GitHub Code Scanning vs OWASP Zap comparison

GitHub and OWASP are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. GitHub is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.3, while OWASP is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.7. GitHub holds a 1.0% mindshare in SAST, compared to OWASP’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of GitHub users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of OWASP users who would recommend it.

GitHub Code Scanning

Read 3 GitHub Code Scanning reviews

676 Views
585 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Read 40 OWASP Zap reviews

11,136 Views
6,104 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

GitHub Code Scanning

OWASP Zap

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

OWASP Zap and GitHub Code Scanning offer unique strengths in vulnerability management. GitHub Code Scanning appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and integration capabilities, while OWASP Zap is advantageous in pricing and support.

Features: OWASP Zap includes a wide range of security testing options, excellent customer support integration, and effective threat management tools. GitHub Code Scanning provides advanced automated scanning, seamless integration with DevOps tools, and superior code analysis.

Room for Improvement: OWASP Zap needs better reporting functionalities, improved integration with diverse DevOps tools, and enhanced performance for complex tasks. GitHub Code Scanning should enhance handling of large codebases, offer better customization of security rules, and improve user interface intuitiveness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: OWASP Zap is recognized for straightforward installation and responsive customer service, making it a preferred choice for easy deployment. GitHub Code Scanning presents a steeper learning curve but compensates with consistent updates and quality service support.

Pricing and ROI: OWASP Zap is more cost-effective, ideal for budget-conscious organizations, providing quick ROI. While GitHub Code Scanning involves higher costs, the investment is justified by superior features and seamless integration that offer strong returns.

To learn more, read our detailed GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap

April 2025

Download the complete report

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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

GitHub Code Scanning

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

17th

Average Rating

9.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

OWASP Zap

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

11th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of GitHub Code Scanning is 1.0%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OWASP Zap is 4.7%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

VishalSingh

Consulting & Solutions, BA/BD in Enterprise IT on Open Source, Red Hat & EDB at KEEN AND ABLE COMPUTERS PVT LTD

Traverses the entire network, scanning every system to determine which ports are open

You can use the tool locally on your system or in the cloud. I rate it a nine out of ten. It's a very good tool for people who want to start using GitHubCode Scanning, especially for software development or team collaboration. GitHubCode Scanning allows teams to collaborate by uploading files to repositories. For example, if someone is developing an application, they can host the code on GitHub Code Scanning. Other developers can then download the code for testing purposes. If bugs are found, fixes can be applied using the GitHub Code Scanningrepository, and everyone on the team can see the changes. Software developers often use GitHub Code Scanning for version control, and it's essential for CI/CD pipelines to work.

Read full review

Amit Beniwal

Project Manager at Al Hassan LLC

Simplifies vulnerability discovery and has high quality support

There are areas for improvement with OWASP Zap, particularly in the alignment of vulnerabilities concerning CVSS scores. Sometimes, a vulnerability initially categorized as high severity may be reduced to medium or low over time after security patches are applied. This alignment with the present severity score and CVSS score could be improved.

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

"GitHub Code Spaces brings significant value with its simplicity and ease of use."

"The solution helps identify vulnerabilities by understanding how ports communicate with applications running on a system. Ports are like house numbers; to visit someone's house, you must know their number. Similarly, ports are used to communicate with applications. For example, if you want to use an HTTP web server, you must use port 80. It is the port on which the web application or your server listens for incoming requests."

"We use GitHub Code Scanning mostly for source code management."

"The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, it's very difficult."

"You can run it against multiple targets."

"The stability of the solution is very good."

"The application scanning feature is the most valuable feature."

"This solution has improved my organization because it has made us feel safer doing frequent deployments for web applications. If we have something really big, we might get some professional company in to help us but if we're releasing small products, we will check it ourselves with Zap. It makes it easier and safer."

"OWASP is quite matured in identifying the vulnerabilities."

"It's great that we can use it with Portswigger Burp."

"The solution is scalable."

