Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
4.4/5.0
VerifiedContact SalesLast technical review:
Markdown for AI (.md)

Aqua

Cloud native application protection platform and runtime security for enterprise workloads.

Pricing

Contact

Contact Sales
Score

4.4/5

Certifications
4
Last technical review
2026-10-30
Available plansVisit website (opens in a new tab)

Technical Overview

Aqua Security provides a unified cloud native application protection platform (CNAPP) that monitors code and running workloads, detects real threats, and enforces runtime policies. It is designed for enterprise security and DevOps teams requiring active control and comprehensive visibility across hybrid, multicloud, and local infrastructure.

Analyst Evaluation: Pros and Limitations

Verified Advantages

  • Advanced runtime threat detection and prevention for containers and cloud workloads.
  • Deep correlation between source code, infrastructure, and execution context.
  • Extensive support for hybrid, multicloud, and air-gapped deployment environments.

Technical Considerations

  • Pricing model relies entirely on custom sales inquiries with no public tiers.
  • Steep learning curve due to advanced runtime security policy configuration.

Technical Capabilities & Features

6/7
Included:REST & GraphQL API
Included:SSO / SAML Authentication
Included:Self-Hosted Option
Included:Full Data Export
Included:Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Not available:Custom Domains & SSL
Included:Immutable Audit Logs
Scorecard
Show detailsHide details

Technical Scorecard: Aqua

86/100
DX & Tech Documentation
Excellent
85/100
Pricing Fairness
Favorable
75/100
Security & Governance
Excellent
98/100
Data Portability & Sovereignty
Excellent
82/100
Performance & Reliability
Excellent
90/100

Time to Value & Fit by Segment: Aqua

Estimated Time-to-Value1 - 7 days (Agile)

Standard sprint integration without complex external dependencies.

Learning CurveHigh (Specialized)

Requires dedicated DevOps or infrastructure architecture expertise.

Fit Index by Organization Size

Startup & Agile Teams1 to 50 members
40%
Mid-Market & Scaleup50 to 500 members
80%
Corporate Enterprise500+ members
95%
Pricing & TCO
Show detailsHide details

Pricing

Contact Sales/mo

Model: CONTACT.

Get Aqua (opens in a new tab)

Billing Risks & Hidden Clauses: Aqua

Audited Billing Critical Points:
  • Enterprise plans require custom sales negotiation with undisclosed baseline costs.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Projection: AquaCONTACT
Deterministic cost estimation at 12 and 36 months based on team size, including SSO tax premiums and annual prepay discounts.
Show detailsHide details
Indie / Solo (1 active user)

Solo developer or independent technical founder.

Base Monthly Cost
$12/month
1 active user
12-Month Investment
$122/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$366total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 3 active users

Calculated infrastructure: VPS 1 vCPU / 2GB RAM (~$5) + 0.5h DevOps/mes ($20)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$300/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSaaS is $178/year
Startup (10 active users)

Agile engineering team in validation and early traction stage.

Base Monthly Cost
$120/month
10 active users
12-Month Investment
$1,224/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$3,672total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 10 active users

Calculated infrastructure: VPS 2 vCPU / 8GB RAM (~$15) + 2h DevOps/mes ($80)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$1,140/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSavings of $84/year
Growth (25 active users)

Scaling company with team governance and granular access control requirements.

Base Monthly Cost
$300/month
25 active users
12-Month Investment
$3,060/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$9,180total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 28 active users

Calculated infrastructure: Cluster VPS 4 vCPU / 16GB RAM (~$45) + 6h DevOps/mes ($240)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$3,420/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSaaS is $360/year
Scaleup (100 active users)

Established organization with enterprise security policies and mandatory SAML/SSO.

Base Monthly Cost
$1,200/month
100 active users
12-Month Investment
$12,240/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$36,720total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 78 active users

Calculated infrastructure: Infraestructura HA redundante + Backups (~$150) + 16h DevOps/mes ($640)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$9,480/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSavings of $2,760/year
Usage Surcharges & Bill Shock Simulator: AquaWhat usage costs as you scale
Detect overage penalties before they impact engineering budget.
Show detailsHide details

Prototype / MVP (10 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$20/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Suitable for development; verify concurrent connection limits.

Base Production (50 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$5/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$25/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Implement table compression policies and temporal partitioning.

