Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment gives a vendor more visibility, higher up on the review pages; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in application security testing software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 13 tools, reviewed
#1 Aikido Security
Code-to-cloud scanner built for small engineering teams · Belgium · aikido.dev
Free tier Ghent-based All-in-one
Aikido earns first place by being the product a five-person engineering team can adopt without a procurement cycle. Its free Developer tier covers two users and lists dependency scanning with reachability, SAST, secrets detection, cloud misconfiguration checks and IaC scanning.
- Pricing: Per tier + developers. Free Developer tier for 2 users, paid tiers from $300 per month including 10 users, priced up by developer count. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Small teams wanting one console
- Strengths: SAST and AI SAST; Dependency scanning (SCA); Secrets detection.
Where it falls short
Paid tiers carry fair-usage limits on repositories, container images, domains and cloud accounts, so a monorepo-heavy company needs to read the limits before assuming the headline price.
Wrong for
Wrong for a regulated enterprise that needs named-vendor status with auditors and years of reference customers, or for a team whose only need is a deep, specialist DAST engine.
Visit Aikido Security →
#2 Semgrep
Rule-based code, dependency and secrets scanning · United States · semgrep.dev
Free tier Custom rules San Francisco-based
Semgrep suits a team that wants to write and own its detection logic. The free edition covers up to ten contributors and ten private repositories, with cross-file analysis on Pro rules and CI deployment through Semgrep's own infrastructure, so the first scan costs nothing.
- Pricing: Per contributor / month. Free for up to 10 contributors, Teams from $30 per contributor per month per module, Enterprise on request. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Developer-led teams who tune rules
- Strengths: Semgrep Code (SAST); Semgrep Supply Chain (SCA); Semgrep Secrets.
Where it falls short
The pricing page lists Code, Supply Chain and Secrets only, with no DAST or runtime testing, so a team protecting a login-heavy web app needs a second product.
Wrong for
Wrong for a company with no engineer able to maintain rules and wanting a managed, hands-off service, or for a buyer whose main exposure is a deployed web app.
Visit Semgrep →
#3 Endor Labs
Reachability-based dependency and code security · United States · endorlabs.com
Reachability AI coding agents Palo Alto-based
Endor Labs is built around one complaint: dependency scanners report thousands of vulnerable packages and most are never called by the application. Its Open Source product applies reachability analysis and malware detection, and its Patches product ships backported fixes as drop-in replacements for vulnerable libraries.
- Pricing: Per product, quote. Free Developer tier for local scanning; Core and Pro tiers priced per product on request. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams drowning in dependency alerts
- Strengths: Code scanning (AI SAST); Open source SCA with reachability; Container scanning.
Where it falls short
No price appears anywhere on the pricing page; every product says Get pricing.
Wrong for
Wrong for a buyer who needs a published price before a call, or a team with few third-party dependencies and a web app as its main risk.
Visit Endor Labs →
#4 Mend.io
Open-source risk, SAST and automated dependency updates · Israel · mend.io
Open-source risk Renovate Israel-based
Mend treats open-source dependencies as its home territory, and its price list reflects a mature buyer base: AppSec, AI security and Renovate Enterprise are each sold per contributing developer, with ceilings of $1,000, $300 and $250 per developer per year.
- Pricing: Per contributing developer / year. Mend AppSec up to $1,000 per developer per year, Mend AI up to $300 and Renovate Enterprise up to $250. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mid-size teams managing open-source risk
- Strengths: Mend SAST; Mend SCA; Container scanning.
Where it falls short
The ceilings are the only prices shown, so the real quote is a negotiation.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team under ten developers wanting to start free, or one that needs dynamic testing of a live app.
Visit Mend.io →
#5 Contrast Security
Instrumentation-based testing and runtime protection · United States · contrastsecurity.com
IAST Runtime Los Altos-based
Contrast takes a different path from scanners that read code from outside.
- Pricing: Quote only. Testing modules by quote; CVE Shield free for 2 applications, Pro at $750 per month billed annually. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams with Java or .NET services
- Strengths: Contrast Assess (IAST); Contrast Scan (SAST); Contrast SCA.
Where it falls short
CVE Shield supports Java applications at launch, with .NET and Python planned. Its data resides on AWS in the United States regardless of where you are.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team that wants to connect a repository and be scanning in ten minutes, or one running mostly Go, Rust or serverless functions where an agent is awkward.
