Compare software

Gitleaks vs ggshield: catalog facts
Gitleaks	ggshield
Best for: Scans Git repositories, files and pipelines for leaked secrets	Best for: Developers keeping API keys and credentials out of git repositories
Free The software is free under its open-source licence. Hosting, hardware and external services are separate.	Free The CLI is free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
It checks full commit history rather than just the working tree, and runs as a pre-commit hook or… Full strengths for Gitleaks It checks full commit history rather than just the working tree, and runs as a pre-commit hook or a CI step with configurable rules.	Detects and validates over 500 secret types Works as a pre-commit hook, GitHub Action or CLI All 3 strengths for ggshield Detects and validates over 500 secret types Works as a pre-commit hook, GitHub Action or CLI Scans git history as well as current code
The author has declared it feature complete with security patches only, and regex detection produces both false… Full limitations for Gitleaks The author has declared it feature complete with security patches only, and regex detection produces both false positives and misses.	Tied to the GitGuardian service Command-line only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Gitleaks github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks Catalog checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ggshield github.com/GitGuardian/ggshield Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.