Wazuh vs Steampipe + Powerpipe
Both are alternatives to Vanta. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Steampipe + Powerpipe vs Wazuh — same comparison, one verdict.
Wazuh
Open-source SIEM and XDR with compliance reporting built in.
Agent-based security monitoring with file integrity checks, vulnerability detection, log analysis and prebuilt compliance reporting for PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST 800-53 and GDPR. Covers the continuous-monitoring requirement that auditors ask about, on infrastructure you run.
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.
Side by side
| Wazuh | Steampipe + Powerpipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 88 | 86 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free / self-host; paid Wazuh Cloud available | Free / self-host; paid Turbot Pipes hosted option |
Wazuh edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Wazuh
Strengths
- +Genuine SIEM capability, not just configuration scanning
- +Compliance report templates map findings to named framework controls
- +Large deployed base and active development
Trade-offs
- −Real operational weight — agents, indexers and storage to run and tune
- −Overkill if you only need cloud posture and have no on-host estate
- −Again: monitoring and evidence, never the audit itself
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
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-09-01. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.