HCL AppScan vs SonarCloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL AppScan
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (14th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (1st)
SonarCloud
Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the market share of HCL AppScan is 2.6% and it decreased by 1.2% compared to the previous year. The market share of SonarCloud is 11.5% and it increased by 37.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
Unique Categories:
Application Security Tools
3.1%
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
30.0%
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

AnanyaRoy - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 25, 2023
A stable and scalable product useful for application security scanning
I use HCL AppScan in my company for application security scanning The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is good to run the scan faster. You can basically run the scan and take a break at work since the tool will compute the results, which makes the product quite…
Huzaifa Asif - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 12, 2023
A comprehensive code quality management offering all-in-one functionality, including static code analysis, security assessments, and code optimization, while providing valuable insights for developers
There's room for improvement in the configuration process, particularly during the initial setup phase. Setting up features like mono reports can be challenging, and the existing documentation could use improvement in providing clearer instructions. I found myself needing to engage with support multiple times to navigate through certain aspects. Additionally, it would be beneficial if it could streamline the integration process for new features. Enhancing documentation on how to integrate these features seamlessly would go a long way in improving user experience. The introduction of an auto-commit functionality would be a valuable addition. Some other tools offer this feature, allowing for the automatic creation of pull requests to address identified issues. This functionality significantly reduces the manual effort required.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The security and the dashboard are the most valuable features."
"The solution is cheap."
"This is a stable solution."
"Technical support is helpful."
"You can easily find particular features and functions through the UI."
"The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is scanning QR codes."
"It highlights, with several grades of severity, the types of vulnerabilities, so we can focus on the most severe security vulnerabilities in the code."
"The static scans are good, and the SaaS as well."
"The reports from SonarCloud are very good."
"Recently, they introduced support for mono reports and microservices, which is a noteworthy development as it provides a more detailed view of each service."
"The solution can be installed locally."
"SonarCloud is overall a good tool for identifying code smells, bugs, and code duplication, but we've found that using Android Lint is more effective for our needs."
"The solution provides continuous code analysis which has improved the quality of our code. It can raise alarms on vulnerabilities with immediate reports on the dashboard. Few things are false positives and we can customize the rules."
"I'm not implementing the solutions. However, I've talked to the people who deploy the tools, and they are happy with how easy setting up SonarCloud is."
"For what it is meant to do, it works pretty well."
"Its dashboard provides a unified view of various code quality metrics, including code duplication, unit test coverage, and security hotspots."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve by having a mobile version."
"We would like to see a check in the specific vulnerabilities in mobile applications or rooted devices, such as jailbreaking devices."
"The pricing has room for improvement."
"They have to improve support."
"The dashboard, for AppScan or the Fortified fast tool, which we use needs to be improved."
"AppScan is too complicated and should be made more user-friendly."
"Improving usability could enhance the overall experience with AppScan. It would be beneficial to make the solution more user-friendly, ensuring that everyone can easily navigate and utilize its features."
"The tool should improve its output. Scanning is not a challenge anymore since there are many such tools available in the market. The product needs to focus on how its output is being used by end users. It should be also more user-friendly. One of the major challenges is in the tool's integration with applications that need to be scanned. Sometimes, the scanning is not proper."
"CI/CD pipeline is part of a whole chain of design, development, and production, and it's becoming increasingly crucial to optimize the various tools across different stages. However, it's still a silo approach because the full integration is missing. This isn't just an issue with SonarCloud. It's a general problem with tooling."
"The solution needs to improve its customization and flexibility."
"SonarCloud can improve the false positives. Sometimes the gates sometimes act a little weird. We then need to manually go and mark the false positive."
"SonarCloud's UI needs enhancement."
"The documentation needs improvement on optimizing build time for seamless CI/CD integration with our Android apps."
"It would be helpful if notifications could go out to an extra person."
"There's room for improvement in the configuration process, particularly during the initial setup phase."
"The reports could improve by providing more information. We are not able to use the reports in our operation until they are improved. Additionally, if the vendor provided more customization capabilities it would be a benefit."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is very expensive."
"Our clients are willing to pay the extra money. It is expensive."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high. HCL AppScan is an expensive tool."
"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."
"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."
"The tool was expensive."
"HCL AppScan is expensive."
"The solution is cheap."
"I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The current pricing is quite cheap."
"While not extremely cheap, it aligns well with market standards and offers good value."
"The price of SonarCloud is not expensive, it goes by the lines of code. 1 million lines per code are approximately 4,000 USD per year. If you need 2 million lines of code you would double the annual cost."
"The price of SonarCloud could be less expensive. We are using the community version and the price should be more reasonable."
"I am using the free version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?
The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.
What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?
Improving usability could enhance the overall experience with AppScan. It would be beneficial to make the solution more user-friendly, ensuring that everyone can easily navigate and utilize its fea...
What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?
I mainly use AppScan to secure various types of applications. I use its DAFDAT solution for black box scanning, as well as SaaS and source code validation. AppScan helps in scanning code for vulner...
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?
I would rate the price an eight out of ten because it's reasonable. While not extremely cheap, it aligns well with market standards and offers good value. It's an all-inclusive package where you pa...
What needs improvement with SonarCloud?
There's room for improvement in the configuration process, particularly during the initial setup phase. Setting up features like mono reports can be challenging, and the existing documentation coul...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL AppScan vs. SonarCloud and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.