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 8.5, while OWASP is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. GitHub holds a 1.3% 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 6 GitHub Code Scanning reviews

1,016 Views
965 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

8,982 Views
8,174 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

GitHub Code Scanning

OWASP Zap

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Code Scanning vs. OWASP Zap

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 864,574 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

GitHub Code Scanning

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

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 August 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of GitHub Code Scanning is 1.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OWASP Zap is 4.7%, up from 4.7% 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.

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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

"It's very scalable, very easy to handle, and very intuitive."

"The static code analysis capability in GitHub Code Scanning is a very powerful feature, providing the ability to identify vulnerabilities and ensure code quality."

"GitHub Code Scanning has positively impacted my organization as it helps us recognize errors and avoid many later issues which may arise."

"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."

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

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

"It has improved my organization with faster security tests."

"It has evolved over the years and recently in the last year they have added, HUD (Heads Up Display)."

"It scans while you navigate, then you can save the requests performed and work with them later."

"You can run it against multiple targets."

"OWASP Zap is a good tool, one of my favorites for a long time, and I would recommend it."

"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."

"ZAP is easy to use. The automated scan is a powerful feature. You can simulate attacks with various parameters. ZAP integrates well with SonarQube."

"OWASP Zap is straightforward to use. If someone doesn't have the budget for tools like Burp Suite, OWASP Zap is an excellent alternative."

More OWASP Zap pros

Cons

"At times it becomes very annoying as it highlights certain things which are intuitive. They require code coverage for those aspects as an extra overhead."

"GitHub Code Scanning should add more templates."

"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."

"When running code scans, GitHub Code Scanning provides recommendations for probable fixes. However, integrating a feature where developers receive real-time highlights of vulnerabilities when checking in or merging a PR would be beneficial."

"The product reporting could be improved."

"As security evolves, we would like DevOps built into it. As of now, Zap does not provide this."

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

"If there was an easier to understand exactly what has been checked and what has not been checked, it would make this solution better. We have to trust that it has checked all known vulnerabilities but it's a bit hard to see after the scanning."

"The reporting feature could be more descriptive."

"The port scanner is a little too slow."

"ZAP's integration with cloud-based CICD pipelines could be better. The scan should run through the entire pipeline."

"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

"GitHub Code Scanning is a moderately priced solution."

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

"As Zap is free and open-source, with tons of features similar to those of commercial solutions, I would definitely recommend trying it out."

"It's free and open, currently under the Apache 2 license. If ZAP does what you need it to do, selling a free solution is a very easy."

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"This solution is open source and free."

"The tool is open source."

"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."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

University

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 organization pays for the license of GitHub Code Scanning, but specific price details are unknown.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitHub Code Scanning?

In my opinion, areas of GitHub Code Scanning that could be improved include that a few things are not visible to us, such as where it stores data and which path. There is a separate team for that w...

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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 ...

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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 33% of the time

Coverity vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 24% of the time

SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 10% of the time

Aikido Security vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 9% of the time

Polaris Software Integrity Platform vs GitHub Code Scanning

Compared 5% of the time

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SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs OWASP Zap

Compared 19% of the time

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 14% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 11% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Code Scanning

July 2025

Download GitHub Code Scanning product report

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

July 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

July 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: July 2025.

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