25 Best DevSecOps Tools for Secure CI/CD in 2025

DevSecOps doesn't happen when you stop pretending security is someone else's job and bake it directly into how code gets built, tested, and deployed. It's not just about scanning for vulnerabilities. It's about catching misconfigs before they hit prod, preventing hardcoded secrets, automating policy enforcement, and making sure your CI/CD pipeline isn't a launchpad for ransomware.

The idea is simple:

• Dev: Build fast

• Sec: Don't break trust

• Ops: Run smoothly

But pulling that off? That takes the right stack.

At CodeAnt.ai, we believe security shouldn't slow you down, it should scale with your code. That's why we're starting this list with our own DevSecOps engine, purpose-built to protect what you're building without killing your velocity. After that, we're walking you through 24 more tools, each picked to help you level up security across every stage of the SDLC. From container scanning and IaC validation to secret detection and compliance automation, we've got the stuff that works in real teams.

Let's break down the tools we are mentioning.

1. CodeAnt.ai

You know how code reviews often slow down because someone has to comb through security issues manually? CodeAnt.ai takes that pain off your plate. It plugs right into your Git workflow and flags security risks, secrets, and bad code patterns, and even offers fixes right inside your pull requests.

What makes it click in today’s world is its ability to move fast with you. It’s built for teams who push code daily but can’t afford to let security lag.

What stands out:

• It doesn't just detect issues — it offers to fix them, and opens a PR for it

• Look at your app code, your infrastructure (like Terraform or K8s), and your dependencies — all at once

• Flag secrets in PRs, including AWS tokens, and Azure DevOps creds

• Works across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps with zero extra CI setup

• Can block pull requests from being merged if critical issues aren't resolved

• You can write your policies (in plain English) to enforce team standards

• Comes with built-in HIPAA and SOC 2 checks, plus AWS config analysis

What's missing or limited:

It's not open-source.

How teams use it:

Once it's connected to your Git repo, CodeAnt runs on every pull request the moment it's created or updated. That could be a leaked API key, a misconfigured Terraform block, or a vulnerable dependency. If the problem's serious, it can stop the PR from merging. And if it's something fixable, you can often resolve it with a click.

Pricing:

Starts at $10/dev/month and goes up to $15/dev/month for full compliance and analytics. Free trial available.

2. Spacelift

Managing Infrastructure as Code across teams and tools can get messy fast, especially when everyone’s using their flavor of Terraform, Ansible, or Pulumi. 

Spacelift brings order to the chaos. It gives teams a single place to orchestrate and govern infrastructure workflows at scale. For larger orgs juggling multi-cloud environments or enforcing policy-as-code, Spacelift becomes the control plane that keeps everything secure, repeatable, and fast.

What stands out:

• Works with Terraform, Pulumi, Ansible, and more, all under one roof

• Built-in policy enforcement using OPA and Rego to block unsafe changes

• Self-service infrastructure via reusable Blueprints for devs

• Drift detection and automatic remediation when infra slips out of sync

• Manages Terraform and state, locks concurrent runs, and queues deployments

• SOC 2 Type II certified, with SSO, MFA, and private workers for secure ops

• Let's you define dependencies between infrastructure stacks

Where it hits limits:

• Might be overkill for orgs under 500 people, designed with enterprise in mind

• The self-hosted version doesn't have feature parity (e.g., fewer cloud integrations)

• No built-in alerting on the free tier for completed deployments

Pricing:

Has a free tier. Paid plans start at $399/month. Enterprise and business pricing are custom.

3. GitLab

GitLab isn’t just a repo host anymore, it’s grown into a full DevSecOps platform where code, pipelines, security, and compliance all live together. That’s huge for teams tired of stitching tools together. 

In 2025, GitLab stands out for deeply embedding security into the CI/CD workflow, not as an add-on, but as a first-class citizen. It’s popular with enterprises and regulated industries looking to streamline delivery without letting guardrails slip.

