

Find out in this report how the two Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
Contrast has probably saved us a couple hundred hours over the past six years.
In the past, my company employed five security engineers, but with Contrast Security Assess, we only have two people.
The speed of fixing issues is significantly improved due to the vast amount of information provided by Contrast Security Assess, making it quite essential for finding the root cause of problems in the source code.
This can be translated to being able to do the same amount of work with less technicians.
Tasks that previously took days are completed in significantly less time.
I can say it saves us time related to coding and also saves money, making it a very reliable tool for our organization with great features.
They go out of their way to respond quickly and very knowledgeably.
Customer support is one of the strongest points of Contrast Security Assess, as they are really responsive and answer tickets in less than one hour.
Contrast Security's customer support is very active and overall incredible.
When I created custom rules, I had some doubts, and the documentation was very helpful, simple, and easy to understand.
Their documentation and community are very active, so most of the time when problems occur, I get a solution.
Customer support and services for Semgrep are very reliable and good.
It is fairly simple to install the agents for Contrast Security Assess and keep them updated.
Contrast Security Assess's scalability is not an issue at all.
I was able to control it from 10 repositories or 10 services to thousands of repositories in a couple of minutes very simply.
This is an open-source tool, so it absolutely does the job, but if you were to implement a tool such as this in an enterprise, this would probably not be scalable.
Semgrep makes it easy to integrate and grow within any environment without concern for crashes.
Contrast Security Assess is genuinely more accurate than most tools I have worked with because it uses instrumentation from inside the application.
We opened a ticket to customer support and experienced four weeks of disruption due to the extension malfunctioning in some of the .NET servers running Contrast Security Assess.
If there is no master branch or default branch, the tool fails to identify it and will never scan it unless manually somebody looks into it and fixes the issue.
Since I have been using it, I have not experienced any downtime.
Semgrep is stable, as far as my experience indicates.
Regarding Contrast Security Assess's AI capabilities, I think they are missing a huge opportunity because they could lead the way in automatic testing and AI security testing.
I would love to see more customizable, out-of-the-box reporting that speaks to both technical and non-technical people without extra configuration.
Contrast support has been great in fixing any issues or getting back to us with questions.
The UI and additional dashboarding and other details would definitely make the tool more user-friendly and more of a candidate to be implemented in an enterprise.
Currently, they are working on identifying business logic vulnerabilities or privilege escalation vulnerabilities by looking at the code, and they should continue to focus on and improve this effort.
More advanced dependency analysis features in the SCA part and deeper vulnerability databases would be beneficial.
The annual licensing for Contrast Security Assess costs about $20,000 to $100,000 per year, and per application, it costs about $5,000 to $15,000 per year.
Licensing costs are fairly high compared to other DAST and SAST tools, but it seems to be worth the money.
Once we fully integrated it into our company, it has proven to be price-efficient at around $30 a month.
It is basically open-source, so the cost to set up is no cost.
It offers very reasonable pricing and costs.
The real-time detection feature of Contrast Security Assess helps us very well compared to traditional SAST tools. Traditional tools scan from the outside and guess where problems might be. Contrast Security Assess works from the inside because it is embedded into the application.
The ability to see what is going on and what has been going on in a given application and basically get to see what is coming across it in real time is helpful in finding vulnerabilities to remediate before production deployments.
Instead of fixing each vulnerability reported independently, you can group them and fix them in a single point in the source code, resolving several vulnerabilities at once.
When you triage with AI, it gathers context around the finding and reduces the noise about 80 to 90 percent of the time, asking you to focus only on findings that really matter.
The Software Composition Analysis is the most valuable feature in Semgrep.
The best feature of Semgrep is its ability to highlight high priority issues during scanning, making it critical for developers to address these vulnerabilities promptly.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Semgrep | 2.4% |
| Contrast Security Assess | 1.3% |
| Other | 96.3% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 3 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 10 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 3 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 5 |
Contrast Security Assess is an IAST platform known for accurate vulnerability detection. It integrates into development workflows, offering real-time insights into security issues with minimal false positives, supporting legacy applications and enhancing code security visibility.
Designed to integrate seamlessly into DevOps workflows, Contrast Security Assess automates real-time vulnerability detection and reduces false positives through its powerful IAST features. By continuously monitoring vulnerabilities, it provides a robust option for securing legacy applications and identifying vulnerabilities without lengthy scans. This cloud-hosted platform supports numerous programming languages, making it versatile for security testing across enterprise environments. Users benefit from detailed reports that pinpoint exact code locations requiring remediation, enhancing speed and efficiency in addressing security concerns.
What are the key features of Contrast Security Assess?Companies in industries requiring high levels of application security, such as finance and healthcare, implement Contrast Security Assess for its ability to enhance visibility and detect vulnerabilities early in the development lifecycle. Its seamless integration with DevOps processes makes it ideal for environments that prioritize agility while maintaining stringent security standards.
Semgrep is an advanced static analysis tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and enforce coding standards, catering primarily to professionals with a focus on enhancing code security and quality.
Engineered for software development environments, Semgrep delivers efficient security feedback with minimal setup. By offering a rich collection of rule sets, it allows customization and integration into CI/CD pipelines, supporting continuous code examination. Semgrep not only uncovers hidden flaws but also enforces best practices, making it a valuable asset for development teams seeking to build secure and reliable software.
What are the most important features of Semgrep?In industry applications, Semgrep is a popular choice for sectors such as finance and healthcare, where code integrity and security are paramount. Its integration capabilities allow for effective oversight of compliance and secure coding standards without disrupting existing workflows. This adaptability ensures it meets sector-specific requirements, making it a trusted tool in fields where data privacy and protection are critical.
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