Anchore Secure vs Docker Bench for Security: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Anchore Secure is a commercial container security tool by Anchore. Docker Bench for Security is a free container security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best container security fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, integrations, company size fit, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise teams with strict vulnerability governance will get the most from Anchore Secure, specifically its ability to track historical vulnerability exposure without forcing rescans of every image each time a new CVE drops. The SBOM generation through Syft and policy-based compliance checks directly address NIST ID.RA risk assessment requirements. Skip this if your team needs runtime threat detection; Anchore is a scanning and inventory tool, not a behavioral enforcement platform.
Teams running Docker in dev and staging environments need Docker Bench for Security to catch basic misconfigurations before they reach production; it audits against the actual CIS Docker Benchmark standard rather than vendor-specific rules, giving you policy alignment without licensing costs. The 9,600-plus GitHub stars reflect real adoption among engineers who treat it as a pre-deployment gate, and it requires zero agent installation. Skip this if you're looking for runtime threat detection or need continuous compliance monitoring across a fleet; Docker Bench is a point-in-time scanner that won't flag a privilege escalation happening inside a running container.