What stands out:

• SAST, DAST, Secret scanning, SBOMs, fuzz testing, all built-in

• GitLab Duo adds AI-assisted remediation, vulnerability analysis, and code suggestions

• Merge request policies enforce security approvals before merging

• Unified security dashboard + Kubernetes integration for runtime protection

• Container scanning for vulnerabilities and Jira sync

• Generates SBOMs automatically to meet transparency regulations

Where it hits limits:

• Full CI/CD system with GitLab-based source control for new users or smaller teams

• Steep learning curve, especially for pipelines and versioned config

• Frequent upgrades in self-hosted setups; needs serious infrastructure to run well

• Resource-hungry can be tricky for large orgs

• Past concerns over repo confidentiality exist, though mitigated with strong internal scanning

Pricing:

Open-core model. Free for individuals and small teams. Premium tier is $29/user/month; Ultimate (with full security) is custom-priced.

4. Open Policy Agent (OPA)

OPA is the policy engine that gives you security and governance without hardcoding rules into every service. It separates what should be allowed from how your app runs. 

In practice, this means teams can enforce fine-grained access control, deployment rules, and compliance checks, all in one consistent way across APIs, CI/CD, K8s, and cloud infra.

What stands out:

• Decouples policy logic from code, K8s, and cloud infra.

• Uses Rego, a purpose-built language for defining policy over JSON-style data

• Supports policy-as-code: version-controlled, auditable, and testable

• Works with everything from Kubernetes to CI/CD pipelines to API gateways

• Validates IaC (like Terraform plans) before they hit prod

• Enforces egress rules, image scanning, or policies, and can access control across the stack

Where it hits limits:

• Centralized OPA instances can become latency bottlenecks

• High memory use if scaling without shared cache layers

• Large volumes of explicit rules can slow startup times

• Complex datasets may require advanced design to avoid performance issues

Pricing:

Free and fully open-source under the Apache 2.0 license.

5. Kubernetes

Kubernetes is the backbone of modern infrastructure. It lets teams deploy, scale, and manage containerized apps across clusters without needing to babysit every node. 

But with all that power comes complexity, and risk. In 2025, Kubernetes isn’t just a container orchestrator; it’s a full-blown platform that demands tight security controls. 

For dev teams running microservices at scale, it's unavoidable. And it’s exactly why DevSecOps needs to be part of the setup from day one.

What stands out:

• Automates deployment, scaling, and recovery of containerized apps

• Pod Security Standards enforce least privilege at the container level

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) locks down permissions

• Network Policies restrict pod communication to prevent lateral attacks

• Integrates with policy engines (like OPA) to block insecure deployments

• Secrets are injected at runtime, not baked into images

• Kubernetes 1.33 adds fine-grained API control, stronger service tokens, and more.

Where it hits limits:

• Steep learning curve, especially for teams new to containers

• Lacks built-in observability, security scanning, and secret management

• Overhead and cost can be too much for smaller teams or MVPs

Pricing:

Kubernetes itself is open-source and free. Managed services like EKS or AKS start around $0.10/hour per cluster, plus infrastructure costs.

6. Ansible

Ansible lets you automate almost anything, from spinning up servers to locking down firewalls, without having to install agents. 

It’s scriptable, declarative, and super flexible. In DevSecOps, that means faster, safer, repeatable setups. Whether you’re patching servers, managing secrets, or responding to threats, Ansible turns repetitive work into clean, versioned playbooks.

What stands out:

• Agentless, uses SSH/WinRM, no daemons to manage

• Idempotent, playbooks always result in the same state

• YAML-based playbooks are human-readable and easy to version

• Supports security tasks like incident response and log collection

• Automates policy-as-code with enforcement baked into playbooks

• Works with enterprise tools like Vault, KICS, Ansible Lint, and Molecule

• Red Hat offers security-grade, FIPS 140-2 certified automation platform

Where it hits limits:

• Advanced playbooks (templating, role design) can get complex fast

• Stateless by design — not great for tracking infrastructure over time

• Slower at massive scale compared to agent-based tools

Pricing:

Open-source core is free. IBM's AI-assisted tool starts around $2 per 20 task prompts. Red Hat's commercial platform starts at ~$880/month via cloud marketplaces.

