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HCL AppScan vs Tenable.io Web Application Scanning 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

HCL AppScan
Ranking in Application Security Tools
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (17th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (6th)
Tenable.io Web Application ...
Ranking in Application Security Tools
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.2%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tenable.io Web Application Scanning1.4%
HCL AppScan2.2%
Other96.4%
Application Security Tools
 

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.
JP
Cyber Security Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Centralized license management transforms asset manipulation based on functions and improves security posture
Now that the license is centralized, it's a significant feature to manipulate assets based on their functions. It provides a centralized view from end-to-end to its assets' identities and vulnerabilities. One of the greatest features is Kubernetes. The automated scanning capability is pretty standard in the market, and Tenable's prioritization engine helps improve the security posture.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is useful, particularly in its sensitivity and scanning capabilities."
"Compared to other tools only AppScan supports special language."
"For me, as a manager, it was the ease of use. Inserting security into the development process is not normally an easy project to do. The ability for the developer to actually use it and get results and focuses, that's what counted."
"It highlights, with several grades of severity, the types of vulnerabilities, so we can focus on the most severe security vulnerabilities in the code."
"Technical support is helpful."
"It provides a better integration for our ecosystem."
"The reporting part is the most valuable feature."
"The solution is easy to install. I would rate the product's setup between six to seven out of ten. The deployment time depends on the applications that need to be scanned. We have a development and operations team to take care of the product's maintenance."
"The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment."
"The most valuable features of Tenable.io Web Application Scanning are the integration into specific use cases and scanning. All of the features of the solution are useful."
"We can get detailed information about vulnerabilities."
"I think Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is the best option on the market at the moment."
"The most valuable feature is the reporting, which provides a good level of detail with respect to vulnerabilities."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is very easy to use."
"I would recommend Tenable.io Web Application Scanning to others."
"Our customers adopt this solution because of the replication testing and the vulnerability assessment it can do. It is a multi-faceted product."
 

Cons

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."
"Visibility is an issue for us. Our partners do not know we have integrations with some of IBM products."
"Many silly false positives are produced."
"The tool should improve its output. Scanning is not a challenge anymore since there are many such tools available in the market. The product needs to focus on how its output is being used by end users. It should be also more user-friendly. One of the major challenges is in the tool's integration with applications that need to be scanned. Sometimes, the scanning is not proper."
"AppScan is too complicated and should be made more user-friendly."
"I would love to see more containers. Many of the tools are great, they require an amount of configuration, setup and infrastructure. If most the applications were in a container, I think everything would be a little bit faster, because all our clients are now using containers."
"I would like to see the roadmap for this product. We are still waiting to see it as we have only so many resources."
"It has crashed at times."
"Sometimes it lags with different cloud environments."
"The report customization needs to be better."
"It would be great if there were a dashboard that is more user-friendly."
"The cloud and the on-premises versions have their own controllers, and there is no way to centrally manage controllers."
"I would like for them to add proxy filtering, where you can transfer and alter the package. It is fully automated. Other web application testers programs are actually proxy software, and the proxy software gives you the flexibility of modifying the outgoing package, which will actually help you in exploiting any vulnerability in detail."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is not very user-friendly and you need a lot of information to get proper reports. The tool's support is not very responsive."
"The technical support should be improved. Currently, some attacks are detected while others are not."
"The reporting has a very limited customization capability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."
"The solution is cheap."
"HCL AppScan is expensive."
"Our clients are willing to pay the extra money. It is expensive."
"The price is very expensive."
"The tool was expensive."
"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."
"For Tenable.io Web Application Scanning, it comes to around 6,50,000 Indian rupees, plus taxes."
"Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is expensive for small businesses."
"I rate the product's pricing a four out of ten."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to the competitors. The license cost is based on the number of users and the annual usage."
"The pricing is okay."
"The application is extremely affordable. There are no additional costs involved with licensing. We switched to Tenable.io Web Application Scanning from other solutions due to pricing."
"It follows the same licensing scheme as Tenable.io and Tenable. sc."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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?
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 do you like most about Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
The most effective feature of the product is the ability to scan the entire environment.
What needs improvement with Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
If there were a solution, I would like to see automation and an integrated remediation solution for vulnerability or patch management.
What advice do you have for others considering Tenable.io Web Application Scanning?
I do not understand what API approach means; I do not understand this term. I think Tenable.io Web Application Scanning is the best option on the market at the moment. My review rating for this pro...
 

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
IMDEX
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL AppScan vs. Tenable.io Web Application Scanning and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.