Juliet vs Snyk
Snyk is a developer-first application security platform. It scans source code, open-source dependencies, IaC, and container images, mostly at build and PR time. Juliet is a runtime Kubernetes security platform: posture, attack paths, admission, compliance, runtime detection, all applied to the cluster as it is running. Many teams use both: Snyk in CI, Juliet in the cluster.
What each product does
Juliet. Kubernetes-first runtime security. Graph-based posture, attack paths, admission, compliance, eBPF runtime. Focus is on what is deployed right now.
Snyk. Developer-first AppSec. SAST, SCA, container scanning, IaC scanning, wired into PRs and IDEs. Strong shift-left story. Less coverage of runtime and cluster-level context.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Juliet | Snyk |
|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes posture (KSPM) | Yes | Limited |
| Graph-based attack paths | Yes | No |
| Container image CVE scanning (build time) | Yes (runtime-focused) | Yes (CI-focused) |
| Runtime vulnerability prioritization | Yes (graph-based) | Yes (function-level reachability) |
| SAST (code scanning) | No | Yes |
| SCA (dependency scanning) | Yes (via SBOM) | Yes |
| IaC scanning (Terraform, Helm) | No | Yes |
| PR / IDE integrations | No | Yes |
| Admission control | Yes | No |
| Runtime detection (eBPF) | Yes | Limited |
| Compliance frameworks | Yes | Limited |
| Free tier | Yes (1 cluster) | Yes (limited scans) |
When to choose each
Choose Juliet when…
- You need to secure running Kubernetes clusters, not just CI/CD.
- You want attack paths, admission control, and runtime detection.
- You need compliance frameworks for audit.
- You are prioritizing what is actually exposed, not just what is in the codebase.
Choose Snyk when…
- You need developer-first shift-left (IDE plugins, PR checks).
- SAST and full SCA matter more than runtime posture today.
- You are securing application code more than infrastructure.
- Your risk is primarily in what gets built, not what gets deployed.
Juliet vs Snyk FAQ
Do I need both Snyk and Juliet?
Many teams do. Snyk covers the build pipeline: SAST, dependency management, IaC linting. Juliet covers the runtime cluster: posture, attack paths, admission, runtime threats. They meet on container image scanning (both do it) and diverge elsewhere. The overlap is small enough to justify both.
Does Snyk have runtime detection?
Limited. Snyk's runtime features focus on reachability analysis (is this vulnerable function actually called?) rather than kernel-level threat detection. For active attack detection, a dedicated runtime tool (Juliet, Falco, or Tetragon) fills the gap.
Does Juliet shift-left?
Juliet's focus is runtime. For PR-time scanning we recommend pairing with a dedicated CI scanner (Snyk, Trivy, Grype). Juliet's API is available for CI integration if you want the same scanner on both sides.
Is Snyk cheaper than Juliet?
It depends on team size. Snyk prices per developer after the free tier. Juliet prices per Kubernetes node. A team with many developers and few nodes will pay less for Juliet. A team with few developers and many nodes will pay less for Snyk. Most teams end up needing both for different reasons.
Try Juliet on your clusters
Free tier, 5-minute Helm install, no credit card. See attack paths, compliance, and vulnerabilities in under 15 minutes.