Is Polaris worth the price?
Polaris offers a very generous free tier, providing essential Kubernetes policy and best practice tools at no cost, making it highly accessible for small teams.
The move to custom pricing for 'Insights Enterprise' and 'K8s Services' suggests a significant jump in cost, likely aligning with enterprise-level solutions. This structure is best for small teams starting with Kubernetes policy enforcement, and larger organizations needing comprehensive managed services or advanced insights.
Pricing Plans
Free TrialOpen Source
Free
- Ideal for small teams
- Goldilocks (resource requests and limits)
- Polaris (policy engine)
- Nova (check Helm charts)
- Pluto (find deprecated APIs)
- GoNoGo (add-on upgrade safety)
Insights Enterprise
Custom pricing plans available
- Ideal for teams managing multiple clusters and critical applications
- Available modules: Kubernetes FinOps, Kubernetes Policy Management, and Kubernetes Security and Compliance
- Cluster and node pricing options
- Volume discounts
- Unlimited nodes and clusters
- Unlimited repository scanning
- 13 months of cost metrics retention
- Automated container right-sizing
- Self-hosted or SaaS option
- Technical account manager
K8s Services
Custom pricing based on needs
- Ideal for CTOs who need help managing Kubernetes
- 24 x 7 Pager
- Managed Kubernetes Upgrades
- Managed Add-ons
- Cluster networking
- Ongoing cluster maintenance
- Node management
- Shared Slack channel
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Custom pricing for advanced features
Potential high cost for enterprise modules
No public pricing for K8s Services
Volume discounts imply higher base rates
Which Plan Do You Need?
Small teams needing free policy enforcement
Enterprises requiring managed K8s services
Organizations needing advanced K8s insights
How Polaris Compares to Competitors
Compared to commercial policy engines like Kyverno (open-source but often integrated into commercial offerings) or Styra DAS (which starts with a free tier but quickly moves to paid plans, often in the thousands per month for enterprise features), Polaris's free tier is exceptionally generous. However, its 'Insights Enterprise' and 'K8s Services' tiers, with custom pricing, likely compete with these commercial solutions at similar enterprise price points, potentially offering more comprehensive managed services than some competitors.
Polaris Pricing FAQ
How much does Polaris cost?
Polaris uses custom pricing. Contact Polaris directly for a quote based on your team size and requirements.
Does Polaris have a free plan?
Yes. Polaris offers a free plan called "Open Source". It includes: Ideal for small teams, Goldilocks (resource requests and limits), Polaris (policy engine).
Does Polaris offer a free trial?
Yes, Polaris offers a free trial. No credit card is typically required to start the trial, though this may vary.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Polaris?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Polaris include Kyverno, Open Policy Agent, Env0, Aqua Security. Free alternatives include Kyverno, Open Policy Agent. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Polaris
2 of 6 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
