open defect, so a bill of materials used for compliance should be spot-checked against a known dependency list.

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