CodeSonar vs HCL AppScan comparison

CodeSecure and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. CodeSecure is ranked #34 with an average rating of 7.0, while HCLSoftware is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.9. CodeSecure holds a 1.5% mindshare in AS, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of CodeSecure users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

CodeSonar

Read 7 CodeSonar reviews

1,855 Views
1,189 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 43 HCL AppScan reviews

3,792 Views
2,867 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

CodeSonar

HCL AppScan

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

HCL AppScan and CodeSonar are leading solutions in the application security sector. While both offer unique advantages, CodeSonar seems to have an edge in advanced analysis capabilities.

Features: HCL AppScan offers comprehensive security testing abilities and robust integration options. It is also recognized for providing extensive security features. CodeSonar is noted for its deep static analysis, support for large codebases, and the ability to identify complex code vulnerabilities.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan users suggest enhancements in usability, performance speed, and intuitive design. CodeSonar reviews mention the need for improved reporting outputs, expanded language support, and greater programming language compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan is praised for straightforward deployment and efficient customer service. CodeSonar offers detailed support and customization options, though its deployment can be complex, requiring more initial investment.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan has an accessible initial setup cost with a satisfactory ROI, owing to its feature set. CodeSonar, with a higher initial cost, provides significant long-term ROI for complex projects where intricate static analysis is crucial, making its pricing worthwhile.

To learn more, read our detailed CodeSonar vs. HCL AppScan Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. HCL AppScan

April 2025

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Helped 850,028 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

CodeSonar

Ranking in Application Security Tools

34th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Code Analysis (8th)

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Application Security Tools

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (10th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of CodeSonar is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

Mathieu ALBRESPY

Intigration Developer at ez-Wheel

Nice interface, quick to deploy, and easy to expand

This is the first time I've used this kind of software. It was the only one we could apply to analyze with MISRA rules. At my new company, I tried to use Klocwork. I tried to use it, just once so I cannot compare it exactly with CodeSonar. I also have a plugin for my Visual Studio and I try to make it work. It's not easy, however, I don't think that we have this kind of functionality with CodeSonar. It can do some incremental analysis. However, since this feature is also available on CodeSonar, it would be a good idea to have a plugin on Visual Studio just to have a quick analysis.

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Rishi Anupam

Senior Manager at Airtel

A stable and scalable scanning solution with good reporting feature

The solution is used for the vulnerabilities scan on the network side The reporting part is the most valuable feature. The penetration testing feature should be included. I have been using the solution for four years. It is a stable solution. I rate it seven out of ten. It is a scalable…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"What I like best about CodeSonar is that it has fantastic speed, analysis and configuration times. Its detection of all runtime errors is also very good, though there were times it missed a few. The configuration of logs by CodeSonar is also very fantastic which I've not seen anywhere else. I also like the GUI interface of CodeSonar because it's very user friendly and the tool also shows very precise logs and results."

"The most valuable feature of CodeSonar is the catching of dead code. It is helpful."

"The most valuable features of CodeSonar were all the categorized classes provided, and reports of future bugs which might occur in the production code. Additionally, I found the buffer overflow and underflow useful."

"There is nice functionality for code surfing and browsing."

"The tool is very good for detecting memory leaks."

"It has been able to scale."

"CodeSonar’s most valuable feature is finding security threats."

"IBM AppScan has made our work easy, as we can do four to five scans of websites at a time, which saves time when it comes to vulnerability."

"You can easily find particular features and functions through the UI."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is Postman."

"The solution is cheap."

"The platform has valuable security features, helping us identify sensitive code issues and the possibility of internal applications' exposure to external threats."

"There's extensive functionality with custom rules and a custom knowledge base."

"We are now deploying less defects to production."

"The static scans are good, and the SaaS as well."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"There could be a shared licensing model for the users."

"In a future release, the solution should upgrade itself to the current trends and differentiate between the languages. If there are any classifications that can be set for these programming languages that would be helpful rather than having everything in the generic category."