More OWASP Zap pros

Cons

"One area for improvement could be the ability to have an AI system digest the reports generated from code scanning and provide a summary. Currently, the reports can be extensive, and users may overlook details, such as outdated libraries, which could be highlighted for attention."

"GitHub Code Scanning should add more templates."

"Too many false positives; test reports could be improved."

"The automated vulnerability assessments that the application performs needs to be simplified as well as diversified."

"The work that it does in the limited scope is good, but the scope is very limited in terms of the scanning features. The number of things it tests or finds is limited. They need to make it a more of a mainstream tool that people can use, and they can even think about having it on a proprietary basis. They need to increase the coverage of the scan and the results that it finds. That has always been Zap's limitation. Zap is a very good tool for a beginner, but once you start moving up the ladder where you want further details and you want your scan to show more in-depth results, Zap falls short because its coverage falls short. It does not have the capacity to do more."

"The forced browse has been incorporated into the program and it is resource-intensive."

"The solution is somewhat unreliable because after we get the finding, we have to manually verify each of its findings to see whether it's a false positive or a true finding, and it takes time."

"OWASP Zap needs to extend to mobile application testing."

"Reporting format has no output, is cluttered and very long."

"They stopped their support for a short period. They've recently started to come back again. In the early days, support was much better."

More OWASP Zap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The minimum pricing for the tool is five dollars a month."

"GitHub Code Scanning is a moderately priced solution."

"It's free. It's good for us because we don't know what the extent of our use will be yet. It's good to start with something free and easy to use."

"We have used the freeware version. I believe Zap only has freeware."

"The tool is open-source."

"OWASP ZAP is a free tool provided by OWASP’s engineers and experts. There is an option to donate."

"The tool is open source."

"This is an open-source solution and can be used free of charge."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"It is highly recommended as it is an open source tool."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GitHub Code Scanning?

We use GitHub Code Scanning mostly for source code management.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub Code Scanning?

The minimum pricing for the tool is five dollars a month.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitHub Code Scanning?

One area for improvement could be the ability to have an AI system digest the reports generated from code scanning and provide a summary. Currently, the reports can be extensive, and users may over...

See all answers

Is OWASP Zap better than PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro?

OWASP Zap and PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro have many similar features. OWASP Zap has web application scanning available with basic security vulnerabilities while Burp Suite Pro has it available with ...

See all answers

What do you like most about OWASP Zap?

The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OWASP Zap?

OWASP might be cost-effective, however, people prefer to use the free edition available as open source.

See all answers

Comparisons

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 34% of the time

Coverity vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 29% of the time

SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 15% of the time

Aikido Security vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 10% of the time

Checkmarx SAST vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 3% of the time

More GitHub Code Scanning Competitors

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs OWASP Zap

Compared 21% of the time

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 16% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

More OWASP Zap Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

April 2025

Download GitHub Code Scanning product report

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

April 2025

Download OWASP Zap product report

Overview

Code scanning is a feature that you use to analyze the code in a GitHub repository to find security vulnerabilities and coding errors. Any problems identified by the analysis are shown in GitHub.

GitHub

OWASP Zap is a free and open-source web application security scanner.

The solution helps developers identify vulnerabilities in their web applications by actively scanning for common security issues.

With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Zap is a popular choice among developers for ensuring the security of their web applications.

OWASP

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Amazon 5. Facebook 6. Twitter 7. LinkedIn 8. Netflix 9. Adobe 10. PayPal 11. Salesforce 12. Cisco 13. Oracle 14. Intel 15. HP 16. Dell 17. VMware 18. Symantec 19. McAfee 20. Citrix 21. Red Hat 22. Juniper Networks 23. SAP 24. Accenture 25. Deloitte 26. Ernst & Young 27. PwC 28. KPMG 29. Capgemini 30. Infosys 31. Wipro 32. TCS

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap

April 2025

Free Report: GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap

Find out what your peers are saying about GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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