Complete Guide to Aikido Security (2026)

Aikido connects code, dependency, secrets, infrastructure, cloud, container, domain, and runtime checks through one application security service. The buying question is whether that documented breadth replaces enough separate controls to justify a shared platform and alert queue.

Product facts and public prices verified against official sources on July 28, 2026.

Fit at a Glance

Situation	Decision
Several scanner contracts	Bundled platform trial
Two-person evaluation	Developer plan
Specialist SAST requirement	Matched scanner trial
Strict local control	Architecture review

What Aikido Scans

Aikido documents one repository connection for dependency analysis, static analysis, secrets, licenses, infrastructure files, and malware checks. Other modules cover cloud assets, container images, domains, APIs, and runtime traffic, with plan-specific limits and setup.

Surface	What it analyzes	What it catches
SAST	Application source	Code security findings
SCA	Dependency graph	CVEs and licenses
Secrets	Repository history	Exposed credentials
IaC	Infrastructure files	Cloud misconfigurations
Containers	Image layers	Package vulnerabilities
CSPM	Cloud accounts	Asset misconfigurations
DAST	Running endpoints	Runtime vulnerabilities
Malware	Package installs	Malicious dependencies
Licenses	Dependency inventory	License policy
Runtime	Application traffic	Attacks and bots

A containerized API on AWS can put source, packages, images, infrastructure files, cloud assets, and a running endpoint into the same Aikido account. Confirm which module scans each asset and which plan provides the required enforcement before treating the connection as full coverage.

Noise Reduction and AutoTriage

A static-analysis rollout fails when the team cannot separate exploitable findings from safe patterns or assign the remaining work. Noise reduction therefore needs to preserve the evidence behind every downgrade and give reviewers a way to reverse the decision.

Aikido documents AutoTriage mainly for SAST findings. It starts with the scanner's severity and changes the priority using exploitability, code context, and Aikido-defined rules. Some cloud and container checks also qualify when the product has enough context. Treat every reduction as a trial result because a vendor-wide rate does not predict a private repository.

A matched trial should include an exploitable flaw, a safe lookalike, and a finding behind a non-production path. Record the original severity, the AutoTriage decision, the evidence shown, and the time needed for a reviewer to confirm or reverse it.

AutoFix: AI-Powered Fix PRs

AutoFix turns eligible findings into proposed patches in an IDE or pull request. Its useful boundary is a reviewable diff followed by a rescan, while the repository's tests still decide whether the change preserves behavior.

When Aikido flags a vulnerability, AutoFix can generate a reviewable patch in an IDE or pull request instead of stopping at a description. Aikido's current documentation covers fixes for dependencies, SAST, IaC, containers, and pentest findings. Review and test every generated change before it merges.

What that looks like across different surfaces:

• A SAST finding in your API layer produces a reviewable PR your team can inspect and merge
• An IaC misconfiguration in your Terraform generates a targeted patch with an explanation
• A vulnerable dependency surfaces with an updated version and a diff showing what changed
• A container base image with unpatched CVEs gets a concrete remediation suggestion

AWS reports that Aikido moved AutoFix from about 30 seconds per request to about five seconds by using Lambda tenant isolation. The isolation model gives each tenant dedicated execution environments and permits reuse only for later requests from the same tenant and function.

AutoFix covers more than 100 vulnerability types and works across SAST, SCA, IaC, and containers. The current plan table lists 10 monthly fixes on Developer, unlimited fixes on Basic and Pro, and custom terms at Enterprise.

Aikido says it does not use AutoFix code for model training. Its data page says it stores the original and fixed files involved in an AutoFix, while AWS documents same-tenant reuse inside the isolated Lambda boundary.

AI Pentesting

Aikido's pentest products send automated attack traffic to a running application and API, then produce a report for the selected scope. The current pricing page describes role-based access tests, multiple API styles, retesting, and several test depths.

The public offer says the customer does not pay when the test finds no high or critical issue. Treat that as a commercial term to confirm in the order, including how severity, scope, retests, and disputed findings are handled.

