CodeSonar vs Qualys Web Application Scanning comparison

CodeSecure and Qualys are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. CodeSecure is ranked #31, while Qualys is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.2. CodeSecure holds a 1.5% mindshare in AS, compared to Qualys’s 2.2% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of CodeSecure users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

CodeSonar

Read 7 CodeSonar reviews

2,581 Views
1,781 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Qualys Web Application Scan...

Read 39 Qualys Web Application Scanning reviews

4,166 Views
2,541 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

CodeSonar

Qualys Web Application Scan...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Qualys Web Application Scanning and CodeSonar offer strong competition in the cybersecurity sector with each catering to different aspects of security needs. Qualys has the upper hand in user support and accessibility, while CodeSonar takes the lead in detailed code analysis, offering value for in-depth security pursuits.

Features: Qualys Web Application Scanning provides comprehensive vulnerability detection, seamless integration capabilities, and a user-friendly interface. CodeSonar focuses on static code analysis, depth in identifying potential security risks, and detailed examination of code.

Room for Improvement: Qualys Web Application Scanning could work on enhancing real-time report customization, speeding up scanning processes, and expanding integration options. CodeSonar might benefit from a simpler learning curve, more intuitive navigation, and enhanced UI design.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys Web Application Scanning is known for straightforward deployment and reliable customer support, making it suitable for non-technical users. CodeSonar requires more technical understanding during deployment but offers a supportive service team for specialists familiar with in-depth analysis needs.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys generally offers a reasonable setup cost, providing good ROI with its comprehensive web security coverage suitable for organizations seeking broader security solutions. CodeSonar's higher initial investment is justified by the depth of its analysis, making it a beneficial long-term investment for companies focusing on detailed code security. Qualys is preferred for its quicker ROI, whereas CodeSonar's pricing aligns with more profound security analysis investments.

To learn more, read our detailed CodeSonar vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning

July 2025

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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

31st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Code Analysis (10th)

Qualys Web Application Scan...

Ranking in Application Security Tools

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of CodeSonar is 1.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Web Application Scanning is 2.2%, up from 2.0% 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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Kelvin Oladipo

Team Lead, Cyber Security at Uridium Technologies

User-friendly scanning provides valuable vulnerability insights, but pricing improvements are needed

Qualys Web Application Scanning ( /products/qualys-web-application-scanning-reviews ) is user-friendly, easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to deploy. Credential scanning is very effective because it goes in-depth into the system, crawling the pages, and reporting on vulnerabilities. The product helps by providing options for remediating vulnerabilities it finds, making it really useful.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has been able to scale."

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

"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 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."

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

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

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

"It is a good product for website penetration testing to detect vulnerabilities."

"It scans web applications to identify vulnerabilities during deployment."

"We can do scanning and submit reports straight to the customers when there are new vulnerabilities, then tell them whether they are affected or not."

"I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."

"Qualys Web Application Scanning is robust and mature from industry standards."

"The product prevents possible vulnerabilities in our network."

"The most valuable features are the scheduled scanning, detailed reports, asset management, the knowledge database, and the overall product framework."

"QualysGuard web-based scanner is very useful for performing external penetration and PCI scans from remote locations."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pros

Cons

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"New features need to be added, specifically LLM-based solutions."

"The authenticated scanning feature could be improved by adding support for real-time scanning tokens and authorization tokens."

"In terms of the Policy Compliance model which they currently have, not all the platforms are being covered. If they could improve on the Policy Compliance model, since there are policies which are benchmarked against it, this will be helpful for us."

"Deployment can be complicated."

"The UI is not user-friendly and you don't have a yearly reporting facility where you can slice and dice in different jobs."

"The solution needs to adjust its pricing. They should make it more affordable."

"The pricing does not seem to be competitive."

"The GUI could be a little less complicated as it opens a lot of new windows for creating search lists, templates, reports, or for scanning purposes."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"Pricing is a bit costly."

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

"It is best to be an institutional buyer and directly contact the sales team, as they can provide over-the-top discounts for bulk orders."

"The cost is $30,000 USD for one year to cover WAS (Web Application Security) and the VM (Virtual Machine) security in a company with 200 employees."

"Try the free trial of the product to understand the basic working mechanisms."

"The product has a very good licensing model."

"Qualys Web Application Scanning's pricing is a bit expensive compared to other solutions available in the market."

