Best 6 Wiz alternatives
Wiz is a powerful, agentless CNAPP that provides full multi-cloud visibility, detects misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, and maps attack paths to help teams prioritize real risks.
Its limitation is that it's reactive—identifying risks only after they’re deployed. This can lead to overwhelming alert volume, manual remediation work, and growing complexity and cost as environments scale.
Chainguard complements Wiz by preventing vulnerabilities earlier, delivering zero-CVE container images, built-in SBOMs/provenance, and seamless CI/CD integration to reduce the noise Wiz surfaces at runtime.
Using Wiz and Chainguard together creates full lifecycle security, combining proactive build-time prevention with runtime detection to reduce risk, cut alert fatigue, and strengthen cloud security posture.
What exactly is Wiz?
As any company scales up, so will the footprint of its cloud infrastructure. They might span multiple providers, hundreds of services, and countless configurations. Security teams will need a way to see everything that's happening without getting buried in noise. That's where Wiz comes in. Wiz connects to your cloud services (think AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) without installing multiple agents everywhere. Then, it scans your entire cloud infrastructure to find the scary stuff: misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, exposed secrets, and compliance gaps. Something that does this is called a CNAPP (pronounced see·nap) or a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform. It's the Swiss Army knife of cybersecurity platforms, one tool that promises to do everything.
What makes Wiz pretty clever is how it maps out potential attack paths using a graph-based approach. Instead of just handing you a laundry list of issues, it shows which problems could lead to a fundamental breach. It's like having a security consultant to show you how a hacker might hop from one compromised resource to another.
What can your business actually do with Wiz?
Wiz gives you a "bird's eye view" of your entire hybrid cloud setup without making you install agents on every virtual machine, container, or serverless function. You get:
Real-time visibility across your whole multi-cloud mess (and most of us have a bit of a mess). Virtual machines, containers, storage buckets, identities—Wiz lets you see it through comprehensive dashboards.
Intelligent threat detection that goes beyond "here's a vulnerability." It finds misconfigurations, exposed credentials, overprivileged users, and compliance issues, then tells you which ones matter for risk management.
Attack path visualization lets you see exactly how an attacker might move through your environment, based on genuine relationships between your cloud services.
Automated reporting for all those compliance frameworks (SOC2, PCI DSS, HIPAA) that keep auditors happy, with templates for common security scenarios.
A real-world example
Let's say your security team deploys Wiz on a Friday afternoon (which is always the best time for security changes, right?). By Monday morning, they discovered three S3 buckets were accidentally public, AWS credentials were hardcoded in a GitHub repo deployed to production, and several containers were running with known vulnerabilities.
The beauty of Wiz is that it doesn't just dump this list on you. It shows you the exact issues that could lead to a data breach and prioritizes them accordingly. Your team can focus on the real threats instead of chasing every minor configuration issue.
Where Wiz falls short
The truth is, innovative cybersecurity teams pair Wiz with other tools that prevent problems earlier in the software development cycle. Think of it as defense in depth—Wiz catches what has already been deployed, while other tools prevent issues from ever reaching production. Here's a list of what frustrates teams about Wiz:
It's reactive, not proactive. Wiz is great at finding problems that already exist in production, but it can't prevent them from getting there in the first place. You're always playing catch-up.
The learning curve is steep. With all its features and capabilities, Wiz can feel overwhelming. New team members often struggle with the interface because Wiz keeps adding more features to their dashboards.
Remediation is still manual work. Sure, Wiz tells you what's wrong and why it matters, but actually fixing things? That's still on you. Get ready for lots of manual triage and remediation.
Cloud coverage varies. While Wiz supports major cloud providers, the exact nature of the support differs. Don't expect feature parity across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud APIs.
Costs can spiral quickly. Like most enterprise security solutions, Wiz pricing can get expensive fast, especially in large or hybrid cloud environments. They charge by the workload, which they define as a “collection of resources used to execute a specific business process or function," so the more processes or functions you cover, the more you spend.