A standard assessment starts at $4,000 for one application and its primary APIs. The rightsized option scales with repositories, endpoints, roles, and application complexity, while continuous testing uses custom terms. Compare the quoted scope with the test method your audit or customer actually requires.

Automated testing does not establish the experience, independence, or contractual scope of a human-led engagement. Keep a human test when regulation, customer terms, or the threat model requires it, and use automated testing for the documented cadence it can cover between reviews.

Setup and Integrations

Aikido describes its initial repository connection as producing results within about one minute. The setup is agentless and read-only: you authorize Aikido's connection to your repository, it pulls what it needs to analyze, and no persistent agent runs inside your infrastructure. That matters for teams where installing software on production systems requires a separate approval process.

The platform documents integrations across these workflow categories:

• Version control: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps
• IDEs: VS Code and JetBrains, with real-time AutoFix in the editor as you write
• Issue tracking: Jira, Linear
• Compliance tooling: Drata, Vanta (relevant if you're targeting SOC 2 or ISO 27001)
• CI/CD: Azure Pipelines, GitHub Actions

IDE scanning can surface supported source, secret, infrastructure, and dependency findings before a pull request. Aikido also says those local scans use less repository and deployment context than cloud scans. Test both surfaces before treating editor feedback as the complete project result.

Begin with one least-privileged repository connection. Record source-control permissions, webhook events, branch access, organization scope, and who can change a gate. Revoke the connection after the trial and confirm which findings, source-derived data, and audit records remain.

Enable scanner modules separately. A repository scan, cloud connection, domain test, container registry, and runtime module require different data and permissions. Separate activation attributes each finding, cost, and access request to the feature that caused it.

For every cloud connector, record the requested role, permitted accounts, regions, resources, and write capabilities. Run the first scan against a disposable or read-only scope, inspect the audit log, and remove any permission the documented check does not require.

For a domain, API, or runtime module, define the authorized target and test window before activation. Confirm authentication, rate limits, exclusions, emergency disablement, retained request data, and the owner who can distinguish scanner traffic from a real incident.

Where It Falls Short

Aikido's public feature list does not remove the need to verify each scanner, language, and enforcement point.

The SAST engine uses Aikido rules plus customized open-source engines, with multi-file taint analysis limited to the languages named in its support table. IDE scanning has less repository and deployment context than the cloud scan. AutoTriage mainly applies to SAST, with only selected cloud and container checks supported.

Local controls are also plan-specific. Pro adds on-prem scanning, while Advanced adds brokers for internal applications and a private registry proxy. Those features keep selected scanning or connectivity inside the customer's network; they are not a self-managed copy of the full platform.

Teams with strict residency rules should map source, manifests, findings, telemetry, AutoFix files, and credentials before connecting a repository. The plan name alone does not answer that data-flow question.

Use a capability matrix for the required languages and assets. Record whether each case runs in the IDE, cloud scan, pull request, release gate, or local control. A scanner name in the plan table does not prove identical rules, context, or enforcement at every surface.

Run safe positive and negative fixtures for each required scanner. Preserve the rule identifier, evidence, severity, suppression option, gate result, and remediation. A missed fixture and a noisy safe lookalike are both purchasing evidence.

The Developer plan's 10 monthly AutoFix allowance is enough to test the workflow, while Aikido lists unlimited AutoFix on Basic and Pro. AI Pentesting and other resource-heavy features can use separate credits, so include those workloads in the trial budget.

Pricing

Aikido lists the following monthly entry points. The calculator can change totals for larger teams, so recheck it before a purchase.

Build the estimate from protected repositories, images, domains, cloud accounts, users, pentest scope, and any runtime modules. The same user count can produce a different plan when the protected-asset mix changes.

Separate included features from usable capacity. A scanner may appear in a plan while its asset allowance, scan cadence, credit model, or deployment control prevents the intended rollout. Put each required module and allowance beside the quote.

