OWASP Zap vs Polaris Platform comparison

The compared OWASP and Black Duck solutions aren't in the same category. OWASP is ranked #15 in SAST , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 3.1% mindshare in the category. Black Duck is ranked #14 in SCA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of OWASP users are willing to recommend the solution.

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

8,361 Views
7,692 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Polaris Platform

Read 1 Polaris Platform review

1,904 Views
876 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Polaris Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between OWASP Zap and Polaris Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Checkmarx, Veracode and others in Static Application Security Testing (SAST).

To learn more, read our detailed Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

April 2026

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Helped 894,830 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

OWASP Zap

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (15th)

Polaris Platform

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

3.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (14th), Static Code Analysis (12th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Quality Assurance solutions, they serve different purposes. OWASP Zap is designed for Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and holds a mindshare of 3.1%, down 5.1% compared to last year.
Polaris Platform, on the other hand, focuses on Software Composition Analysis (SCA), holds 1.6% mindshare, down 1.8% since last year.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
OWASP Zap	3.1%
SonarQube	15.3%
Checkmarx One	9.7%
Other	71.9%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Polaris Platform	1.6%
Snyk	10.9%
Black Duck SCA	9.9%
Other	77.6%

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Featured Reviews

Nithin-K

Technical Analyst at Hexaware Technologies Limited

Open source testing tool empowers manual activities and has room to improve integration and reporting features

The improvement that has to be done for APIs focuses on manual activities where the feature exists, but it is not at the same level as what Burp Suite does with intercepting and tools such as Postman, so it needs improvement. There are limitations with authentication levels, particularly with form-based and cookie-based authentication. However, overall, we are satisfied with OWASP Zap as there are no major issues, and improving the scan engine could be beneficial. When comparing OWASP Zap and Burp Suite, the main difference besides pricing is that OWASP Zap has limitations with reporting levels and UI, which affects its reporting capabilities, whereas Burp Suite is already advancing with new AI features and scanning capabilities that OWASP Zap seems to be lacking.

Read full review

Alina-Eugenia Negulescu

Head of Procurement and Vendor Manger at twoday

Company consistently identifies security vulnerabilities with current solution but considers moving to a more developer-oriented tool due to complexity and costs

I wouldn't recommend it for small and medium customers, both in terms of the complexity and organizational processes and operational processes around it. I wouldn't go with Black Duck. It's not straightforward as it is with more developer-oriented and plug-and-play versions, so it requires a bit of knowledge and documentation to set it up. On the support part, in the past, we had some issues regarding the availability of the information on the knowledge portal. That was particularly due to the fact that when they integrated their knowledge hub or knowledge portal different kind of documentation, they have not adapted the text. There were circular references on the documentation that was misleading and confusing our people rather than helping them.

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

"This solution is providing us with value and as long as it continues to do so, we'll continue to use it."

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

"The scalability of this product is very good."

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

"It can be used effectively for internal auditing."

"The HUD is a good feature that provides on-site testing and saves a lot of time."

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

"The most valuable feature is the spidering because, being a security person, it is very important for me to know each and every section of that application, so we cannot afford to miss any single web page or any single link on a particular website."

More OWASP Zap pros

"We have detected security vulnerabilities, which is absolutely one big benefit."

Cons

"For scalability, I would rate OWASP Zap between four to five out of ten."

"It would be a great improvement if they could include a marketplace to add extra features to the tool."

"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."

"I would recommend this product to people although I think it is very difficult to deploy and we also have issues with maintenance."

"I'd like to see a kind of feature where we can just track what our last vulnerability was and how it has improved or not."

"Without any support, we are in a black hole sometimes."

"Sometimes, we get some false positives."

"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

"I wouldn't recommend it for small and medium customers, both in terms of the complexity and organizational processes and operational processes around it."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is open source and free."

"This app is completely free and open source. So there is no question about any pricing."

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

"The tool is open source."

"It is open source, and we can scan freely."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

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

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

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

University

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 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

What needs improvement with OWASP Zap?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Polaris Platform?

In my opinion, I think that it's a very good product for mature companies. It is quite expensive compared with competitors, with other providers of similar services of application security manageme...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Polaris Platform?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Polaris Platform?

The product teams use them under supervision from the security department. I'm not extremely familiar with the details on how the product teams are using it, but I think they have integrated it int...

See all answers

Comparisons

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 11% of the time

SonarQube vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 8% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 7% of the time

More OWASP Zap Competitors

SonarQube vs Polaris Platform

Compared 15% of the time

Software Risk Manager ASPM vs Polaris Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Black Duck SCA vs Polaris Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Checkmarx One vs Polaris Platform

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub Code Scanning vs Polaris Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More Polaris Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

May 2026

Download OWASP Zap product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

April 2026

Download Polaris Platform product report

Overview

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

Polaris Platform is a cloud-native application security testing solution tailored for modern development and DevSecOps teams, integrating multiple security-analysis engines to enhance software security.

As a unified platform, Polaris consolidates static code analysis, open-source dependency scanning, and dynamic testing, offering comprehensive security assessments suited to different stages of the software development lifecycle. This approach allows for strategic, flexible security testing that aligns with specific project or application needs, seamlessly integrating into existing workflows without requiring generic scans.

What are the key features of Polaris Platform?

Static Code Analysis: Efficiently detects security vulnerabilities in the source code.
Open-source Dependency Scanning: Identifies and manages risks associated with third-party libraries.
Dynamic Testing: Simulates real-world attacks to evaluate application security in active environments.
Integrated Platform: Combines various security tools for a streamlined testing process.

What benefits should users expect from using Polaris Platform?

Enhanced Security Insight: Provides detailed, actionable reports on potential vulnerabilities.
Seamless Integration: Fits smoothly into existing development workflows, minimizing disruption.
Flexibility: Allows tailored security assessments according to project phases or requirements.

Polaris Platform implementation varies across industries, with tech companies utilizing it for securing app ecosystems, while financial sectors leverage its comprehensive testing to protect sensitive data. Healthcare providers adopt it to ensure compliance with regulations and maintain data integrity.

Black Duck

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

April 2026

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