Alert fatigue is real. Even with prioritization, teams often get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of findings. Some turn out to be false positives. Others are real issues, but get misrouted to the wrong team. Many fall into that gray area of "technically a problem, but is it actually critical?" This can lead to misconfigurations, tweaks, and optimizations that pile up with every release.
6 solid Wiz alternatives to consider
If Wiz is missing the features you need, like better native Azure integration, stronger behavioral anomaly detection, or more robust container security, here are some alternative CNAPPs worth exploring:
Orca Security
Orca uses "SideScanning" technology for agentless visibility across your cloud workloads. Security and DevOps teams love that it's fast to deploy and, like Wix, doesn't require managing agents on every endpoint.
The good stuff: Quick agentless deployment, deep visibility, graph-based risk mapping, and solid compliance support with built-in templates.
The not-so-good: Limited developer integrations, no source code scanning, and it's still focused on post-deployment detection.
Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks is a heavyweight in the cybersecurity space and Prisma Cloud is a comprehensive CNAPP that tries to do everything. It integrates nicely across hybrid cloud environments if you're already in the Palo Alto ecosystem.
The good stuff: Comprehensive coverage across Cloud Security Posture Management, workload protection, and compliance, strong enterprise features, real-time threat detection with advanced dashboards, and malware protection.
The not-so-good: Complex to set up, expensive for large deployments, and can be overwhelming for smaller teams.
Defender for Cloud by Microsoft
Defender for Cloud is Microsoft's answer to cloud security, with obviously excellent Azure integration and continuously improving support for other cloud services, including Google Cloud.
The good stuff: Native Azure visibility, improved multi-cloud support, compatibility with other Microsoft tools, and sensitive data protection.
The not-so-good: Multi-cloud capabilities still lag behind Azure-specific features and are less flexible for non-Microsoft shops.
CloudGuard by Check Point
CloudGuard is a multi-cloud security platform from a company with deep network security roots. Great for compliance-heavy organizations managing hybrid cloud deployments.
The good stuff: Strong network security and policy enforcement, single pane for multi-cloud management, solid compliance tools with templates.
The not-so-good: Less developer-friendly, may require legacy infrastructure, not as DevOps-focused.
Lacework (acquired by Fortinet)
Lacework takes a machine learning approach to cloud security, focusing on behavioral anomaly detection and threat hunting across hybrid cloud environments.
The good stuff: ML-powered behavioral detection that can spot unusual activity patterns that signature-based tools might miss, unified visibility across clouds and containers, strong compliance reporting, and effective risk management dashboards.
The not-so-good: Requires tuning to reduce false positives, and is less mature in shift-left security practices.
Aqua Security
Aqua Security is a comprehensive platform that's particularly strong in container and Kubernetes security, with good CI/CD integration for software development workflows.
The good stuff: Excellent container security, strong runtime protection, good CI/CD integration, broad platform support, including Google Cloud, and malware scanning capabilities.
The not-so-good: More complex to deploy, can get pricey, and is more container-focused than pure cloud posture.
The reality check
The point is, these tools are primarily reactive. They're excellent at finding problems that already exist in your production environment, but they can't prevent those problems from happening in the first place. A reactive platform creates a cycle of detection, triage, and remediation that keeps cybersecurity teams busy but doesn't necessarily make your software more secure from the start.
Chainguard’s trusted open source components + Wiz’s scanner: The prevention-detection combo
What if you could prevent many of these vulnerabilities from ever reaching production, rather than detecting them after deployment?
Most cloud security solutions, including Wiz and its alternatives, work like smoke detectors—they're great at alerting you when there's already a fire, but they can't prevent the fire from starting in the first place. This reactive approach leads to alert fatigue, delayed remediation, and missed opportunities to fix problems when they're cheapest and easiest to address.
What is Chainguard?
Chainguard is a software security company that takes a different approach. Instead of scanning for vulnerabilities after software is built and deployed, Chainguard provides hardened, minimal container images that start with zero known vulnerabilities and stay there. Think of it as building your house with fire-resistant materials.
Chainguard delivers secure container images and supply chain security tools designed to prevent vulnerabilities early in the build process. Its images come with built-in SBOMs (Software Bill of Materials) and provenance, and are designed to integrate easily into software development workflows. The SaaS platform integrates with popular tools like GitHub for streamlined deployment.
