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Contrast Security Protect vs HCL AppScan comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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

Contrast Security Protect
Ranking in Application Security Tools
33rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HCL AppScan
Ranking in Application Security Tools
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
43
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 Contrast Security Protect is 0.5%, up from 0.4% 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

ToddMcAlister - PeerSpot reviewer
It provides us with more in-depth visibility into ongoing attacks.
I rate Contrast Security Protect eight out of 10. Overall, it's a solid product, but I deduct a couple of points because of the interface and some shortcomings in the reporting. If you have a large enterprise where you're dealing with a lot of servers, then it makes sense not to use the internal MySQL database. You should use something like Oracle or Microsoft SQL, but if you don't have many transactions, the embedded MySQL database works great.
Rishi Anupam - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has excellent real-time capabilities."
"The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives."
"Protect provides us with more in-depth visibility into ongoing attacks."
"AppScan is stable."
"This is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is Postman."
"It provides a better integration for our ecosystem."
"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."
"It has certainly helped us find vulnerabilities in our software, so this is priceless in the end."
"We use it as a security testing application."
"The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is scanning QR codes."
 

Cons

"There's room for improvement in the initial setup."
"Protect's reporting GUI is very basic. To get all statuses from the APIs, we needed to write our own KPI dashboard to provide reports."
"Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration."
"We would like to integrate with some of the other reporting tools that we're planning to use in the future."
"The product has some technical limitations."
"There are so many lines of code with so many different categories that I am likely to get lost. ​"
"IBM Security AppScan needs to add performance optimization for quickly scanning the target web applications."
"They could add a software component analysis tool."
"AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives."
"The solution could improve by having a mobile version."
"Many silly false positives are produced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."
"The solution is cheap."
"The price is very expensive."
"The price of HCL AppScan is okay, in my opinion. You just buy HCL AppScan and don't pay anything anymore, meaning it is just a one-time purchase."
"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."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high. HCL AppScan is an expensive tool."
"The product is moderately priced, though it's an investment due to extensive code analysis needs."
"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
27%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Contrast Security Protect?
The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives.
What needs improvement with Contrast Security Protect?
Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration.
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.
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...
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...
 

Also Known As

Contrast Protect
IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Williams-Sonoma, Autodesk, HUAWEI, Chromeriver, RingCentral, Demandware.
Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT
Find out what your peers are saying about Contrast Security Protect vs. HCL AppScan and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.