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HCL AppScan vs Pentest-Tools.com comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

HCL AppScan
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
17th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (21st), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (6th)
Pentest-Tools.com
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
26th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Penetration Testing Services (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.7%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pentest-Tools.com is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL AppScan2.7%
Pentest-Tools.com0.5%
Other96.8%
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
 

Featured Reviews

Ravi Khanchandani - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder Director at Techsa Services
Has improved identification of encryption and authentication issues across cloud and on-prem applications
During the learning curve of onboarding HCL AppScan, we learned that HCL has altered the portfolio and now offers HCL AppScan 360, which has a much better look and feel with an improved user interface. However, there is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved. When I'm doing an application scan, HCL AppScan has the ability to generate information about what components are in use. For example, if I'm scanning a web application, it shows me the various components being used. It tells me whether I have Java libraries, .NET frameworks, or other log management libraries such as Log4j, and what versions of those specific components are present. I would like to see more detailed reports from the tool. Currently, you can find out the components belonging to a specific software, but if detailed reporting became available, you would be in a better position to identify vulnerabilities. For instance, I could identify that I had the Log4j vulnerability and know that I need to fix my application accordingly. If they add the features I'm describing, I would consider giving them a higher rating. However, I've only been experienced with the product for three months.
SangramGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Consultant at Deloitte
Platform has strengthened attack surface visibility and vulnerability validation but needs better remediation tracking
Pentest-Tools.com could improve in a couple of areas. First, the reporting flexibility could be enhanced. Second, there should be additional automation for remediation tracking since it currently lacks automation for this, requiring me to track remediations manually using the reports. Third, deeper integration with vulnerability management workflows could be beneficial, as I should have more options for integrating the tool with other security pen testing or application scanning tools. Regarding Pentest-Tools.com's AI capabilities, I believe there should be proper boundaries managed by their team in terms of governance and security, especially when the tool provides false positive vulnerabilities. These should also be detected on the governance side and resolved within the tool rather than manually, indicating an area for improvement in governance and compliance. In terms of the accuracy and reliability of Pentest-Tools.com's AI-generated output, I feel it can provide comprehensive output and reports. However, as it is AI-generated, the pentester or user should thoroughly check and validate the output before presenting it to stakeholders or the remediation team.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase."
"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."
"I mainly use AppScan for vulnerability scanning and database bridging."
"It is an application for security assessment or scanning for static environments, and with all customers, it is performing well."
"The HCL AppScan performance is both stable and reliable."
"It was easy to set up."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution...The initial setup or installation of HCL AppScan is easy."
"It's a good product; its automated crawler identifies all URLs and performs security tests, and it has very rich test cases which ensure pretty good coverage in terms of security testing while the UI is user friendly and intuitive."
"The combination of automated scanning and an actionable report has increased our team's productivity, reduced manual efforts, and helps us identify and remediate security issues much more efficiently."
"Pentest-Tools.com has positively impacted my organization in two significant ways."
 

Cons

"There is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved."
"The solution's scalability can be a matter of concern because one license runs on one machine only."
"The solution needs to improve in some areas. The tool needs to add more languages. It also needs to improve its speed."
"The pricing has room for improvement."
"In future releases, I would like to see more aggressive reports. I would also like to see less false positives."
"If HCL AppScan is able to alert the clients over email once the scan is complete, it would be great. Right now, HCL AppScan doesn't let me know if the scanning part is finished or not, because of which I have to come back and check mostly."
"They have to improve support."
"One thing which I think can be improved is the CI/CD Integration"
"Pentest-Tools.com could be improved in several ways."
"Pentest-Tools.com could improve in a couple of areas. First, the reporting flexibility could be enhanced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."
"The solution is cheap."
"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."
"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."
"The solution is moderately priced."
"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 price is very expensive."
"The tool was expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise31
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?
During the learning curve of onboarding HCL AppScan, we learned that HCL has altered the portfolio and now offers HCL AppScan 360, which has a much better look and feel with an improved user interf...
What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?
I'm currently working with BigFix and HCL AppScan. At least three people in my company are using HCL AppScan. Since we are a reseller, we run it in both lab environments and live production applica...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL AppScan?
AppScan is considered more cost-effective than Veracode, although I have not updated the exact pricing details. Companies often choose based on budget constraints, with Veracode being on the higher...
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Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT
1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Facebook 5. Apple 6. IBM 7. Oracle 8. SAP 9. Cisco 10. HP 11. Dell 12. VMware 13. Red Hat 14. SUSE 15. Ubuntu 16. CentOS 17. Fedora 18. Arch Linux 19. Gentoo 20. Slackware 21. Mageia 22. OpenSUSE 23. Manjaro 24. PopOS 25. elementary OS 26. Linux Mint 27. Ubuntu MATE 28. Zorin OS 29. Deepin
Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Checkmarx, Veracode and others in Static Application Security Testing (SAST). Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.