Fairwinds Polaris

7.4easy start · #1 of 26
in Kubernetes Security Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows.

Fairwinds Polaris is ranked #1 of 26 in Kubernetes security software on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web, Windows. There is a free plan.

Fairwinds Polaris plans and pricing

All plans

Polaris (Open Source) Free Open source policy engine · aimed at small teams fairwinds.com · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on Kubernetes security software

Free plan: Yes
Kubernetes analysis: Yes
Custom policies: Yes

Best Fairwinds Polaris alternatives

See all 20

CloudSploit 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 27.2 Kubescape 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 37.2 Monokle 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 47.2 Kyverno 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 57.1 KSPM Pro 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 67.0 ARMO Platform 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 76.9

The record

Purpose: Polaris is an open source policy engine that validates and remediates Kubernetes resource configuration.
Built-in policies: Polaris includes more than 30 built-in configuration policies.
Run modes: Polaris can run as a dashboard, an admission controller, or a command-line tool for checking local YAML files in CI/CD.
Validation: Polaris checks for configuration practices including least privilege, readiness and liveness probes, host network and port use, resource requests and limits, and image tags.
Admission enforcement: The validating webhook rejects workloads that trigger danger-level checks; warning-level checks pass validation and appear in the dashboard or webhook logs.
Remediation: The mutating webhook can automatically remediate supported issues, including missing resource limits and probes and some unsafe security settings.
Kubernetes integration: Polaris can be installed as a Helm chart, and its validating webhook requires a valid TLS certificate.
Fairwinds Insights integration: Fairwinds Insights includes Polaris findings and records results across clusters with remediation guidance.
Security: Fairwinds says it is SOC 2 Type II compliant.
Intended users: Fairwinds describes Polaris as a tool for Kubernetes teams seeking to validate configuration best practices.
Automatic remediation: When run from the command line or as a mutating webhook, Polaris can automatically remediate issues based on policy criteria.
Security checks: Polaris checks configurations including privilege escalation, root execution, read-only root filesystems, and host IPC or PID settings.
Efficiency checks: Polaris checks that containers have CPU and memory requests and limits configured.
Reliability checks: Polaris validates that pods have readiness and liveness probes.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Kubernetes Security Software in 2026#1 of 26
Best Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools in 2026#2 of 25
Best Infrastructure as Code Security Software in 2026#4 of 22

Is Fairwinds Polaris yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote Fairwinds Polaris

Sources

polaris.docs.fairwinds.com· checked 7 Oct 2026
fairwinds.com/polaris· checked 7 Oct 2026
polaris.docs.fairwinds.com/admission-controller/· checked 7 Oct 2026
fairwinds.com/who-is-fairwinds· checked 7 Oct 2026
polaris.docs.fairwinds.com/checks/security/· checked 8 Oct 2026
polaris.docs.fairwinds.com/dashboard/· checked 8 Oct 2026
fairwinds.com/insights-pricing· checked 8 Oct 2026