Knockknock vs Osquery: 2026 Comparison
Knockknock is a free endpoint detection and response tool. Osquery is a free endpoint detection and response tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best endpoint detection and response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Mac-focused security teams with limited budgets should start with Knockknock to audit persistence mechanisms that commodity malware relies on, especially rootkits and launch agents that traditional antivirus misses. It's free and open-source, so deployment friction is near zero and you can inspect the code yourself. Skip this if you need real-time prevention or cross-platform coverage; Knockknock is a forensic scanner for macOS, not an EDR replacement.
Security teams managing macOS fleets at scale should pick Osquery for endpoint visibility that doesn't require expensive commercial EDR licensing; it ships queryable system activity data from thousands of hosts without agent bloat. The tool has been deployed by Meta, Apple, and Uber across hundreds of thousands of endpoints, proving it handles volume. Osquery excels at hunt-driven investigation and compliance baselines but doesn't include behavioral detection or automated response, so teams expecting out-of-the-box threat hunting will need to layer in separate analytics.