7. Puppet

Puppet helps teams define how their infrastructure should look — and then constantly makes sure it stays that way. It's a configuration management system that enforces “desired state,” meaning once you declare what you want, Puppet does the work of getting (and keeping) it there. 

For security, that means automated patching, compliance, and remediation across big, complex environments, especially where manual config just isn’t feasible anymore.

What stands out:

• Defines infra as code, and continuously enforces it

• Automatically remediates config drift to maintain compliance

• Supports policy-as-code using OPA and other scanners for vulnerability response

• Integrates with Tenable and other scanners for vulnerability response

• Puppet Forge offers 7,000+ reusable modules

• RBAC and self-service tools help secure access for distributed teams

Where it hits limits:

• Written in Ruby, the learning curve can be tough for non-developers

• Agent-based, adding overhead on each node

• Slower response for real-time changes due to pull-based model

• Single point of failure if Puppet master goes down

Pricing:

The open-source version is free. Puppet Enterprise and other plans are on request.

8. Prometheus + Grafana

Prometheus collects time-series metrics. Grafana visualizes them. Together, they form the heart of many teams’ observability stacks. While not security tools in the traditional sense, they’re essential for “shift-right” security, spotting unusual behavior, triggering alerts, and keeping tabs on the health of everything from containers to services to networks.

What stands out:

• Prometheus scrapes and stores time-series data (CPU, memory, latency)

• Flexible metrics model using labels for rich, multidimensional querying

• PromQL lets you write powerful queries and alerts

• Grafana turns raw metrics into interactive dashboards

• Alerting rules in both tools notify teams of anomalies in real-time

• Prometheus Exporters let you pull metrics from nearly any system

• Can be integrated with logging tools like Loki for a full observability view

Where it hits limits:

• Prometheus doesn't support HA natively — scaling requires Thanos or similar

• Multi-cluster monitoring is complex and often insecure without extra tools

• Grafana has a learning curve, especially around queries and dashboard setup

Pricing:

Both tools are open-source and free to self-host. Hosted versions (e.g., Logit.io) start at $5/month and scale with data volume, retention period, and team size.

9. Elastic Stack (ELK)

The Elastic Stack, Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana, is the engine behind many of the world’s most powerful logging and monitoring systems. In DevSecOps, it’s used to ingest logs, find patterns, and surface anomalies in real time. 

Whether you’re tracking brute-force attempts or tracing suspicious traffic, ELK gives teams a way to understand what’s happening across their infrastructure at scale.

What stands out:

• Elasticsearch indexes and searches logs at a massive scale

• Logstash ingests and transforms logs from diverse sources

• Kibana lets you visualize logs, trends, and threat activity

• Beats lightweight agents send metrics and events from endpoints

• Built-in detection rules for common attack patterns and misconfigurations

• Supports audit logging for compliance workflows

• Can correlate logs from app, infra, and cloud to one place, find patterns

Pricing:

Open-source core is free. Elastic's hosted plans start with a free tier, with paid plans scaling based on ingestion volume, retention, and feature sets. For cloud-hosted they are: $114/mo, go up to $131/mo forthe three models they have.

10. Snyk

Snyk helps developers catch vulnerabilities in code, dependencies, containers, and infrastructure, before those issues reach production. It's built for devs who want to move fast, but still keep things secure. Snyk fits right into the developer workflow, scanning everything from npm packages to Docker images without slowing you down.

What stands out:

• Scans for vulnerabilities in code, open-source packages, containers, and IaC

• Provides actionable fixes, not just red flags

• Can block pull requests if critical issues are found

• Integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and major IDEs

• Offers developer education and security insights in line

• Comes with built-in license compliance checks

• Tracks vulnerabilities over time and across projects

Where it hits limits:

• Some advanced features are locked behind paid plans

• Doesn't offer deep runtime protection — focused on pre-deployment

• Scans can be noisy if not tuned properly

Pricing:

Free tier available. Paid plans start at $25/user/month for full scanning, reporting, and integrations. And has custom pricing for enterprises.