Active Growth (250 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
High Risk / Accelerated Overages
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$41/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$61/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Offload cold backups to standard object storage (S3).

Large Scale (1.000 GB (1 TB))

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Critical Risk / Severe Bill Shock
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$176/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$196/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Migrate to dedicated instance or self-hosted cluster to curtail I/O fees.

Procurement Strategy & Discounts: AquaB2B Negotiation Playbook
Corporate executive level with highest authority to approve budgetary exceptions.
Show detailsHide details

Fair Market Price & B2B Procurement Benchmark

Non-renewal notice: 60 days before expirationMedian achieved discount: -12%
Public List Price
Custom / Contact
100% baseline
Audited Market Average
-12% median
~88% of list price
Optimized Target Price
-20% target
Max achievable discount (Q4 / multi-year): -20%

Verified Tactical Savings Levers

  • Annual Upfront PrepayUp to -15%

    Consolidated discount for upfront annual billing versus monthly rate.

  • Multi-Year AgreementUp to -25%

    Multi-year contract commitment (2-3 years) with inflation rate lock.

  • Competitive Migration CreditUp to -20%

    Migration credits and buyout of remaining competitor contract period.

Security & Data Exit
Show detailsHide details

Compliance & Security Standards: Aqua

SOC 2 Type IIAudited
ISO 27001Audited
GDPR / RGPDAudited
HIPAAAudited
PCI-DSSNot reported
Jurisdiction & Legal Sovereignty
🇺🇸United States [US]Subject to US CLOUD ActGDPR DPA Available
SSO Availability (SAML Enterprise)
Enterprise-Only SSO
Data Residency
USEUSELF_HOSTEDAWSAzureGCP
AI Privacy Policy
Zero customer data retention
Data Liberation & Migration Runbook: AquaJSON · CSV
Actionable escape runbook and credential export guarantees to mitigate vendor lock-in.
Show detailsHide details
Supported Structured Export Formats
JSONCSV
Password Hash Portability
Subject to Support Ticket (Manual Process)

Credential hash export requires commercial mediation or formal support ticket approval.

CLI Command / Rescue Endpoint
/api/v1/export
Exit Protocol & Migration Notes

La exportación de datos de auditoría y políticas de seguridad se realiza mediante llamadas a la API de la plataforma o integración con sistemas SIEM externos.

Deployment & Infrastructure Requirements: AquaDocker
Hardware specs and Docker directives to run on local servers, dedicated VPS, or Kubernetes without telemetry leak to the cloud.
Show detailsHide details
Minimum Memory1 GB RAM (Recommended)
Compute CPU1 vCPU
Runtime / LanguageTypeScript / Go / Rust
Code LicenseOpen Source
Docker CLI Directive
docker run -d --name aqua -p 8080:8080 aqua:latest
Companion Services & Dependencies:
PostgreSQL 15+Redis 7+
Community & Repository
Show detailsHide details

Technical Reputation of Aqua

85/100 Technical Trust

Frequent Praises in Production

  • Advanced runtime threat detection and prevention for containers and cloud workloads.
  • Deep correlation between source code, infrastructure, and execution context.
  • Extensive support for hybrid, multicloud, and air-gapped deployment environments.

Reported Production Frictions

  • Pricing model relies entirely on custom sales inquiries with no public tiers.
  • Steep learning curve due to advanced runtime security policy configuration.
Commercial Treatment & Vendor Lock-in:Requires Sales Contact

Assisted cancellation requiring meeting with account team or contract notice period.

Frequently Asked Technical Questions (Aqua)

How does Aqua integrate into the software development and deployment pipeline?

Aqua integrates early in the software development lifecycle by scanning code repositories and dependencies, while continuing to protect active workloads in clusters via runtime agents.

What types of infrastructure environments does the platform support?

The platform supports containers, serverless functions, virtual machines, and distributed deployments spanning on-premises, multicloud, hybrid, and air-gapped architectures.

Can Aqua be deployed in a self-hosted configuration on proprietary infrastructure?

Yes, the system allows self-hosted and local deployments to satisfy strict data sovereignty and corporate security regulations in organizations with high compliance demands.

Direct Alternatives

All tools in Aqua
Embed Verification Badge
Official Badge
Show detailsHide details
TheJudex Verified - Aqua