Steampipe + Powerpipe vs CloudQuery
Both are alternatives to Vanta. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as CloudQuery vs Steampipe + Powerpipe — same comparison, one verdict.
Steampipe + Powerpipe and CloudQuery are closely matched on ownership (86 vs 80) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
Steampipe + Powerpipe
Query your cloud configuration as SQL, with compliance mods on top.
Steampipe exposes cloud and SaaS configuration as SQL tables; Powerpipe runs benchmark mods against them, including CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI packs. The most flexible option here — if you can express a control as a query, you can check it continuously.
CloudQuery
Sync cloud infrastructure into your own database, then ask compliance questions of it.
An ELT framework that pulls cloud, SaaS and identity configuration into Postgres or a warehouse you own. Compliance becomes a query against your own data rather than a feature of somebody's platform, which also makes the evidence yours to keep.
Side by side
6 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Steampipe + Powerpipe | CloudQuery | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 86 | 80 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 (core) |
| Pricing | Free / self-host; paid Turbot Pipes hosted option | Free / self-host core; paid cloud and premium plugins |
Steampipe + Powerpipe edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Steampipe + Powerpipe
Strengths
- +SQL over live cloud state is unusually powerful for bespoke controls
- +Large library of community compliance benchmarks
- +Composes well with existing data tooling rather than being another silo
Trade-offs
- −Assumes comfort with SQL and with defining your own controls
- −Split across two tools since the 2024 Powerpipe separation
- −No evidence archive, policy engine or auditor-facing output
CloudQuery
Strengths
- +The evidence lands in a database you control and can retain for years
- +Broad source coverage beyond cloud — identity, SaaS, code hosting
- +Fits teams that already have a warehouse and BI layer
Trade-offs
- −You build the compliance logic; it ships the data, not the verdict
- −Several plugins and features sit behind the commercial tier
- −Furthest of these from anything an auditor would recognise unaided
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Steampipe + Powerpipe
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and sQL over live cloud state is unusually powerful for bespoke controls.
Choose CloudQuery
if the evidence lands in a database you control and can retain for years.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — assumes comfort with SQL and with defining your own controls, and you build the compliance logic; it ships the data, not the verdict. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
Steampipe + Powerpipe vs CloudQuery — common questions
Is Steampipe + Powerpipe a better fit than CloudQuery for compliance automation & security posture?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Steampipe + Powerpipe scores 86 to CloudQuery's 80 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. CloudQuery earns its place on a different axis — the evidence lands in a database you control and can retain for years. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Steampipe + Powerpipe keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. CloudQuery is still self-hostable, so the files stay on your server either way — but it is not local-first by design, so check what its export produces before you rely on it.
Can I self-host Steampipe + Powerpipe or CloudQuery?
Both can be self-hosted. The difference is what it costs you in time rather than whether it is possible — see the setup and maintenance rows above.
Are Steampipe + Powerpipe and CloudQuery both alternatives to Vanta?
Yes — both appear in our Vanta comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Vanta and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
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Facts verified 2026-09-01. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.