11. Spectral

Spectral focuses on keeping secrets and misconfigurations out of your repos. It's a scanning engine that’s fast, flexible, and built for developers. Think of it as a last line of defense before sensitive stuff, like credentials or tokens, leaks into your codebase.

What stands out:

• Scans for secrets, keys, tokens, passwords, and sensitive stuff, like credentials or tokens, leaks into your codebase.

• Detects infrastructure misconfigurations in IaC files

• High-speed scanning with almost no setup

• LLetteams write custom rules to match internal patterns

• Works locally, in CI/CD, or via SpectralOps Cloud

• Helps reduce alert fatigue by surfacing real risks

Where it hits limits:

• Focuses mainly on detection — doesn't offer remediation suggestions

• Requires tuning to avoid false positives in custom projects

• Some advanced policy features may need the paid version

Pricing:

Commercial product. Pricing details are not public in the PDF, but enterprise-grade integrations and automation are part of its offering.

12. Trivy

Trivy is a fast, open-source scanner for containers, IaC, and OS packages. It’s used by teams who want simple, no-fuss security checks that can be added anywhere, locally or in CI. Trivy’s strength is that it covers a lot without needing a lot of setup.

What stands out:

• Scans container images, filesystems, and IaC for known vulnerabilities

• Supports Docker, SBOMs, and checks for license risks

• Produces SBOMs and checks for license risks

• Integrates with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and others

• Offers a low-noise mode to focus on exploitable threats

• Can output JSON or use templates for custom reports

• Works offline, great for air-gapped environments

Where it hits limits:

• No GUI — purely CLI-driven

• Some users report high initial scan times on large repos

• Doesn't do runtime or behavioral analysis

Pricing:

Completely free and open source. Enterprise support is available through Aqua Security.

13. Cloudflare

Cloudflare is known for speeding up websites, but it’s also one of the most widely used edge security platforms. It handles everything from DDoS protection to access control, without needing teams to manage heavy infrastructure. 

For orgs building on the cloud, it’s a simple way to put guardrails around apps, APIs, and users.

What stands out:

• DDoS protection is built into the network layer

• Web Application Firewall (WAF) with managed rulesets

• Zero Trust access control for apps and services

• DNS filtering, rate limiting, and bot mitigation

• Secure tunnels to protect internal apps without a VPN

• Integrates with identity providers for SSO

• Offers logging and analytics via Cloudflare Logs

Where it hits limits:

• Can have a learning curve to configure rules properly

• Not a fit for deep application-level scanning or in-depth vulnerability detection

• Some enterprise features are gated behind higher tiers

Pricing:

Free for basic CDN and DNS. Paid plans start at $20/goes upto $200/mo for business, with Enterprise pricing for security features like WAF and Zero Trust access control.

14. Semgrep

Semgrep is a fast, lightweight code scanner that helps you catch bugs, misconfigurations, and security issues in your codebase, with patterns that are easy to customize. It feels more like grep with superpowers than a heavyweight scanner, which makes it great for dev teams who want something flexible.

What stands out:

• Fast static code analysis for security, correctness, and style

• Prebuilt rulesets for OWASP, GoSec, and more

• Let's you write custom rules in simple YAML

• Supports CI/CD integration and local dev usage

• Can block PRs with policy violations

• Keeps scanning results focused and readable

• Good language support including Python, JS, Go, and Terraform

Where it hits limits:

• No dynamic or runtime scanning

• Custom rule writing can take time to get right

• Needs tuning to avoid false positives in large codebases

Pricing:

Open source version is free. Paid plans (starting at $40/user/month) and Secrets plan at $20/dev/month.

15. Falco

Falco is a runtime security tool that monitors your containers and hosts for unexpected behavior. It’s designed for teams that need visibility into what’s happening inside workloads once they’re running, especially in Kubernetes environments.

