Head to head
Aqua vs Sysdig: which reaches your whole cloud estate faster?
Short answer
On our coverage weights Sysdig scores 7.67 against 7.45 for Aqua. Aqua scores higher on clouds and environments named; Sysdig scores higher on agentless workload depth, path to first findings, risk context from day one, runtime layer when you need it, integrations and reach and cost visibility before purchase. Aqua names 7 of 8 environments and Sysdig names 4.
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial assessment; we did not run the products.
How do the scores compare?
| Criterion | Aqua | Sysdig | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and environments named 20% | 10.0 | 8.0 | Aqua |
| Agentless workload depth 25% | 6.8 | 7.6 | Sysdig |
| Path to first findings 15% | 5.5 | 6.5 | Sysdig |
| Risk context from day one 15% | 7.8 | 8.2 | Sysdig |
| Runtime layer when you need it 10% | 9.0 | 9.6 | Sysdig |
| Integrations and reach 7% | 7.6 | 8.0 | Sysdig |
| Cost visibility before purchase 8% | 4.0 | 5.5 | Sysdig |
| Total | 7.45 | 7.67 | Sysdig |
Aqua
Sysdig
Which environments does each name?
Aqua Security
Aqua's pricing page lists "Support of AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle and Alibaba Cloud environments"; its platform page names public, private and disconnected environments and states FedRAMP High authorization.
Source: Aqua pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
Sysdig Secure
Sysdig's docs say AWS, Google Cloud and Azure support all its agentless cloud features, and Oracle Cloud supports agentless CSPM only.
Source: Sysdig docs: connect cloud accounts · Read 11 Oct 2026
- Named on the vendor's pages we reviewed
- Not named on the pages we reviewed (this does not mean unsupported)
Named by both: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud. Only Aqua: Alibaba Cloud, On-premises or private cloud and Disconnected (air-gapped). Only Sysdig: none.
How does each see workloads?
- Coverage model
- Agentless posture visibility; the platform's depth comes from kernel-layer runtime enforcement.
- Runtime layer
- Kernel-layer enforcement that blocks attacks without killing the container and preserves memory evidence.
- Path to first findings
- Agentless posture first; workload depth needs the enforcement layer.
Aqua
- Coverage model
- Agentless CSPM, CIEM and host vulnerability scanning on AWS, Google Cloud and Azure; in-use analysis and runtime detection need the agent.
- Runtime layer
- Sysdig agent with Falco-based detection.
- Path to first findings
- Agentless connection; Sysdig's docs say compliance results appear about 5 to 10 minutes after connection, varying with scale. In-use package insight needs the agent.
Sysdig
What does each cost?
Aqua
Not published No list prices. Aqua says Dev Security pricing "is based on the number of code repositories" and Cloud Security is priced by workloads (EC2 instances, Fargate containers, Lambda functions); trial and demo on request.
Source: Aqua pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
Sysdig
AWS Marketplace, 1-month contract: CNAPP Enterprise $72.00 per unit per month (the unit was not captured in our read); 12-month contracts listed as saving up to 17%. Sysdig's own pricing page: licensing by number of hosts, prices by quote.
Source: AWS Marketplace: Sysdig Cloud Security and Observability · Read 11 Oct 2026
What does each claim?
Aqua
Sysdig
Which should you choose?
Choose Aqua if
you value coverage of the most clouds and environments and a deep runtime sensor for detection and blocking.
Best fit: Teams with private or disconnected environments and container pipelines.
Choose Sysdig if
you value a deep runtime sensor for detection and blocking and a ranked fix list from attack paths.
Best fit: Kubernetes-heavy teams that want Falco-based runtime detection.
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher for multi-cloud coverage, Aqua or Sysdig?
Sysdig scores 7.67 against 7.45 on our default weights. With equal weights the order is Sysdig first (7.63 against 7.24). The coverage calculator lets you set your own weights.
Which clouds do Aqua and Sysdig name?
Aqua: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, On-premises or private cloud and Disconnected (air-gapped). Aqua's pricing page lists "Support of AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle and Alibaba Cloud environments"; its platform page names public, private and disconnected environments and states FedRAMP High authorization. Sysdig: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud. Sysdig's docs say AWS, Google Cloud and Azure support all its agentless cloud features, and Oracle Cloud supports agentless CSPM only.
Which is cheaper?
Aqua: Not published. Sysdig: AWS Marketplace, 1-month contract: CNAPP Enterprise $72.00 per unit per month (the unit was not captured in our read); 12-month contracts listed as saving up to 17%. Sysdig's own pricing page: licensing by number of hosts, prices by quote. Neither figure is a quote for your estate.