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SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) vs SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
SonarQube Cloud helps improve code quality and save costs, though ROI measurement is challenging due to rising expenses.
Sentiment score
7.1
SonarQube Server boosts productivity, stability, and security through effective code analysis and vulnerability assessment, enhancing development processes.
It is easily integrable with the CI/CD pipeline and supports multiple projects with its extensive plugin options.
The product is designed for bigger clients, while smaller companies are often put aside.
I have seen a return on the investment from SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) because the value it adds relates to static code analysis and vulnerability assessments needed for our FDA approval process.
We see productivity increasing based on the fact that the code review is mostly automated, allowing the developer to fix the code themselves before assigning it to someone else to review, thus receiving that ROI.
It's more about maintaining standards and being able to prevent issues before they occur.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
SonarQube Cloud offers good community support but needs better documentation and technical engagement, with mixed feedback on support responsiveness.
Sentiment score
6.2
SonarQube Server's support is valued for community resources and documentation, though free version technical support is limited.
The customer service and support for SonarQube Cloud are responsive and helpful.
Integrating it into different solutions is straightforward.
The community support is quite effective.
I would rate the technical support for SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) as a 10 because we have not faced any specific issues that required us to contact tech support, which is a very rare case.
They showed us where we can actually get those granular level reporting extracted for Excel, which was a quick guide.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.5
SonarQube Cloud is praised for scalability, though billing and comparisons suggest areas for improvement and expansion potential.
Sentiment score
7.0
SonarQube Server efficiently scales for various user volumes and project sizes, though infrastructure demands may rise in physical setups.
There are limitations, and it seems to have fewer capabilities than Veracode.
It has been used in multiple projects and performs well.
SonarQube Cloud is a scalable product, and I rate its scalability at seven out of ten.
I find SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) very scalable because we're able to create a new repository and integrate all the tools on that project and it just works.
I would rate the scalability of SonarQube Server as a 10 because we can configure the server to scan multiple projects based on the number of lines.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
SonarQube Cloud is stable and reliable but needs improved documentation, integration, onboarding, and community support for better usability.
Sentiment score
7.7
SonarQube Server is highly reliable, stable with minor issues often related to plugins or environments, and rarely crashes.
From my team's feedback, it is almost an eight out of ten.
It is a quite stable solution.
I think SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) is stable, and we did not face any problems unless there was a power outage or if the LAN cable was plugged out.
 

Room For Improvement

SonarQube Cloud users seek improvements in reporting, integration, customization, and documentation, alongside dynamic analysis and automated vulnerability detection.
SonarQube Server needs better issue detection, usability, language support, integration, customizable features, and AI-driven dynamic testing enhancements.
I need a solution that can bring together three key areas: vulnerabilities, static scanning, and misarchitecture.
I would like to see SonarQube Cloud provide more detailed solutions for fixing code issues, especially solutions related to CVEs.
Static code analysis is good, but the product lacks dynamic code scanning capabilities, an area where Veracode excels.
If I fix some vulnerabilities today, they reappear in the next scan, and there will be completely different issues that need to be fixed.
Instead of grouping, I would prefer to scan the code as part of development and then generate a report on a daily basis among different units or projects, which is currently complicated.
As soon as I see that they've got a new feature that integrates AI that is not as generative as other GenAI platforms that actually generate the code and help developers develop faster, I believe that capability is lacking.
 

Setup Cost

SonarQube Cloud's pricing is scalable yet potentially costly for smaller companies, though efficient for minimizing repeated scans.
SonarQube Server provides cost-effective solutions for code quality, with competitive pricing and enhanced features for various project sizes.
SonarQube Cloud is roughly equivalent in cost to Veracode, maybe a little cheaper.
From my experience, SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) is very expensive for small companies.
We used the open-source version of SonarQube Cloud for its minimum features and did not license its extensive capabilities.
They always offer around a two-year contract, but we always take a one-year contract because it's expensive.
I would rate the pricing for SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) as an 8, where 1 is very cheap and 10 is very expensive, because Coverity is very expensive, and while SonarQube is not cheap, it is still less expensive than Coverity.
The freemium version of SonarQube Server offers excellent value, especially compared to the high costs of Snyk.
 

Valuable Features

SonarQube Cloud enhances code quality with seamless CI/CD integration, detailed reports, and supports startups and mid-sized businesses.
SonarQube Server enhances code quality with language support, CI/CD integration, insightful dashboards, and an intuitive interface.
It is integrated easily with the CI/CD pipeline, saving time and cost.
The most valuable features of SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) include code inspection, addressing technical debt, and identifying security vulnerabilities.
I find SonarQube Cloud very easy to use and simple to integrate initially.
The most valuable features in SonarQube Server are static code analysis, code review, and unit test coverage, with heavy usage of all three.
Some of the static code analysis capabilities are the most beneficial.
We use SonarQube Server's centralized management and visualization of code quality metrics on the dashboard because that's the executive dashboard that we send to the executives to show where we are in terms of quality, security, and where the company can improve.
 

Categories and Ranking

SonarQube Cloud (formerly S...
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonarQube Server (formerly ...
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (1st), Software Development Analytics (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) is 4.2%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) is 20.3%, down from 27.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube)20.3%
SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud)4.2%
Other75.5%
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
 

Featured Reviews

Archana Verma - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides valuable insights on code vulnerabilities and integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines
I find SonarQube Cloud to be very user-friendly with an easy-to-use interface. It provides detailed code smell reports and insights on hotspots, which can later represent security vulnerabilities. It gives precise reports compared to Coverity and has a slightly lower number of false positives. It is integrated easily with the CI/CD pipeline, saving time and cost. It provides information on upcoming vulnerability details and loopholes that might turn into vulnerabilities.
Sthembiso Zondi - PeerSpot reviewer
Consistent improvements in code quality and security with effective integration and reliable technical support
The features of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) that I find most useful are the suggestions received from reviewing the code. When they review the code, they provide suggestions on how to fix it, and we find those very useful from a development perspective. We use SonarQube Server's (formerly SonarQube) centralized management and visualization of code quality metrics on the dashboard because that's the executive dashboard that we send to the executives to show where we are in terms of quality, security, and where the company can improve. We use that for organizational improvement purposes. The ability to tailor metrics tracking in SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) has been beneficial to my team. There are team-specific dashboards which are related to specific repositories they utilize, and we have that aggregative dashboard that shows the whole organization's performance. We can drill down per specific repository, which makes it easier for the team to improve specific things.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise75
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SonarCloud?
Recently, they introduced support for mono reports and microservices, which is a noteworthy development as it provides a more detailed view of each service.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonarCloud?
From my experience, SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) is very expensive for small companies. It would be a great improvement if the price for smaller companies were reduced, as I do not have th...
What needs improvement with SonarCloud?
Sometimes, there are tracking issues. It has its own graphical GUI where we can track everything. Since most of our projects are open source, there are multiple features which can be improved. For ...
Is SonarQube the best tool for static analysis?
I am not very familiar with SonarQube and their solutions, so I can not answer. But if you are asking me about which tools that are the best for for Static Code Analysis, I suggest you have a look...
Which gives you more for your money - SonarQube or Veracode?
SonarQube is easy to deploy and configure, and also integrates well with other tools to do quality code analysis. SonarQube has a great community edition, which is open-source and free. Easy to use...
How would you decide between Coverity and Sonarqube?
We researched Coverity, but in the end, we chose SonarQube. SonarQube is a tool for reviewing code quality and security. It helps to guide our development teams during code reviews by providing rem...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Sonar
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) vs. SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.