What stands out:

• Detects anomalous activity using real-time kernel-level monitoring

• Comes with a default set of detection rules and supports custom rules

• Designed for containers, Kubernetes, and cloud-native setups

• Outputs alerts to standard systems like syslog or JSON

• Lightweight and optimized for performance

• Adopted as a CNCF incubating project

Where it hits limits:

• Doesn't provide pre-deployment scanning

• Needs tuning for high-fidelity results

• Custom rule writing requires effort

Pricing:

Open source

16. Cosign

Cosign is a tool for signing and verifying container images. It helps teams ensure that the images they build and deploy haven’t been tampered with, adding a layer of trust to the software supply chain.

What stands out:

• Supports both keyless and key-based signing

• Stores signatures as OCI artifacts in the container registry

• Compatible with GitHub Actions and Kubernetes

• Part of the Sigstore project for a secure software supply chain

• CLI-first and built for automation

• Open source and widely adopted

Where it hits limits:

• The scope is limited to signing and verification

• Setup for keyless signing requires familiarity with Sigstore

Pricing:

Open source

17. Calico

Calico is a networking and network security solution for containers and Kubernetes. It gives teams control over how workloads communicate, a critical need in multi-tenant or regulated environments.

What stands out:

• Implements Kubernetes NetworkPolicy and its policy engine

• Offers encryption, observability, and compliance features

• Scales to multi-cluster and hybrid environments

• Enterprise edition adds threat detection and visibility

• Compatible with multiple orchestrators and CNI plugins

• Supports eBPF and IPtables-based data planes

Where it hits limits:

• Some features are only available in Calico Enterprise

• Requires an understanding of Kubernetes networking to use effectively

Pricing:

Open source core. Enterprise version available with advanced features.

18. SonarQube

SonarQube is a big name in this field, it is a code analysis tool that identifies bugs, security vulnerabilities, and maintainability issues across codebases. It’s used to help developers write cleaner, safer code.

What stands out:

• Analyzes code for quality and security in a single scan

• Supports over 25 programming languages

• Offers detailed issue guidance and in-editor guidance.

• Integrates with CI/CD tools and IDEs

• Commercial versions support branch analysis, PR scanning, and enterprise features

Where it hits limits:

• Some important features are gated behind commercial editions

• Best suited for pre-deployment scanning, not runtime checks

Pricing:

Free Community Edition. Paid plans start at $32/month and scale by feature set. Has custom pricing for enterprises and multiple solutions.

19. New Relic

New Relic provides observability across systems, applications, and infrastructure. While not focused on security scanning, it supports incident investigation, performance monitoring, and alerting, all critical parts of a secure and stable DevOps workflow.

What stands out:

• Offers a unified view of logs, metrics, traces, and events

• Integrates with CI/CD tools and infrastructure platforms

• Helps identify anomalies that may indicate security issues

• Supports automated dashboards for audit and compliance

• Part of New Relic's observability and telemetry platform

Where it hits limits:

• Doesn't perform code or image scanning

• Requires proper setup and tuning for useful results

Pricing:

Free tier available. Paid plans scale by data usage and user seats, they are on request.

20. Checkov

Checkov helps you find security issues in your Infrastructure as Code (IaC) before deployment. Whether you're using Terraform, CloudFormation, or Kubernetes manifests, Checkov scans your configs and flags misconfigurations that could open you up to risk.

What stands out:

• Scans Terraform, Kubernetes, Helm, CloudFormation, and more

• Comes with 1,000+ built-in policies across frameworks

• Let's you write custom rules using Python or JSON

• Works in CI/CD pipelines with output formats like JSON, JUnit, or SARIF

• Supports suppressions for known acceptable risks

• Offers visual outputs for GitHub PRs and dashboards in Bridgecrew

Where it hits limits:

• Focused only on IaC, not app code or container images

• Complex policies may require fine-tuning

• Needs rule management to reduce noise

Pricing:

Free and open source. Commercial support via Bridgecrew.

