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OpenText Static Application Security Testing vs PyCharm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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

OpenText Static Application...
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PyCharm
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Static Code Analysis category, the mindshare of OpenText Static Application Security Testing is 7.4%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PyCharm is 1.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Code Analysis Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenText Static Application Security Testing7.4%
PyCharm1.8%
Other90.8%
Static Code Analysis
 

Featured Reviews

DK
Lead Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Focuses on detailed scans to find critical vulnerabilities while ensuring minimal false positives
I think Fortify Static Code Analyzer could be improved by updating the number of rule packs according to the latest vulnerabilities we find each year. We have updated to a version that is one less than the current latest version. It would be really helpful to include trending vulnerabilities and how to manage them. While it includes all the OWASP top factors, AI has come into the picture, so those updates should also be considered. I haven't thought much about additional features for improvement since I am using it daily. Most of our work revolves around scanning and providing the results, which sometimes feels like a crunch. However, I believe rule pack updates should be implemented. It feels easy to upgrade to the latest version as well.
EB
Senior Consultant at Mark Gurry & Associates
Seamless integration streamlines tasks and boosts productivity with efficient task handling
PyCharm's utility supports various Python frameworks such as Django and Flask for development projects. Uvicorn is well supported in project creation. Users can choose which framework to create and it handles all the code scaffolding automatically. I use PyCharm Intelligent Code Editor for context-aware code completion, and I also use the new AI extensions that JetBrains provided recently. I find it particularly useful in code refactoring. It saves me time on boilerplate code, such as interaction with the database. I can ask the AI facility in PyCharm to create all the boilerplate code for various databases. I don't write boilerplate code for mundane tasks anymore and focus on the business logic rather than the usual ancillary functions such as collecting records from the database or making network calls. This type of work is all done by AI.

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 features include its ability to detect vulnerabilities accurately and its integration with our CI/CD pipeline."
"We are satisfied with this solution."
"The reference provided for each issue is extremely helpful."
"The Software Security Center, which is often overlooked, stands out as the most effective feature."
"I like Fortify Software Security Center or Fortify SSC. This tool is installed on each developer's machine, but Fortify Software Security Center combines everything. We can meet there as security professionals and developers. The developers scan their code and publish the results there. We can then look at them from a security perspective and see whether they fixed the issues. We can agree on whether something is a false positive and make decisions."
"Automating the Jenkins plugins and the build title is a big plus."
"I like the Fortify taxonomy as it provides us with a list of all of the vulnerabilities found. Fortify release updated rule packs quarterly, with accompanying documentation, that lets us know what new features are being released."
"I recommend this product due to its good pricing, extensive language support, valuable features, and additional features like Fortify Academy."
"The product's IDE feature is quite user-friendly."
"It is an excellent, fully integrated IDE with smart code analysis capability and a built-in debugger. It is a fantastic tool."
"PyCharm is saving me time and money in general."
"We have integrated the tool with GitHub. PyCharm provides easy integration with GitHub, allowing us to push changes directly. Many plugins are available on PyCharm for GitHub integration, including GitHub Copilot for auto code completion and GitHub Copilot Chat for assistance with code-related queries."
"The integrated code structure makes coding more organized and manageable compared to using Python alone."
"The latest AI features and tab completion features are good."
"PyCharm has an excellent user experience, and I appreciate its cross-platform capabilities."
"The best feature of PyCharm is that it gives you hints whenever it detects any issues while you are coding. This is important because it helps us code faster and without any errors."
 

