GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clair vs Userback
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and Userback — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Clair vs Userback: at a glance
What is Clair?
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
What is Userback?
Userback's Sites turn out to be a multi-site workspace, and the first follow-up targets agencies.
Userback has spent 2026 widening where feedback comes from (mobile SDK, Slack, mobile surveys) and adding an AI layer on top (Insights themes, video transcription, AI Context Search). The October 28 follow-up finally shows what Sites is: a per-site container with its own Site Key, settings, widget and feedback list. The new tools are prefixed readable feedback IDs that pass through to Jira, copying widget settings between Sites, open-feedback counts on the Sites page, and survey targeting by query string and hash.
Clair vs Userback: editorial side-by-side
Clair
2.5INFRA · APIS
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
◆ Current state
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
◆ Where it's heading
Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.
◆ Prediction
More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.
Userback
5.0INFRA · APIS
Userback's Sites turn out to be a multi-site workspace, and the first follow-up targets agencies.
◆ Current state
Userback has spent 2026 widening where feedback comes from (mobile SDK, Slack, mobile surveys) and adding an AI layer on top (Insights themes, video transcription, AI Context Search). The October 28 follow-up finally shows what Sites is: a per-site container with its own Site Key, settings, widget and feedback list. The new tools are prefixed readable feedback IDs that pass through to Jira, copying widget settings between Sites, open-feedback counts on the Sites page, and survey targeting by query string and hash.
◆ Where it's heading
Sites moves Userback toward running many properties from one account. Copying widget settings and sorting Sites by open feedback are built for agencies with a Site per client. The readable IDs that travel into Jira and other integrations show the same push seen in the 'Sent to Integrations' filter: making Userback the traceable start of a ticket, not a separate inbox.
◆ Prediction
Expect more cross-Site tooling, such as copying integrations or templates between Sites, since the October 28 notes say integrations still have to be set up per Site.
Alternatives to Clair and Userback
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Clair or Userback.
Payload CMS
Payload's v4 beta.9 keeps every past image crop and raises the Node floor again.
Nautobot
Nautobot 3.3 alpha 2 adds test helpers and a cable location filter after 3.2.9's token-leak fix.
Shuffle
Shuffle tags builds almost daily, but the notes are empty.
KrakenD
KrakenD's community edition is shipping only dependency bumps.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor's recent releases are mostly about patching CVEs.
See all Clair alternatives → · See all Userback alternatives →
Recent activity from Clair and Userback
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 17d agoUserbackFeedback IDs, and more improvements for Sites
- 1mo agoUserbackIntroducing Sites
- 3mo agoUserbackUserback Mobile SDK: Now With Surveys
- 4mo agoUserbackNew Feature: Notification History
- 4mo agoUserbackMerging Duplicate Feedback Just Got a Lot Faster
- 5mo agoUserbackNew Feature: Video Transcription
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
- 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Clair and Userback?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Userback is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Clair better than Userback?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Userback is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Clair?
Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Userback?
Top Userback alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Userback alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/userback for the full list with editorial commentary on each.