DNSAudit.io vs KICS: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
DNSAudit.io is a free security scanning tool by DNSAudit.io. KICS is a free security scanning tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best security scanning fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Infrastructure teams managing Terraform, CloudFormation, or Kubernetes manifests should pick KICS because it catches misconfigurations at commit time before they reach production, and the price is right: free and open-source with 2,588 GitHub stars means a live community catching new IaC attack patterns. The tool integrates directly into CI/CD pipelines, so you're shifting left without adding licensing headaches. Skip KICS if you need runtime detection of container or cloud workload behavior; it's purely a static scanner that audits your infrastructure code, not what's executing.
Data verified Jun 2026
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DNSAudit.io
Free DNS security scanner that checks domains for misconfigs and exposure.
KICS
KICS is an open-source Infrastructure as Code security scanner that detects vulnerabilities and misconfigurations through customizable queries and integrates with CI/CD pipelines.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Feature
DNSAudit.io
KICS
Pricing Model
Free
Free
Category
Security Scanning
Security Scanning
Verified Vendor
Deployment & Fit
Deployment Type
Cloud
Company Size Fit
Startup, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise
Open Source
GitHub Stars
2,588
Last Commit
Mar 2026
Company Information
Company
DNSAudit.io
Headquarters
Founded, Size & Funding
Use Cases & Capabilities
DNS Security
Misconfiguration
DMARC
SPF
DKIM
Security Scanning
Reconnaissance
DNS Rebinding
Cloud Native
DEVSECOPS
Open Source
Infrastructure As Code
CI/CD
NIST CSF 2.0 Coverage
NIST CSF 2.0 Mapping
Access NIST CSF 2.0 data from thousands of security products via MCP to assess your stack coverage.
Access via MCPCore Features
- 40+ automated DNS security checks per domain scan
- DNS security score and letter grade (A+ to F)
- SPF, DMARC, and DKIM validation
- DNSSEC status check
- Zone transfer exposure detection
- Open resolver and DNS amplification vector detection
- DNS rebinding risk identification
- Passive DNS threat correlation (botnet/malware-linked IPs)
- No features listed
Community
Community Votes
2
0
Bookmarks
User Reviews
5.0/5(2 reviews)
Recent Reviews
5/5
I started using DNSAudit.io to do a quick sanity check on a client's domain before a migration. Ended up finding a wildcard DNS entry that had been sitting there for years, completely forgotten. The scan is fast and doesn't require an account, which matters when you're jumping between client environments. The scoring breakdown is actually useful, not just a traffic light. It tells you what's wrong and why. And I really love they also explain how to fix all the issues you find in the results!! Also i have started using its api as well and its works amazingly good for integrations
5/5
Solid free tool for a first pass on DNS security posture. Useful if you need to hand a non-technical stakeholder something with a score and clear findings. Checks zone transfer exposure, SPF/DMARC/DKIM, DNSSEC, and a bunch of other things I normally have to check manually with dig.
No reviews yet
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