AWS Config Rules Repository vs AWS Security Toolbox (AST): Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
AWS Config Rules Repository 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 building compliance automation on AWS will extract the most value from AWS Config Rules Repository because it's free and community-maintained, meaning no vendor lock-in and rules that evolve with real deployment patterns rather than marketing cycles. The repository has 1,714 GitHub stars and covers the Config Rules API surface broadly enough that most teams won't need to write rules from scratch. Skip this if you need a managed compliance platform with remediation workflows and audit trails; this is a rules library for teams who already own their Config infrastructure and want to avoid vendor SaaS pricing.
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.