Cons

"The troubleshooting capabilities of this solution could be improved. This would reduce the number of cases that users have to submit."
"I'm not sure if Fortify Static Code Analyzer has AI capabilities. Currently, this solution doesn't quite have what we need."
"Fortify Static Code Analyzer has a bit of a learning curve, and I don't find it particularly helpful in narrowing down the vulnerabilities we should prioritize."
"It comes with a hefty licensing fee."
"The product shows false positives for Python applications."
"Not all languages are supported in Fortify."
"I know the areas that they are trying to improve on. They've been getting feedback for several years. There are two main points. The first thing is keeping current with static code languages. I know it is difficult because code languages pop up all the time or there are new variants, but it is something that Fortify needs to put a better focus on. They need to keep current with their language support. The second thing is a philosophical issue, and I don't know if they'll ever change it. They've done a decent job of putting tools in place to mitigate things, but static code analysis is inherently noisy. If you just take a tool out of the box and run a scan, you're going to get a lot of results back, and not all of those results are interesting or important, which is different for every organization. Currently, we get four to five errors on the side of tagging, and it notifies you of every tiny inconsistency. If the tool sees something that it doesn't know, it flags, which becomes work that has to be done afterward. Clients don't typically like it. There has got to be a way of prioritizing. There are a ton of filter options within Fortify, but the problem is that you've got to go through the crazy noisy scan once before you know which filters you need to put in place to get to the interesting stuff. I keep hearing from their product team that they're working on a way to do container or docker scanning. That's a huge market mover. A lot of people are interested in that right now, and it is relevant. That is definitely something that I'd love to see in the next version or two."
"Their licensing is expensive."
"There is room for improvement in memory usage. It uses too much memory. It can get a bit heavy, especially when you have too many open files and the system becomes very slow."
"The solution does not support some features of OpenCV even though it is part of a PyCharm package."
"The navigation can be better."
"Customizing the tool can make it complicated."
"The breakpoints could be improved as they are not that intuitive to use."
"One issue with JetBrains tools, including PyCharm, is their heavy resource usage. They can be slow to start, especially when beginning a new project, as it takes some time to index."
"They should improve the product's interactiveness."
"The solution is heavy because running it on laptops consumes a lot of memory and power. Typically, a laptop battery might last about eight to nine hours, but with the tool running, it reduces to two hours or one and a half hours at most. It is designed to handle large projects and heavy tasks, making it resource-intensive. For smaller projects, use IDEs like Visual Studio Code."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From our standpoint, we are significantly better off with Fortify due to the favorable pricing we secured five years ago."
"I rate the pricing of Fortify Static Code Analyzer as a seven out of ten since it is a bit expensive."
"The price of Fortify Static Code Analyzer could be reduced."
"The setup costs and pricing for Fortify may vary depending on the organization's needs and requirements."
"The licensing is expensive and is in the 50K range."
"There is a licensing fee, and if you bring them to the company and you want them to do the installation and the implementation in the beginning, there is a separate cost. Similarly, if you want consultation or training, there is a separate cost. I see it as suitable only for enterprises. I do not see it suitable for a small business or individual use."
"Although I am not responsible for the budget, Fortify SAST is expensive."
"It has a couple of license models. The one that we use most frequently is called their flexible deployment. We use this one because it is flexible and based on the number of code-contributing developers in the organization. It includes almost everything in the Fortify suite for one developer price. It gives access to not just the secure code analyzer (SCA) but also to FSC, the secure code. It gives us accessibility to scan central, which is the decentralized scanning farm. It also gives us access to the software security center, which is the vulnerability management platform."
"The community edition is free, which is good."
"They have a free Community edition, and they also have a licensed version. They definitely have an annual license. They probably also have a monthly license. Its pricing is good and reasonable. It is a little bit more expensive than the others, but it is well worth it. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of pricing."
"I use the free community version, so I'm saving money there."
"I don't have much info on the pricing, but I would say it is somewhat competitive."
"The community edition is free and the professional edition has a licensing fee."
"The price is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Performing Arts
17%
University
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
Integrating the Fortify Static Code Analyzer into our software development lifecycle was straightforward. It highlights important information beyond just syntax errors. It identifies issues like pa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good. We have the scan machines, and we are planning to request more from Micro Focus now. We have calls every month or every oth...
What needs improvement with Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
I think Fortify Static Code Analyzer could be improved by updating the number of rule packs according to the latest vulnerabilities we find each year. We have updated to a version that is one less ...
What do you like most about PyCharm?
The integrated code structure makes coding more organized and manageable compared to using Python alone.
What needs improvement with PyCharm?
The breakpoints could be improved as they are not that intuitive to use.
What is your primary use case for PyCharm?
I use PyCharm for work, specifically for coding.
 

Also Known As

Fortify Static Code Analysis SAST
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Static Application Security Testing vs. PyCharm and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.