OWASP Zap vs Semgrep comparison

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OWASP Zap

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Executive Summary

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

Find out in this report how the two Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep Report (Updated: August 2026).

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OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep

August 2026

Helped 908,834 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

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Semgrep

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Supply Chain Management Software (4th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (9th), Static Code Analysis (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of OWASP Zap is 2.7%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Semgrep is 2.4%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Semgrep	2.4%
OWASP Zap	2.7%
Other	94.9%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

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.

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Manjunath Maneppagol

Cloud & Application Security at Sixt SE

Context-aware code analysis has reduced noise and now improves developer experience with actionable security findings

I have consistently observed that their scan time is an issue for mono repos. Sometimes with their AI-based scanning, when you triage that scan, the scan never completes or finishes(, which makes it difficult. Another consistent issue is that whenever you have a new repo to onboard to the platform, the tool ideally should detect the master branch by default. However, sometimes the tool fails to identify it and will never scan it unless manually somebody looks into it and fixes the issue. Although their support team is really good, this issue was present six or eight months ago during the POC and is still present now. If it is affecting multiple customers, it should be prioritized and fixed. I would say that their integration aspects could have been improved. I see a lot of different security solutions that provide flexibility to the security teams based on Jira project, team divisions, Slack, and all those can be very much easily customized. Semgrep needs to work on the enhancement of their notification capabilities. Currently, they are working on identifying business logic vulnerabilities or privilege escalation vulnerabilities by looking at the code, and they should continue to focus on and improve this effort. Regarding stability, whenever you have a mono-repo which is a very large repository, the scan never finishes or the scan never kicks in. At that time, you have to reach out to the support team and ask them to expand the resources in the back end to fix it. This is an issue I keep seeing often on that platform.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"The product has improved our application security engagement, helps with our in-house review so we sometimes don't need an external third-party tester, and once we get it from OWASP Zap, we have an idea of the inherent vulnerabilities in the application, which is a plus to save cost and improve our application accuracy practice."

"Simple to use, good user interface."

"Automatic updates and pull request analysis."

"The community support that ZAP provides me, as an open source, provides me flexibility and is convenient to use."

"The application scanning feature is the most valuable feature."

"The solution has tightened our security and that of our clients who depend on it."

"The community edition updates services regularly. They add new vulnerabilities into the scanning list."

More OWASP Zap pros

"In my team, we use Semgrep, which is more efficient for coding purposes, time-saving, and quickly detects issues, and I can say that weekly I save about six to seven hours because of this, making it very time-saving and fostering faster development for my team's products and environment."

"The best part of Semgrep is its ease of integration with CI/CD pipelines and how it is a developer-friendly tool."

"Semgrep flourishes with the SAST, secret scanning, and Software Composition Analysis types of scanning."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to write our custom rules."

"Semgrep has positively impacted our organization by improving code quality and helping us eliminate vulnerabilities in our code."

"Compared to other competitors in the market, the AI-backed capability is the biggest strength of Semgrep."

"Since implementing Semgrep, I have noticed significant outcomes, for example, I can resolve vulnerabilities that previously took four days in under a day, saving both time and money, thus enhancing our return on investment."

"The feature is easy to use, saves a lot of time, and is streamlined in nature."

Cons

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

"We get too many false positives and that should definitely be improved."

"The product should allow users to customize the report based on their needs."

"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."

"It would be nice to have a solid SQL injection engine built into Zap."

"The technical support team must be proactive."

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

"We have had stability issues a few times."

More OWASP Zap cons

"However, as a tool it is really complex to maintain and to use, and it has a huge price tag."

"I have consistently observed that their scan time is an issue; sometimes with their AI-based scanning, when you triage that scan, the scan never completes or finishes, which makes it difficult."

"There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly."

"Semgrep can be improved by making it more user-friendly."

"Regarding improvements for Semgrep, I have noticed that it occasionally provides false positive results, although it does not happen consistently."

"I give Semgrep a six out of 10 simply because there are other tools that are better than this out there."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"It is highly recommended as it is an open source tool."

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

"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."

"The tool is open source."

"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."

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

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

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 ...

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.

What needs improvement with OWASP Zap?

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 Postm...

What needs improvement with Semgrep?

Semgrep can be improved by making it more user-friendly. There are tools in the market, such as Aqua Security, that have features worth utilizing. However, there are some comprehensive scanning cap...

What is your primary use case for Semgrep?

My main use case is to perform SAST, static application security testing. I have been using it for the last 10 months. Initially, I was planning to use it just for the code review part so that deve...

What advice do you have for others considering Semgrep?

It streamlines with the governance and compliance of the country where the company operates. It follows GDPR guidelines and EU guidelines. In India, I follow certain guidelines, so it also passes t...

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

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Product Reports

Download OWASP Zap product report

OWASP Zap

July 2026

Download Semgrep product report

July 2026

Also Known As

No data available

Semgrep Code, Semgrep Supply Chain, Semgrep AppSec Platform

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

Semgrep is an advanced static analysis tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and enforce coding standards, catering primarily to professionals with a focus on enhancing code security and quality.

Engineered for software development environments, Semgrep delivers efficient security feedback with minimal setup. By offering a rich collection of rule sets, it allows customization and integration into CI/CD pipelines, supporting continuous code examination. Semgrep not only uncovers hidden flaws but also enforces best practices, making it a valuable asset for development teams seeking to build secure and reliable software.

What are the most important features of Semgrep?

Customizable Rules: Allows users to define specific rules to match unique coding requirements.
Open Rule Repository: Provides access to a vast array of pre-defined rules covering common security issues.
CI/CD Integration: Seamlessly integrates into development workflows, providing immediate feedback.
Multi-language Support: Detects issues across different programming languages, enhancing its usability.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security Posture: Elevates the security standards of codebases.
Time Efficiency: Reduces time spent on manual code reviews.
Adaptability: Easily adapts to evolving coding standards and practices.
Cost-effectiveness: Minimizes the need for external security audits.

In industry applications, Semgrep is a popular choice for sectors such as finance and healthcare, where code integrity and security are paramount. Its integration capabilities allow for effective oversight of compliance and secure coding standards without disrupting existing workflows. This adaptability ensures it meets sector-specific requirements, making it a trusted tool in fields where data privacy and protection are critical.

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

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