21. HashiCorp Vault

Vault manages secrets, plain and simple. It lets you store, access, and distribute credentials securely, whether you’re dealing with tokens, API keys, or database passwords.

What stands out:

• Centralized secrets storage with dynamic access

• Encrypts data at rest and in transit

• Supports fine-grained access control using policies

• Works with many backends (Kubernetes, AWS, databases)

• Auto-rotates credentials to reduce exposure

• Integrates with CI/CD systems to inject secrets on the fly

Where it hits limits:

• Initial setup and policy configuration can be complex

• Some advanced features are gated behind an enterprise edition

• Can become a single point of failure without an HA setup

Pricing:

Free open-source version. Enterprise edition offers advanced controls and UI.

22. OWASP ZAP

ZAP is an open-source web application security scanner created by the OWASP Foundation, now owned by Checkmarx. It helps teams find vulnerabilities in web apps, especially during development and testing.

What stands out:

• Scans for common web security issues like XSS, SQL injection

• Intercepts and manipulates traffic for manual testing

• Supports automated and interactive modes

• Easy to plug into CI/CD pipelines

• Constantly updated community-driven rulesets

• Designed for both beginners and pros

Where it hits limits:

• Best suited for web apps, not for APIs or non-HTTP services

• Scan depth and accuracy depend on configuration and tuning

Pricing:

Completely free and open source.

23. Veracode

Veracode is a full-stack security platform offering SAST, DAST, and software composition analysis. It’s built for larger teams that need centralized, policy-driven security across apps.

What stands out:

• Offers dynamic, static, and supply chain testing on one platform

• Integrates into CI/CD and SDLC tools

• Risk-based insights prioritize what needs fixing

• AI-assisted remediation speeds up fixes

• Enterprise dashboards for compliance and reporting

• External Attack Surface Management (EASM) included

Where it hits limits:

• Geared toward enterprise use, the setup may feel heavy for small teams

• Not open source

• Pricing can scale quickly

Pricing:

Commercial. Pricing depends on app size, features, and seat count.

24. Checkmarx

Checkmarx helps secure application code through automated static analysis (SAST). It’s developer-focused and part of a broader platform for software supply chain security.

What stands out:

• Deep SAST scanning with detailed results

• Supports many languages and frameworks

• Includes AI-enhanced remediation suggestions

• Integrated dashboards for visibility across teams

• Handles custom code or merges if issues are found

• Can block builds or merges if issues are found

Where it hits limits:

• Setup and tuning can be complex

• Works best as part of a larger Checkmarx platform

Pricing:

Everything is on request.

25. Fortify

Fortify by Opentext is a mature security testing suite that offers SAST, DAST, and IAST. It’s often used by large enterprises with strict compliance needs.

What stands out:

• Covers static, dynamic, and interactive testing

• Works across on-prem and cloud environments

• Supports secure coding practices through IDE plugins

• Scalable for large programs with multiple teams and apps

• Backed by Micro Focus, with long-term support

• Offers robust reporting for audits and compliance

Where it hits limits:

• Resource-heavy to run

• Needs expertise to fine-tune results and workflows

• Not open source

Pricing:

Commercial. Tiered pricing based on testing types and scale.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! Hope this gave you a clearer view of the DevSecOps landscape and helped you spot a few tools worth trying out.

Every tool on this list serves a slightly different purpose, and honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. 

It depends on your stack, your team’s workflow, and how deep you want to go on security. The good news? Almost all of these tools are built for businesses and offer free demos or open-source versions you can try before committing.

If you're curious to see how this all comes together in one place, static analysis, IaC scanning, secrets detection, compliance, CodeAnt.ai is a solid way to get started 😉, book a free demo, and you will see why we are pushing it that much. It's built for real dev teams trying to ship securely without slowing down. You can request a free organic demo anytime.

Security doesn't have to be a blocker. With the right tools in place, it can help you ship better code, faster.

Thanks again for sticking around.