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Cybersecurity · head to head

Syft vs Weka

Syft logo

Syft

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weka logo

Weka

Machine Learning

Collection of machine learning algorithms

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Weka the package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • They diverge on capability: Syft covers Multi-format output, Weka covers Classification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Syft and Weka actually diverge.

Attributes where Syft and Weka differ
AttributeSyftWeka
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown1993

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 Syft

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

Only in Weka

  • Classification
  • Regression
  • Clustering
  • Association rules
  • Feature selection
  • Java
  • R
  • Python

What people use each for

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

Syft

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

Weka

  • Teaching and exploring classic machine learning algorithms through a GUInot Syft
  • Running data mining experiments and preprocessing without writing codenot Syft

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Weka

  • The package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • Weka is split into a stable 3.8 branch that receives only bug fixes and compatibility-safe upgrades and a 3.9 development branch that may receive features that break compatibility
  • Weka requires a 64-bit Java VM; the bundled installers ship Bellsoft OpenJDK 25 per platform and architecture

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Weka

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • All ML algorithms
    • GUI and CLI
    • Java API

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Weka if

  • You need classification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want regression.
Weka review

Questions people ask

Is Syft or Weka better?
Neither clearly leads. Syft starts at Free and Weka at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Syft or Weka?
Syft starts at Free and Weka at Free.
Does Syft or Weka run on more platforms?
Syft runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. Weka runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Syft for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Syft best used for?
Syft is most often used for producing a bill of materials for a customer or regulator that requires one, feeding an inventory into a vulnerability scanner rather than scanning images directly, recording what shipped in a build so a future disclosure can be answered quickly, public sector work where an sbom is a contractual deliverable. Of those, producing a bill of materials for a customer or regulator that requires one and feeding an inventory into a vulnerability scanner rather than scanning images directly are not what Weka is typically brought in for.
What can Syft do that Weka cannot?
Syft covers Multi-format output, Broad ecosystem coverage, Binary classifiers, In-toto attestations. Weka covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Association rules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Weka: What is the cost of Weka software?

Weka is provided at no cost as open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, making it freely available for download and use.

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.

Weka: Are there commercial licensing options available?

Yes, the project offers information about commercial licenses for organizations requiring non-GPL terms, which can be found in their commercial applications documentation.

Source
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.

Weka: What support resources are available to users?

Multiple support avenues exist including comprehensive documentation, frequently asked questions, dedicated help resources, and access to courses for learning the platform.

Source
Syft: What does Anchore Enterprise cost?

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

Weka: Is source code access provided?

Yes, developers have full access to source code through the Git repository, along with development documentation and code credits for contributors.

Source
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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