Visit Contrast Security →
#6 Cycode
Code scanning plus software supply chain posture · Israel · cycode.com
ASPM Supply chain Israel-based
Cycode appeals to a security team that has already bought several scanners and needs something to sit above them. Its Posture Management package lists 120+ connectors, no-code automation and custom dashboards, while Code Security and Software Supply Chain Security add SAST, SCA, secrets, container and IaC scanning, CI/CD hardening and code leak detection.
- Pricing: Quote only. Usage-based tiers by bundle, all shown as Get Pricing with no figures. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Security teams unifying many scanners
- Strengths: SAST and AI SAST; SCA; Secrets and NHI detection.
Where it falls short
No number appears on the pricing page; each package leads to a sales form. The positioning leans heavily on AI-agent security vocabulary, which can obscure the basic scanning features a smaller buyer is comparing.
Wrong for
Wrong for a startup that runs a single scanner and wants a card-paid plan today, or one needing deep dynamic testing.
Visit Cycode →
#7 Invicti
Proof-based DAST with growing code and supply chain modules · United States · invicti.com
DAST API testing Austin-based
If your exposure is a deployed web application with accounts, forms and APIs, Invicti is the specialist on this list. Proof-based scanning and runtime validation are listed as core features, aimed at the false positives that make dynamic scanning unpopular with developers.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote-based packages (Web + API, AppSec Core, AppSec Flex); agentic pentest listed at a maximum of $500 per pentest. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams protecting customer-facing web apps
- Strengths: Proof-based scanning; Multilayer API discovery; Stateful API security.
Where it falls short
No list price is published for the main packages, only the pentest cap. The static and software-composition modules arrived later than the scanner and are less proven than the dynamic engine.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team that mainly needs pull-request feedback on first-party code, or one with no deployed web application yet.
Visit Invicti →
#8 GitHub Advanced Security
Native code and secret scanning inside GitHub · United States · github.com
GitHub-native Published prices Per committer
For a company whose repositories already live on GitHub, the least friction comes from not adding a vendor. The product is sold as two layers, Secret Protection at $19 and Code Security at $30 per active committer per month, so a team can buy only the secret-leak layer if that is the immediate fear.
- Pricing: Per active committer / month. Secret Protection $19 and Code Security $30 per active committer per month. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams that already host code on GitHub
- Strengths: Code Security (static analysis); Secret Protection; Dependency monitoring.
Where it falls short
Scope follows the repository host: it does not test a running application, and teams with code on other platforms see less benefit.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team that hosts on GitLab or Bitbucket, or that needs DAST, IAST or a cross-tool risk dashboard.
Visit GitHub Advanced Security →
#9 Snyk
Developer-workflow scanning for code and dependencies · United States · snyk.io
Developer workflow Free plan Boston-based
Snyk's entry price is the lowest published figure among the tools that cover code and dependencies together. The Free plan gives access to SAST, SCA, IaC and container scanning with IDE, CLI and source-control integrations, and Team starts at $25 per month for up to ten developers with higher test limits and Jira integration.
- Pricing: Per team / month. Free plan at $0, Team from $25 per month for up to 10 developers, Enterprise by credits. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams that want IDE-level fixes
- Strengths: Snyk Code (SAST); Snyk Open Source (SCA); Snyk Container.
Where it falls short
Free allows five projects and 100 code tests per month; Team lifts that to 100 projects and 1,000 tests. Enterprise moves to credits that are harder to forecast than seats.
Wrong for
Wrong for an ops team with servers and no developers, or a buyer who wants to compare final prices without credits arithmetic.
Visit Snyk →
#10 Checkmarx
Enterprise application security platform with ASPM · Israel · checkmarx.com
Enterprise suite SaaS or self-hosted Ramat Gan-based
Checkmarx One is a full suite for organizations with an established AppSec team. Three packages scale from Essentials, with SAST, SCA, API security and ASPM, through Professional, adding DAST, IaC security and AI security, to Enterprise with supply chain security, container security and runtime protection.
- Pricing: Quote only. Custom quote by package (Essentials, Professional, Enterprise) or by security area, SaaS or self-hosted. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large engineering organizations
- Strengths: SAST; SCA; API Security.
Where it falls short
Price is only available through a quote tailored to modules, deployment and developer count, with no entry number. The package ladder bundles features a small team may never use.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team under thirty developers that wants to try the product by itself this afternoon.
Visit Checkmarx →
#11 Veracode
SAST, DAST, SCA and risk management from one vendor · United States · veracode.com
Enterprise Training Burlington-based
Veracode sells a wide testing portfolio in one platform: SAST, DAST, SCA, a package firewall, container security, AI-assisted remediation and a Risk Manager for ASPM. Beyond tools it offers eLearning, hands-on security labs, application security consulting and penetration testing as a service, which matters to a buyer whose auditor asks about developer training as well as scanning.