You can check out what others say about Chainguard on the G2 Crowd page.
Why use both?
Chainguard is an excellent complement to Wiz because it reduces the number of issues Wiz finds and bugs you about by dramatically reducing the number of vulnerabilities that make it to production in the first place. Your security team can focus on the real issues instead of sifting through hundreds of known CVEs that could have been prevented at build time.
It's like having a sound immune system (Chainguard) and a good doctor (Wiz). The immune system prevents most illnesses, but when disease does take hold, the doctor can quickly diagnose and treat it.
Feature/Aspect | Wiz only | Wiz + Chainguard |
Security approach | Reactively detects vulnerabilities post-deployment | Prevents vulnerabilities early in the build, detects and remediates post-deployment risks |
Vulnerability management | Runtime scanning and misconfiguration detection | Secure base images eliminate many vulnerabilities, combined with runtime risk prioritization |
Developer workflow integration | Limited to runtime and cloud environment visibility | CI/CD integration with policy enforcement and signature verification reduces risk in the build pipeline |
Alert fatigue | Many alerts from vulnerabilities | Reduced alerts due to fewer vulnerabilities making it into production |
Coverage | Cloud workloads, configurations, containers | Full lifecycle: built time image security + runtime cloud security |
Risk reduction approach | Respond and remediate after risk appears | Shift-left prevention plus runtime detection and response |
How they work together
Chainguard integrates into software development workflows with CI/CD-friendly tooling that enforces image policies, signature verification, and provenance requirements without creating friction or slowing down build pipelines. The platform works seamlessly with GitHub and other popular development tools.
Wiz focuses on runtime visibility by scanning cloud environments for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and exposure across your entire hybrid cloud infrastructure, not just containers. Its API integrations allow for real-time monitoring of cloud services, automated threat detection, and comprehensive dashboards that help with risk management and protecting sensitive data.
Chainguard prevents the issues Wiz detects by delivering hardened container-based images that eliminate known CVEs during the build process. This reduces the noise from vulnerability scans in production, making Wiz's alerts more actionable and meaningful. (Check out The Cost of CVEs 2025 report for the real business impact of this approach.)
Together, they provide comprehensive coverage from build-time to runtime, giving your team full-stack visibility with automated prevention in the build phase and detection/remediation in production.
Top Chainguard features that security teams love
Zero-CVE container images: Hardened container images come with zero known vulnerabilities. This means fewer findings for runtime scanners like Wiz to detect later, helping teams focus on what matters. By having already eliminated CVEs before they reach production, these secure-by-default images reduce alert fatigue and shift security left in the development process.
Built-in SBOMs and provenance: Every secure base image includes complete transparency about what's inside and where it came from. This provenance metadata is perfect for compliance and audit requirements, especially when handling sensitive data in regulated industries.
Seamless CI/CD integration: Prevention-focused container security fits naturally into modern DevOps pipelines without slowing down development or creating friction. It supports platforms like GitHub and other popular tools, making it developer-friendly and requiring no significant workflow changes.
Open-source foundation: Built on and contributing to open-source security standards like Sigstore and SLSA, so teams aren't locked into proprietary solutions. This transparency and ecosystem contribution make it trusted by high-security teams across regulated industries.
Malware prevention and reduced dependency risk: Minimal, hardened images with clean base layers significantly reduce third-party dependency risk and prevent malware from entering the supply chain.
What it doesn't do
While hardened containers excel at build-time prevention, they're not a replacement for runtime scanning capabilities like Wiz. Teams still need production visibility, cloud infrastructure monitoring, and comprehensive dashboards to catch misconfigurations and runtime threats. Additionally, this approach requires some developer or platform team buy-in for full implementation and only applies to containerized environments.
Ready to level up your cloud security?
The combination of build-time prevention (Chainguard) and runtime detection (Wiz) gives you the best of both worlds—fewer vulnerabilities reaching production endpoints and better visibility into what's running across your cloud infrastructure.
Want to see how this approach works for your organization? Contact us to learn how to integrate complete lifecycle security into your software development and operations workflows.
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