Plan	Monthly price	Included scale
Developer	$0	2 users, 10 repositories
Basic	$300/10 users	100 repositories
Pro	$600/10 users	200 repositories
Advanced	$600/10 users	500 repositories
Enterprise	Custom	Negotiated scale

• Developer includes 2 images, 1 domain, 1 cloud account, and 10 AutoFix runs each month.
• Basic includes 25 images, 3 domains, 3 cloud accounts, and unlimited AutoFix.
• Pro includes 50 images, 10 domains, 10 cloud accounts, and unlimited AutoFix.
• Advanced includes 100 images, 20 domains, 20 cloud accounts, and unlimited AutoFix.
• Enterprise negotiates its modules, support, limits, and AutoFix allowance.

Developer provides a two-user evaluation path with repository, asset, scan, and AutoFix limits. Basic adds workflow, reporting, and organization controls; Pro and Advanced change scanner availability and asset limits. Compare the plan price with the named controls it would replace, not with a generic per-user average.

Who Should Run Aikido

Situation	Starting point
Several scanner categories	Aikido trial
Compliance integrations required	Plan review
On-premises data residency	Enterprise review
Package behavior analysis	Socket
Specific SAST requirement	Matched fixture trial
Two-user evaluation	Developer plan

• Use a matched trial when several documented scanner categories must share one policy surface.
• Confirm which plan contains each required compliance integration and what evidence it exports.
• Map source, findings, credentials, and telemetry when code or data must stay on premises.
• Keep Socket separate when package-behavior or install-time controls are explicit requirements.
• Use safe fixtures when the requirement depends on one language, framework, or data-flow rule.
• Use Developer to evaluate two users before modeling a paid plan.

The upgrade decision should follow evidence from representative repositories and assets. Record which scanner produced each finding, whether AutoTriage changed it, whether AutoFix generated a usable patch, and whether the configured gate enforced the policy. A broad scanner list still needs an owner for every queue the team keeps.

FAQ

Does Aikido train on your code?

Aikido says it does not use AutoFix code for model training. AWS documents tenant-isolated Lambda environments for AutoFix, with reuse allowed only for later requests from the same tenant and function. Aikido separately says stored AutoFix data is limited to the original and fixed files, subject to its stated retention and secret-scanning controls.

Does Aikido replace Dependabot?

The products overlap on advisory-based dependency findings. Dependabot uses GitHub's dependency graph and advisory database and can open security-update pull requests. Aikido documents SCA alongside source, secret, container, infrastructure, and cloud scanners. Keep both only when each has a distinct owner and enforcement job.

What minimum team size makes the paid tier worthwhile?

The Developer tier is a useful two-user evaluation plan. Basic costs $300 per month for ten included users, so its fit depends on how many scanners it replaces and how much triage time the team saves. Price the whole stack rather than dividing the fee by an arbitrary team-size cutoff.

Is AI Pentesting a replacement for a human pentest?

Aikido documents automated tests against a defined application and API scope. That does not establish equivalence with a human-led engagement or satisfy a contract, audit, or regulation that explicitly requires one. Match the test method, independence requirement, evidence, and retest terms to the obligation.

Verdict

Choose Aikido when one contract and policy surface must cover code, dependencies, secrets, infrastructure, cloud assets, containers, domains, and selected runtime controls. AutoFix adds reviewable patches for eligible findings, while the repository's review and tests remain the approval gate.

Keep a specialist when the requirement depends on an unsupported language, a package behavior signal, a specific self-managed architecture, or a test method Aikido does not document. The matched trial should decide that boundary from fixtures and enforcement evidence.

Start with Developer on representative assets, then model Basic, Pro, or Advanced from the scanner modules and asset limits the team actually used. Consolidate only after the trial proves that the shared queue can replace named controls without leaving an unowned gap.

Before purchase, test integration removal and data deletion. Revoke source-control access, disconnect cloud credentials, remove a test user, and document what findings, source-derived data, generated fixes, and audit records remain.

Where to Go Next

• Application Security hub covers how the supply chain, secrets, SAST, and container security layers connect
• Socket.dev guide covers behavioral supply chain scanning in depth: the free tier, Socket Firewall, and reachability analysis
• Dependabot guide covers GitHub's built-in CVE-based dependency alerting, which runs alongside Aikido rather than instead of it
• AI code review hub covers the PR-level review layer for catching what your team writes before it merges

Related

• Application Security hub
• Socket.dev guide
• Dependabot guide