Kensai vs Dependabot
When free isn't enough: why teams upgrade to comprehensive security scanning.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Kensai | Dependabot |
|---|---|---|
| Dependency Updates | ||
| AI-Generated Fixes | ||
| SAST (Code Analysis) | ||
| Secrets Detection | ||
| Container Scanning | ||
| IaC Scanning | ||
| Compliance Reports | ||
| Executive Summaries | ||
| Price | €990+/mo | Free |
Dependabot is Great. For One Thing.
Dependabot does one thing well: automated dependency PRs. But modern application security requires much more.
What Dependabot DOESN'T Do
Static Analysis (SAST)
Vulnerabilities in YOUR code, not just dependencies
Secrets Detection
API keys, passwords, tokens in your codebase
Container Scanning
Vulnerabilities in Docker images
Infrastructure as Code
Terraform, Kubernetes misconfigurations
API Security
Authentication, injection, broken access control
Compliance Reporting
NIS2, GDPR, SOC2 documentation
The Real Cost of "Free"
❌ Using Only Dependabot
- Dependabot updates lodash
- SQL injection in your code (not detected)
- AWS keys in repo (not detected)
- Dockerfile vulns (not detected)
- Breach happens
Cost: €10M+ in NIS2 fines
✅ Using Kensai
- Dependencies updated
- SQL injection found + fix generated
- Secrets detected + alert sent
- Container vulns flagged
- NIS2 compliance report ready
Cost: €990/month
ROI: One prevented breach pays for 1,000+ years of Kensai.
Same Vulnerability, Different Tools
Dependabot PR:
PR Title: Bump lodash 4.17.20 to 4.17.21 Bumps lodash from 4.17.20 to 4.17.21. Release notes: [link]
Kensai Report:
🚨 HIGH: Prototype Pollution (CVE-2024-XXXXX) Impact: Remote code execution via __proto__ Your exposure: Used in 3 files EPSS Score: 0.89 (89% exploit likelihood) ✅ Auto-generated PR ready: - Updates lodash to 4.17.21 - Adds input validation - Includes regression tests 📋 Must remediate within 72h for NIS2
Migration is Easy
Keep Dependabot running (it's free, why not?). Add Kensai for comprehensive coverage. Kensai de-duplicates findings automatically. No conflict.
Dependabot is a trademark of GitHub/Microsoft. Comparison based on publicly available documentation.