Cerbos vs OPA Gatekeeper: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Cerbos and OPA Gatekeeper side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Best for you if:
- • You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
OPA Gatekeeper
Enforce policies and governance for Kubernetes clusters using Open Policy Agent.
Best for you if:
- • You want leverages the powerful and flexible Rego policy language
| At a Glance | Cerbos | |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $25/mo, billed monthly Development plan | Free plan |
Category | Security Compliance | DevOps Security |
Rating | 4.9/5 G2 4.9 · Capterra 5.0 6 reviews | 4.5/5 G2 4.5 89 reviews |
Free plan | Yes | Yes |
Choose Cerbos or OPA Gatekeeper?
Choose Cerbos if
- You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- You want security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
- You work in security, not DevOps
Choose OPA Gatekeeper if
- You want leverages the powerful and flexible Rego policy language
- You want provides centralized policy management for Kubernetes
- You work in DevOps, not security
In-Depth Analysis
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Strengths
- Pro: Engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- Pro: Security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
- Pro: One view of what every user, service and AI agent can access, with audit logs ready for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA
- Pro: Teams can approve AI agent rollouts, because every agent action is checked against access rules and logged
- Pro: Supports a wide range of programming languages and deployment environments.
Weaknesses
- Con: Each app needs code added where it checks access, so there’s some setup work in existing applications
- Con: No built-in database for relationship data. It stays in your own systems, and Cerbos fetches it when a check runs
Key features
OPA Gatekeeper
Enforce policies and governance for Kubernetes clusters using Open Policy Agent.
Strengths
- Pro: Leverages the powerful and flexible Rego policy language
- Pro: Provides centralized policy management for Kubernetes
- Pro: Enhances security and compliance posture of clusters
- Pro: Prevents misconfigurations before they are applied
- Pro: Open-source and community-driven
Weaknesses
- Con: Requires learning Rego for complex policies
- Con: Can add latency to API requests if policies are complex
- Con: Initial setup and policy definition can be challenging for beginners
Key features
Plans and prices: Cerbos vs OPA Gatekeeper
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cerbos |
| cerbos.dev/pricing read Nov 3, 2026 |
| OPA Gatekeeper | No plan prices on file | open-policy-agent.github.io/gatekeeper |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Cerbos pricing and OPA Gatekeeper pricing.
Key Takeaways
Cerbos
- Choose if you want fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems
OPA Gatekeeper
- Choose if you want enforce policies and governance for Kubernetes clusters using Open Policy Agent
What the data shows
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
- User ratings rest on too few reviews to rank (4.9/5 from 6 reviews for Cerbos, 4.5/5 from 89 reviews for OPA Gatekeeper; we compare ratings only above 20 reviews on both sides).
- Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; OPA Gatekeeper has no public paid plan price on file.
- Both have a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Cerbos and OPA Gatekeeper compare in 2026?
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair. User ratings rest on too few reviews to rank (4.9/5 from 6 reviews for Cerbos, 4.5/5 from 89 reviews for OPA Gatekeeper; we compare ratings only above 20 reviews on both sides). Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; OPA Gatekeeper has no public paid plan price on file. Both have a free plan.
What are Cerbos and OPA Gatekeeper used for?
Cerbos: Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems. OPA Gatekeeper: Enforce policies and governance for Kubernetes clusters using Open Policy Agent.
What does Cerbos cost vs OPA Gatekeeper?
Cerbos's cheapest paid plan is Development at $25/mo, billed monthly; it also has a free plan. OPA Gatekeeper has no public paid-plan price on file. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Nov 3, 2026.
What's the main difference between Cerbos and OPA Gatekeeper?
Cerbos's main strength: engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house. OPA Gatekeeper's main strength: leverages the powerful and flexible Rego policy language.