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Cybersecurity · head to head

Sigstore vs Sysdig

Sigstore logo

Sigstore

Cybersecurity

Free public signing and transparency infrastructure for open source artifacts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sysdig logo

Sysdig

Cybersecurity

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sigstore has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Sigstore the security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.; Sysdig custom pricing requires sales contact, difficult to compare costs
  • They diverge on capability: Sigstore covers Fulcio, 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 Sigstore and Sysdig actually diverge.

Attributes where Sigstore and Sysdig differ
AttributeSigstoreSysdig
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, public instance free to useCustom pricing based on number of hosts, events processed, or time series data
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedKubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Sigstore

  • Fulcio
  • Rekor
  • Keyless signing
  • Multi-language clients
  • Timestamp authority
  • Neutral governance

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.

Sigstore

  • Open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authoritynot Sysdig
  • Organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing productnot Sysdig
  • Publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of younot Sysdig
  • Self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptablenot Sysdig

Sysdig

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

Where each one falls short

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

Sigstore

  • The security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.
  • It is a 99.5 percent objective with no service level agreement, which permits several hours of downtime a month and offers no remedy. A pipeline that signs on every build has taken a hard dependency on a free service with no contract behind it.
  • Log scale is a live engineering problem rather than a theoretical one. The active shard holds billions of entries, the log has already been sharded twice, and sharding version 1 requires stopping traffic, which is why a replacement was built.
  • Ten-minute certificates make trust depend on log availability. Verifying an older signature relies on the log entry proving it was made inside that window, so a lost or unreachable entry can render a valid artifact unverifiable.
  • Migration debt is substantial and ongoing. Version 2 of the log is generally available but not the public default, the signing client has an announced breaking release ahead, some official clients lag the new log format, and a post-quantum migration is named as the next break after that.

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

Sigstore

Free
  • Public good instanceFree
    • Free to everyone with no contract
    • 99.5 percent availability objective, not an agreement
    • 100KB cap per attestation upload
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • Run your own Fulcio and Rekor
    • Rekor v2 available for self-hosters

Sysdig

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Sysdig review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Sigstore if

  • You need fulcio.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want rekor.
Sigstore 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 Sigstore or Sysdig better?
Neither clearly leads. Sigstore 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, Sigstore or Sysdig?
Sigstore has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Sigstore and On request for Sysdig.
Does Sigstore or Sysdig run on more platforms?
Sigstore runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Sysdig runs on Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloud-native.
Can I use Sigstore for free?
Yes. Sigstore has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sysdig starts at On request.
What is Sigstore best used for?
Sigstore is most often used for open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authority, organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing product, publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of you, self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptable. Of those, open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authority and organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing product are not what Sysdig is typically brought in for.
What can Sigstore do that Sysdig cannot?
Sigstore covers Fulcio, Rekor, Keyless signing, Multi-language clients. Sysdig covers Real-time threat detection and response, Runtime intelligence, AI-powered security agents, Vulnerability management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Sigstore: Is the public instance really free?

Yes, with no contract and no paid tier. That is also the weakness: a 99.5 percent objective with no agreement, no remedy and support through Slack.

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
Sigstore: Has the public log moved to Rekor v2?

No. Version 2 reached general availability in October 2025 and self-hosters can use it, but the public instance still defaults to version 1 and the project has said it will for the foreseeable future.

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
Sigstore: Does Sigstore make my dependencies safe?

No, and this is a category error worth avoiding. It tells you who published something. It has no knowledge of what the artifact contains or whether it is vulnerable.

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
Sigstore: What are the rate limits?

Not published. Only the 100KB cap per attestation upload is documented, so do not design a high-volume pipeline around assumed throughput.

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
Sigstore: Should we self-host it?

If a public record of every signature is unacceptable, or if a free service with no agreement cannot sit in your build path, then yes. Otherwise the public instance is what most projects use.

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