Akeyless vs Checkmarx

Akeyless and Checkmarx solve different security problems entirely. Akeyless is a SaaS platform for secrets management, machine identity, PKI, and multi-cloud…

Best for Akeyless: Teams that need to centrally store, rotate, and dynamically deliver secrets, certificates, and encryption keys across multi-cloud environments, including protecting secrets from AI agent context via SecretlessAI.
Best for Checkmarx: Enterprise development organizations that need to scan source code, dependencies, containers, and infrastructure-as-code for vulnerabilities across the SDLC, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and FedRAMP compliance.

At a Glance

 AkeylessCheckmarx
Primary categorySecuritySecurity
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumSubscription
Starting priceFreeNot documented
Free planYesNot documented
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesYes
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Core Product Category

Akeyless: Akeyless centrally stores and dynamically delivers static, dynamic, and rotated secrets to applications and pipelines.

Checkmarx: Checkmarx statically and dynamically tests application code and infrastructure for security vulnerabilities; it does not store or manage secrets.

Secrets management and application security testing are different disciplines that both belong in a mature security program but solve different problems.

Hardcoded Secrets Detection vs. Management

Akeyless: Not documented as scanning source code for hardcoded secrets; Akeyless focuses on storing and rotating secrets that applications retrieve.

Checkmarx: Checkmarx includes a dedicated Secrets Detection feature that identifies hardcoded secrets and credentials in source code repositories.

Detecting a leaked secret in code and actually managing that secret's lifecycle are complementary but distinct capabilities.

AI-Related Security Features

Akeyless: Akeyless offers SecretlessAI, which keeps secrets out of AI agent context while validating agent actions at runtime via Agentic Runtime Authority.

Checkmarx: Checkmarx offers AI-powered agents (Developer Assist, Triage & Remediation Assist) and a Checkmarx MCP Server to help developers fix vulnerability findings faster.

Both vendors are investing in AI, but for different purposes — protecting secrets from AI agents versus using AI to accelerate vulnerability remediation.

Free Tier Availability

Akeyless: Akeyless publishes a Free plan with specific quotas: up to 5 clients, 500 static secrets, 5 dynamic secrets, 5 rotated secrets, 3 targets, and 3-day audit log retention.

Checkmarx: Checkmarx pricing is fully custom and quote-based with no published free tier or advertised free trial.

A published free tier lets smaller teams start immediately without a sales process, while enterprise platforms often require budget approval upfront.

Compliance Certifications

Akeyless: Akeyless holds ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, FIPS 140-3, GDPR, and DORA compliance, among others.

Checkmarx: Checkmarx holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 certification, and FedRAMP authorization.

Both share ISO 27001 but otherwise carry different certifications relevant to different regulatory contexts (payments/crypto vs. government/enterprise).

Feature-by-Feature

Core Product Category

FeatureAkeylessCheckmarx
Secrets storage and rotationAvailableUnavailable
Static/dynamic application security testingUnavailableAvailable
Hardcoded secrets detection in source codeNot documentedAvailable
PKI / certificate lifecycle managementAvailableNot documented

AI Capabilities

FeatureAkeylessCheckmarx
AI agent secret protectionAvailableNot documented
AI-powered code remediation agentsNot documentedAvailable
Model Context Protocol (MCP) serverNot documentedAvailable

Pricing & Compliance

FeatureAkeylessCheckmarx
Published free tierAvailableUnavailable
Custom enterprise quote required for top tierAvailableAvailable
Compliance certifications documentedAvailableAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Akeyless

Free — $0 N/A
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) custom

Checkmarx

No individual plan breakdown documented yet.

Pros & Cons

Akeyless

Pros

  • SaaS delivery removes the operational burden of running vault infrastructure
  • Free tier available for evaluation and small-scale use
  • Broad compliance certification coverage (ISO 27001, SOC 2, FIPS 140-3)
  • Covers secrets, certificates, encryption, and AI agent identity in one platform

Cons

  • Enterprise pricing isn't published and requires a sales conversation
  • Free tier quotas (e.g., 500 static secrets, 3-day audit retention) are quite limited
  • Hybrid deployment with on-prem gateways adds setup complexity compared with pure SaaS

Checkmarx

Pros

  • Consolidates SAST, SCA, DAST, and API security into one platform rather than multiple point tools
  • Established, mature vendor with broad programming language and framework coverage
  • Deep CI/CD and developer-workflow integrations for shifting security left
  • Backed by significant enterprise support infrastructure and a large customer base

Cons

  • No public pricing; getting an accurate cost requires a sales conversation
  • Modular licensing across SAST, SCA, DAST, and other add-ons can be complex to budget for
  • Primarily built for mid-size and large enterprises, less accessible for small teams
  • Can involve a steeper learning curve and tuning period to reduce false positives

Use Cases

Choose Akeyless: Teams that need to centrally store, rotate, and dynamically deliver secrets, certificates, and encryption keys across multi-cloud environments, including protecting secrets from AI agent context via SecretlessAI.
Choose Checkmarx: Enterprise development organizations that need to scan source code, dependencies, containers, and infrastructure-as-code for vulnerabilities across the SDLC, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and FedRAMP compliance.
Need both: A strong complementary scenario: a DevSecOps team uses Checkmarx's Secrets Detection feature to catch hardcoded credentials accidentally committed to source code, while using Akeyless as the actual secrets management platform where those credentials should be stored, rotated, and dynamically delivered instead of hardcoded.

Akeyless

  • Centralized Secrets Management — Replacing scattered API keys and credentials across environments with dynamic, centrally managed secrets.
  • Privileged Access Governance — Enforcing just-in-time access instead of standing privileged credentials.
  • AI Agent Access Control — Monitoring and restricting what autonomous AI agents can access and do within company systems.

Checkmarx

  • Enterprise DevSecOps programs — Large engineering organizations use Checkmarx One to run automated SAST, SCA, and DAST scans across many repositories from a single console.
  • Regulated industry compliance — Companies in finance, healthcare, and government use Checkmarx to document vulnerability management and software supply-chain controls for audits.
  • Software supply-chain security — Organizations shipping software to customers use SCA and SBOM generation to track open-source risk across their products.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Akeyless and Checkmarx direct competitors?

No, they serve different purposes — Akeyless manages and stores secrets, while Checkmarx scans code and infrastructure for security vulnerabilities, including hardcoded secrets left in source code.

Does Akeyless scan source code for vulnerabilities?

This is not documented as an Akeyless capability; its documented focus is secrets management, PKI, and multi-cloud key management.

Does Checkmarx manage or store secrets?

No, Checkmarx's Secrets Detection feature identifies hardcoded secrets in source code, but it does not store, rotate, or dynamically deliver secrets the way Akeyless does.

Is there a free way to try Akeyless?

Yes, Akeyless offers a Free plan with quotas including up to 5 clients, 500 static secrets, and 3-day audit log retention; Checkmarx does not advertise a free trial.

Do both platforms use AI?

Yes, but differently — Akeyless's SecretlessAI protects secrets from AI agent context, while Checkmarx's AI agents (Developer Assist, Triage & Remediation Assist) help developers fix security findings.

Which compliance certifications do they share?

Both Akeyless and Checkmarx hold ISO 27001 certification; Akeyless additionally documents PCI-DSS, FIPS 140-3, GDPR, and DORA, while Checkmarx additionally documents SOC 2 Type II and FedRAMP authorization.

Read the full Akeyless review · Read the full Checkmarx review