Chainguard vs. CleanStart Comparison Chart

CleanStart is a secure container image platform and software supply chain security solution that provides organizations with lightweight, hardened, vulnerability-free base images designed to serve as a trusted foundation for building, deploying, and running modern software with improved safety and compliance. Instead of starting with general-purpose distributions that contain numerous known vulnerabilities, CleanStart offers near-zero CVE images that minimize attack surface by removing unnecessary components and embedding security from Day 0, enabling faster, safer releases and reducing the burden of ongoing patching and remediation. Every CleanStart image is continuously verified with signed attestations and Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) that document provenance, component origins, and build environment details, giving teams cryptographically verifiable evidence of what is in their containers for auditing, compliance, and evidence-based risk management.