cred_scanner vs Datadog Code Security Secret Scanning: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

cred_scanner

Teams integrating credential scanning into CI/CD pipelines benefit from cred_scanner's focused simplicity: it catches AWS secrets before they hit repos without the bloat of full SAST platforms. The tool's 93 GitHub stars and free pricing reflect its adoption among lean security operations that need one job done well. Skip this if your org uses HashiCorp Vault or similar secret management,cred_scanner prevents exposure but doesn't rotate or manage credentials, so it's a gate, not a vault.

Datadog Code Security Secret Scanning

Teams already running Datadog observability will see immediate payoff from Code Security Secret Scanning because it catches exposed credentials before they leave your repos and gives you runtime confirmation when secrets actually get used in production. The tool covers three NIST CSF 2.0 functions,Risk Assessment, Data Security, and Platform Security,which means it closes gaps at detection and enforcement, not just inventory. Skip this if you need a standalone SAST tool divorced from observability data; Datadog's strength here is correlating secret exposure with real runtime behavior, which only matters if you're already invested in their platform.