"The scanning tool for core architecture could be improved."

"CodeSonar could improve by having better coding rules so we did not have to use another solution, such as MISRA C."

"It would be beneficial for the solution to include code standards and additional functionality for security."

"It was expensive."

"In terms of areas for improvement, the use case for CodeSonar was good, but compared to other tools, it seems CodeSonar isn't a sound static analysis tool, and this is a major con I've seen from it. Right now, in the market, people prefer sound static analysis tools, so I would have preferred if CodeSonar was developed into a sound static analysis tool formally, in terms of its algorithms, so then you can see it extensively used in the market because at the moment, here in India, only fifty to sixty customers use CodeSonar. If the product is developed into a sound static analysis tool, it could compete with Polyspace, and from its current fifty customers, that number could go up to a hundred."

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."

"A desktop version should be added."

"One thing which I think can be improved is the CI/CD Integration"

"IBM Security AppScan needs to add performance optimization for quickly scanning the target web applications."

"In future releases, I would like to see more aggressive reports. I would also like to see less false positives."

"The tool should improve its output. Scanning is not a challenge anymore since there are many such tools available in the market. The product needs to focus on how its output is being used by end users. It should be also more user-friendly. One of the major challenges is in the tool's integration with applications that need to be scanned. Sometimes, the scanning is not proper."

"HCL AppScan needs to improve security."

"The solution's scalability can be a matter of concern because one license runs on one machine only."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is a bit costly."

"Our organization purchased a license to use the solution."

"The application’s pricing is high compared to other tools."

"The solution's price depends on the number of licenses needed and the source code for the project."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The solution is cheap."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"With the features, that they offer, and the support, they offer, AppScan pricing is on a higher level."

"The price is very expensive."

"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."

"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten. The product's pricing is expensive compared to the features that they offer."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

25%

Computer Software Company

13%

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CodeSonar?

CodeSonar’s most valuable feature is finding security threats.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CodeSonar?

The application’s pricing is high compared to other tools. I rate its pricing a four out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CodeSonar?

Our license model allows one user per license. Currently, we have limitations for VPN profiles. We can’t share the key with other users. There could be a shared licensing model for the users. It wi...

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives. It also requires enhancements in customer support, similar to what Veracode provides. Regularly scheduling calls with clients to discuss fe...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

The primary use case for AppScan is for security purposes. I compare AppScan with other tools such as Veracode. We use AppScan for vulnerability detection and auto-remediation of vulnerabilities wi...

See all answers

Comparisons

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs CodeSonar

Compared 60% of the time

Coverity vs CodeSonar

Compared 21% of the time

Polyspace Code Prover vs CodeSonar

Compared 8% of the time

Klocwork vs CodeSonar

Compared 3% of the time

Understand vs CodeSonar

Compared 3% of the time

More CodeSonar Competitors

Acunetix vs HCL AppScan

Compared 16% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs HCL AppScan

Compared 12% of the time

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 10% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

OWASP Zap vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

April 2025

Download CodeSonar product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

April 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

GrammaTech enables organizations to develop software applications more efficiently, on-budget, and on-schedule by helping to eliminate harmful defects that can cause system failures, enable data breaches, and ultimately increase corporate liabilities in today’s connected world. GrammaTech is the developer of CodeSonar, the most powerful source and binary code analysis solution available today. Extraordinarily precise, CodeSonar finds, on average, 2 times more serious defects in software than other static analysis solutions. Designed for organizations with zero tolerance for defects and vulnerabilities in their applications, CodeSonar provides static analysis for applications where reliability and security are paramount - widely used by software developers in avionics, medical, automotive, industrial control, and other mission-critical applications. Some of GrammaTech's customers include Toyota, GE, Hyundai, Kawasaki, LG, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Panasonic, and Samsung.

CodeSecure

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

Viveris, Micrel Medical Devices, Olympus, SOFTEQ, SONY

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. HCL AppScan

April 2025

Free Report: CodeSonar vs. HCL AppScan

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