AWS Cloud Security vs AWS Security Toolbox (AST): Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
AWS Cloud Security is a free cloud security posture management tool. AWS Security Toolbox (AST) is a free cloud security posture management tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best cloud security posture management fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Teams already committed to AWS and seeking native compliance automation will find AWS Cloud Security's tight integration with native services and IAM controls hard to replicate elsewhere. The tool covers AWS-specific compliance frameworks including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2 without additional licensing, and Identity Center integration eliminates separate access management overhead. Skip this if your infrastructure spans multiple clouds or you need threat detection capabilities; AWS Cloud Security prioritizes compliance posture and configuration audit over active threat hunting.
Security teams with limited budgets who need to audit their AWS account without vendor lock-in should start with AWS Security Toolbox; it bundles AWS's native tools,IAM Access Analyzer, Config, Security Hub,into a single container, eliminating the friction of stitching them together manually. The free pricing and 286 GitHub stars signal adoption by practitioners who've validated it works for baseline assessments and compliance checks. Skip it if you need continuous posture monitoring or remediation workflows; AST is a point-in-time scanner, not a platform replacement.
