OSI-licensed open source
Compliance management software tracks controls and evidence against frameworks like ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST and CIS, and increasingly automates the technical checks. Open-source options cover both the GRC side and the compliance-as-code side.
CISO Assistant is a GRC workspace; OpenSCAP, Prowler, Cloud Custodian, OPA, Lynis, Steampipe and Wazuh automate checks for hosts, clouds and policies. Licenses read from repos.
Tools, licences and pricing checked against vendor and repository pages on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISO Assistant | GRC and risk workflows | Free, open source community edition (self-hosted); paid enterprise - see vendor pricing | AGPL-3.0 |
| OpenSCAP | Linux hardening audits | Free, open source (self-hosted) | LGPL-2.1 |
| Prowler | Cloud compliance checks | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
| Cloud Custodian | Cloud policy enforcement | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
| Open Policy Agent | Policy as code | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
| Lynis | Host audits | Free, open source; paid Lynis Enterprise - see vendor pricing | GPL-3.0 |
| Steampipe | SQL compliance queries | Free, open source (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 |
| Wazuh | Continuous host compliance | Free, open source (self-hosted) | GPL-2.0 |
Best for: GRC and risk workflows · Free, open source community edition (self-hosted); paid enterprise - see vendor pricing
CISO Assistant is a GRC platform; the community repo is AGPL with an enterprise directory under a commercial license.
Best for: Linux hardening audits · Free, open source (self-hosted)
OpenSCAP scans systems against SCAP security baselines.
Best for: Cloud compliance checks · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Prowler audits cloud environments against security best practices and compliance frameworks.
Best for: Cloud policy enforcement · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Cloud Custodian manages cloud resources using policies written in YAML.
Best for: Policy as code · Free, open source (self-hosted)
OPA is a general-purpose policy engine using Rego.
Best for: Host audits · Free, open source; paid Lynis Enterprise - see vendor pricing
Lynis is a security auditing tool for Unix-like systems.
Best for: SQL compliance queries · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Steampipe queries cloud APIs with SQL.
Best for: Continuous host compliance · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Wazuh includes configuration assessment and regulatory compliance modules; repo is mostly GPLv2.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| GRC workspace | CISO Assistant |
| Linux baselines | OpenSCAP, Lynis |
| Cloud audits | Prowler, Steampipe |
| Policy enforcement | Cloud Custodian, OPA |
| Continuous monitoring | Wazuh |
Quick answers to common questions
Software for managing controls, evidence and audits.
Tools help, but auditors judge your process and evidence.
Expressing controls as executable checks.
CISO Assistant covers many frameworks including ISO 27001.
List it on TechLogHub and we'll review it for this guide.
