Chainguard VMs vs Grype: side-by-side comparison (2026)
Chainguard VMs is a commercial container security solution by Chainguard. Grype is a free container security solution. Features, integrations, deployment and the company behind each one, side by side.
Our take
What our shortlists say about the one we picked.
- Chainguard VMs
Best for: Teams eliminating CVEs at the base image level
The trade-off is that Chainguard VMs solve a specific problem: vulnerable base images. They do not provide runtime threat detection, Kubernetes admission control, or vulnerability scanning of your application code and dependencies. They are best used as a foundation layer alongside a runtime security solution like Sysdig or a scanner like Snyk Container. If your current scanner report is dominated by OS-level CVEs in your base image, Chainguard VMs will eliminate most of that noise at the source.
From Best Container Security Solutions for Business, Fall 2026
Reviewed by Nika (Nikoloz) Kokhreidze.
Minimal, zero-CVE virtual machine images for container hosts and applications
Grype is a vulnerability scanner for container images and filesystems that scans for known vulnerabilities and supports various image formats.
Side-by-side comparison
Feature
Chainguard VMs
Grype
Pricing model
Commercial
Free
Category
Container Security
Container Security
Deployment and fit
Deployment type
Hybrid
On-Premises
Company size fit
SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise
Startup, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise
Open source
GitHub stars
–
10,607
Last commit
–
Sep 2025
Company
Company
Chainguard
–
Use cases and capabilities
AWS
Yes
No
Azure
Yes
No
Linux
Yes
No
Supply Chain Security
Yes
No
Cloud Native
Yes
No
SBOM
No
Yes
Core features
10 features listed
9 features listed
Integrations
5 integrations listed
4 integrations listed
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