No. 4 of 25 ·Security Configuration Management Software

Lynis

Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · paid plans from $0.25/mo

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Lynis is ranked #4 of 25 in security configuration management software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $0.25/mo.

Lynis plans and pricing

All plans

Lynis Free Free and open source software · GPLv3 cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026

Lynis Enterprise - SaaS premium $3/yr $3 / system / month; all subscriptions are for a period of one year (no auto-renewal) For companies · SaaS · Security auditing · Dashboard and reporting · Implementation plan · Hardening advice · System integrity tests · Intrusion detection · Configuration management · Compliance and policies · API cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026

Lynis Enterprise - Self-hosted Not published Request a quote For companies · Hosted in your environment · Volume discount cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on security configuration management software

Free plan: Yes
Paid from: $1.50/mo
Deployment model: agent
CIS benchmarks: Yes
Automated remediation: No
Agentless assessment: No

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The record

Purpose: Lynis performs security health scans to support system hardening and compliance testing on Linux, macOS, and Unix based systems.
Use cases: The maker lists security auditing, compliance testing, penetration testing, vulnerability detection, and system hardening as typical uses.
Intended users: The maker identifies developers, system administrators, IT auditors, and penetration testers as audiences for Lynis.
Supported systems: Listed systems include AIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, NixOS, OpenBSD, and Solaris; the maker also mentions Raspberry Pi, IoT, and QNAP devices.
Audit tests: Lynis includes hundreds of individual tests, and its features page specifies 300+ built-in tests as well as support for custom tests.
Adaptive scanning: Its modular, opportunistic scans test components and tools found on the system, and the maker says it runs with almost no dependencies.
Reports: Lynis displays results on screen and writes technical details to a log file, with warnings and suggestions stored in a separate report file.
Standards: The maker says Lynis can help automate or test security best practices from CIS benchmarks, NIST, NSA, OpenSCAP data, and vendor guides.
Plugins: Plugins extend Lynis with additional tests and system information; the maker says some plugins are available to community users while others are for Enterprise customers.
Integration: Lynis can upload scan data to Lynis Enterprise, and the maker describes Lynis Collector as an Enterprise component that batches reports from multiple systems.
Security and integrity: The download page states that the Lynis package is digitally signed and provides a SHA256 hash for integrity verification.
Support limit: The documentation says the free Lynis version comes without warranties or support, while commercial support is available.
Requirements: The download page lists shell and basic utilities as requirements and says normal-user or preferably root permissions are needed.
Founded: 2007
Price from: $0.25/mo

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Security Configuration Management Software in 2026#4 of 25

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Sources

cisofy.com/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
cisofy.com/documentation/lynis/features/· checked 4 Oct 2026
cisofy.com/lynis/plugins/· checked 4 Oct 2026
cisofy.com/documentation/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
cisofy.com/downloads/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
cisofy.com/pricing/· checked 4 Oct 2026