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: September 2026).

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OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep

September 2026

Helped 913,806 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)

15th

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)

10th

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 September 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of OWASP Zap is 2.6%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Semgrep is 2.4%, down from 3.0% 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	2.6%
Other	95.0%

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

"The reporting is quite intuitive, which gives you a clear indication of what kind of vulnerability you have that you can drill down on to gather more information."

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

"The interface is easy to use."

"This is a very mature tool; it is capable of facilitating the work of many security experts, and I highly recommend it for beginners and advanced users when some other tools fail to catch traffic."

"The solution is scalable."

"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."

"The pull request analysis is also very good."

"The valuable features are that it's very simple to use and the user interface is very good, particularly for beginners so they can start the application easily."

More OWASP Zap pros

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

Cons

"OWASP Zap needs to extend to mobile application testing."

"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."

"The documentation needs to be improved because I had to learn everything from watching YouTube videos."

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

"It needs more robust reporting tools that can be in an editable form."

"As security evolves, we would like DevOps built into it. As of now, Zap does not provide this."

"Lacks resources where users can internally access a learning module from the tool."

"The ability to search the internet for other use cases and to use the solution to make applications more secure should be addressed."

More OWASP Zap cons

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

"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 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."

"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

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

"This solution is open source and free."

"We have used the freeware version. I believe Zap only has freeware."

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

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

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

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

"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."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing 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	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
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?

Regarding improvements for Semgrep, I have noticed that it occasionally provides false positive results, although it does not happen consistently. That is the only major improvement I can think of,...

What is your primary use case for Semgrep?

Semgrep serves as an open-source static application security testing tool for my organization. We work under a microservices model with multiple repositories, around eight in total. Whenever we mak...

What advice do you have for others considering Semgrep?

Although not directly in the development process, Semgrep has saved substantial time in the review process. For instance, when a developer raises a pull request, Semgrep automatically reviews it be...

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

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Product Reports

Download OWASP Zap product report

OWASP Zap

September 2026

Download Semgrep product report

August 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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