"Licensing was based on the number of assets that you want to scan on your network. You can also do licensing on subscription. On subscription, it is easier and more flexible. You tell Qualys that you want to move from the 1000 to 2000 band or the 3000 or 5000 band, then they will give you the quotation for it. Once you pay for it, applying the licensing is quite easy and effective."

"It is an expensive platform."

"Pricing was reasonable and competitive. It was not too far above the other products."

More Qualys Web Application Scanning pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

24%

Computer Software Company

11%

University

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

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 Qualys Web Application Scanning?

The vulnerability management feature is a strong one. And also the patch management feature.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Web Application Scanning?

I find it a bit expensive compared to other competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys Web Application Scanning?

I would like it to be cheaper because it is a bit expensive compared to competitors like Tenable Nessus ( /products/tenable-nessus-reviews ). After using the product for a year, I might have more s...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 50% of the time

Coverity vs CodeSonar

Compared 24% of the time

Polyspace Code Prover vs CodeSonar

Compared 7% of the time

Axivion Static Code Analysis vs CodeSonar

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 8% of the time

Veracode vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 8% of the time

Acunetix vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 7% of the time

OpenText Dynamic Application Security Testing vs Qualys Web Application Scanning

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

July 2025

Download CodeSonar product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys Web Application Scanning

March 2025

Download Qualys Web Application Scanning product report

Also Known As

No data available

Qualys WAS

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

Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) is a fully cloud-based web application security scanner. The scanner will automatically crawl periodically and test web applications to discover potential vulnerabilities, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. The consistent testing equips the automated service to generate consistent results, lessen false positives, and offer the ability to scale to protect thousands of websites effortlessly.

Qualys Web Application Scanning is bundled with different scanning technology to carefully scan websites for malware infections and will send notifications to website owners to assist in preventing blacklisting and brand reputation damage. As digital transformation takes place in various organizations, Qualys WAS gives organizations the ability to track and document their web app security status through its interactive reporting capabilities.

Qualys WAS empowers organizations to remediate any web application vulnerabilities quickly. Some of the key tools offered are:

Deep Scanning: All apps and APIs on your internal network and public cloud are covered by Qualys WAS deep scanning to show you any visible vulnerabilities.
DevSec Ops Tool: Detect security issues in your code while still in app development stages and generate comprehensive reports.
Comprehensive Discovery: Discover and catalog new and unknown web apps in your network.
Malware Detection: Scan a website, identify vulnerabilities, and receive alerts to any infections.

Benefits of Qualys Web Application Scanning

Qualys Web Application Scanning offers many benefits, including:

Quick Deployment: Requires no infrastructure or software to upkeep.
Effortless Scalability: Effortlessly launch a deep scan and protect thousands of websites.
Centralized Management: Manage and mend all web app vulnerabilities through a single interface.
Excellent Integration Capabilities: Integrates with Qualys Web App Firewall (WAF) for a single-click virtual patching of found vulnerabilities.
Respond to Threats Immediately: Qualys Continuous Monitoring offers the user a hands-free service by automatically launching scanning and sending notifications of a potential threat.
Cost-effective Solution: Data is analyzed in real time as Qualys WAS is an end-to-end solution; this helps avoid costs associated with managing multiple security vendors.

Reviews from Real Users

Qualys Web Application Scanning stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two of those reasons are its progressive scan and quick detection of vulnerabilities.

P.K., a senior software developer at a tech vendor, writes, "The feature that I have found most valuable is the progressive scan. It is good. It's done in 24 hours."

Nagaraj S., lead cybersecurity engineer at a tech service company, notes, "I have found the detection of vulnerabilities tool thorough with good results and the graphical display output to be wonderful and full of colors. It allows many types of outputs, such as bar and chart previews."

Qualys

Sample Customers

Viveris, Micrel Medical Devices, Olympus, SOFTEQ, SONY

BskyB, Cartagena, ClearPoint Learning Systems, Connect Group, du, Fortrex Technologies, HBOR, HDI, Highlights for Children, The Lithuanian State Enterprise Centre of Registers, City of Miami Beach, Microsoft, MidlandHR, MSCI Inc., Northern Arizona University, Ofgem, Olympus Europa, PhoneFactor, RTL Nederland, ThousandEyes, VGZ Organisatie B.V.

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. Qualys Web Application Scanning

July 2025

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