- Pricing: Quote only. Pricing on request through sales; no price on the public site. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Enterprises wanting one compliance-ready vendor
- Strengths: SAST; DAST; SCA.
Where it falls short
No pricing is shown, and getting a quote means a sales call. The breadth means many modules a smaller team will not use, and the platform is organized around enterprise programs with consulting and training services alongside it.
Wrong for
Wrong for a startup needing self-serve onboarding and a monthly card payment, or a team that wants to tune open rules itself.
Visit Veracode →
#12 Black Duck
Enterprise SAST, SCA and fuzzing for regulated software · United States · blackduck.com
Embedded Regulated Burlington-based
Black Duck has a product for each testing method: Coverity for static analysis, Black Duck SCA for open-source composition and licenses, Continuous Dynamic for web testing, Seeker for interactive testing and fuzz testing for protocol and binary robustness. Polaris combines them as a SaaS platform, and a newer product, Signal, adds agentic analysis.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote through sales; no public price. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Embedded, automotive and medical software makers
- Strengths: Polaris platform; Coverity (static analysis); Black Duck SCA.
Where it falls short
Everything is sold by quote and aimed at large programs, so a small web company will find it heavy. The product family has several named components that are not obviously one product, which makes the first evaluation harder.
Wrong for
Wrong for a small SaaS team shipping a web app weekly, or a buyer who wants a published monthly price.
Visit Black Duck →
#13 OpenText Fortify
Static analysis and testing platform with on-premises option · Canada · opentext.com
On-premises 44+ languages Enterprise
Fortify matters for a buyer who cannot send source code to a multi-tenant cloud. OpenText describes three deployment paths: Fortify on Demand as SaaS, a private hosted mix of SaaS and on-premises features, and a fully on-premises install. The static analyzer lists more than 44 languages, over 350 frameworks and more than a million APIs, with IDE, CI/CD and issue-tracker integrations.
- Pricing: Quote only. Pricing on request through OpenText sales. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Regulated buyers needing on-premises control
- Strengths: Fortify SAST; Fortify on Demand (SaaS); Private hosted option.
Where it falls short
No price is published and the product page directs everything to sales. As part of a large corporate portfolio, product naming and packaging shift with each acquisition.
Wrong for
Wrong for a team of a few developers that wants to be productive before lunch, or a cloud-native shop without compliance pressure.
Visit OpenText Fortify →
Questions and answers
What is the best application security testing software in 2026?
Aikido Security ranks first of 13, best for small teams wanting one console. Semgrep is second (developer-led teams who tune rules) and Endor Labs third (teams drowning in dependency alerts). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between SAST, DAST, SCA and IAST?
SAST reads your own source code without running it, so it finds insecure patterns early but cannot see how the deployed system behaves. SCA checks open-source packages against vulnerability and license data.
Do I need all four testing types, or can I start with one?
Start with the layer matching your last real incident. Most small companies get the best return from SCA plus secrets detection, because vulnerable dependencies and leaked keys are common and cheap to find.
How much does application security testing cost for a 20-developer team?
Published figures give a rough range. Semgrep's three modules add up to $75 per contributor per month, about $1,500 for twenty. GitHub's two layers list at $49 per active committer per month, about $980.
Is a free application security scanner enough?
For a team under ten developers, often yes at the start.
What does reachability analysis do and why do vendors stress it?
Reachability analysis checks whether your code actually calls the vulnerable function inside a dependency. Without it, a scanner flags every package that has a known CVE, and most of those never execute.
Can an application security tool replace a penetration test?
Not entirely. A scanner finds known patterns repeatedly and cheaply, while a pentest chains weaknesses and tests business logic.
Which tools work with GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps rather than GitHub?
Most commercial products connect to several hosts, but verify the exact one.
How do these tools support the EU Cyber Resilience Act?
The Act asks manufacturers of products with digital elements to manage vulnerabilities and know their components. In practice that means SBOMs, a vulnerability handling process and evidence of testing.
Where is my source code and scan data stored?
It varies by product and plan. Contrast says the data for CVE Shield sits on AWS in the United States.
When should a small company move from a developer tool to an enterprise suite?
Usually when the buyer changes, not the code. If an auditor, a large customer or a regulator asks for centralized policy, evidence of training and a named vendor, suites such as Checkmarx, Veracode or Black Duck become relevant.
