Black Duck SCA vs Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis comparison

Black Duck SCA vs. Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis

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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

Black Duck SCA

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

2nd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Checkmarx Software Composit...

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

10th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Software Composition Analysis (SCA) category, the mindshare of Black Duck SCA is 13.5%, down from 20.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis is 2.4%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Black Duck SCA	13.5%
Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis	2.4%
Other	84.1%

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2587080

IP Head at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Delivers robust accuracy for identifying and mitigating risks but setup and security can improve

My deployment of Black Duck will take a few hours minimum. In the earlier on-premise scenario, which I've seen in other organizations, it takes a few days because you have to get the server installed, then actually keep installing various patch upgrades as it happens. The cloud version is a lot faster, probably taking only a few hours to complete. Regarding Black Duck leveraging AI to enhance security scanning of open-source components, I would not be able to address that because I have not yet explored that area significantly. Based on my experience, I would recommend Black Duck to other people if they can digest the higher cost. It helps in many aspects. I would rate this solution overall at 7 to 8. Disclaimer: The review is provided in personal capacity as an individual and not the opinion of the organization or corporate to which I belong to.

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Tharindu Malwenna

Senior Application Security Engineer at a newspaper with 5,001-10,000 employees

Efficient library identification and upgrade suggestions improve application security

We have many third-party libraries in our organization. I used Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis to identify all the libraries we use and determine whether they are used or unused within the application Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis provides identification of libraries and…

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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 stability is okay."

"The solution is very good at scanning and evaluating open source software."

"We accidentally use third-party library APIs, which may not be secure. Our technical team may not have the end time or expertise to figure it out. Black Duck helps us with that and saves us time."

"The automated code scanning feature and Black Duck's integration with our development tools have enhanced our software compliance process and overall audit readiness."

"The solution works well on Mac products."

"The cloud option of the product is always available and a positive aspect of the solution."

"The most valuable feature is the vulnerability scanning, and that it's easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of Black Duck is the seamless integration to scan our Docker binary files, it provides us all open vulnerabilities, and it ensures a reference point from where it finds the vulnerability is up to date. For example, if there is any new vulnerability found, they are immediately available in the Black Duck. There is no delay in finding the vulnerabilities, they are called out in our code immediately."

More Black Duck SCA pros

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"We were able to reduce the number of vulnerable libraries by 50%, leading to significant operational improvement."

"I appreciate the user-friendly interface. The GUI is excellent, providing detailed information on outdated versions, including version numbers and the flow of library calls. This allows me to plan and prioritize library changes based on potential vulnerabilities, even if the affected library is indirectly used in my project. The tool offers specific guidance on addressing these issues."

"The customer service and support were good."

"The tool's visual scan analysis shows me all the libraries' vulnerabilities and license types. It helps identify the most complex issues with licenses. It provides good visibility. SCA shows me all libraries that are vulnerable and the extent of their vulnerability."

"One of the strong points of this solution is that it allows you to incorporate it into a CICB pipeline. It has the ability to do incremental scans. If you scan a very large application, it might take two hours to do the initial scan. The subsequent scans, as people are making changes to the app, scan the Delta and are very fast. That's a really nice implementation. The way they have incorporated the functionality of the incremental scans is something to be aware of. It is quite good. It has been very solid. We haven't really had any issues, and it does what it advertises to do very nicely."

"It is very easy and user friendly. It never requires any kind of technical support. You can do everything on your own."

"The product is stable and scalable."

More Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis pros

Cons

"The product's pricing is higher compared to other competitor products."

"The documentation is quite scattered."

"The scanner client is limited by the size of software it can handle."

"It can be cumbersome to use or invalidate open source software because there is a hold time to check requirements or common regulations to ensure compliance."

"I would like to see more integration with other solutions, such as IntelliJ IDEA."

"The tool's documentation and support are areas of concern where improvements are required."

"It is a cloud-only solution. In many cases, companies like to evaluate the software, but they're very reluctant to give you the software. It would be great if they could offer an on-prem component that could be used to scan the code and then upload the discovery results to the cloud and get all the information from there, but there is no such possibility. You have to upload the code to the Black Duck cloud system. Of course, they have a strong legal department, and they offer some configuration, but it is never enough. You have to give the code, which is a drawback. In modern designs like Snyk or FOSSA, you don't need to give the code. It requires more native integration with Coverity because they go together technically. You need both Coverity and Black Duck Hub. It would be really helpful for companies working in this space to get a combined offer from the same company. They should provide an option to buy Coverity for an additional fee. Coverity combined with Black Duck Hub will provide a one-step analysis to get everything you need and a unified report. It would be really great to be able to connect Black Duck Hub with Coverity unified reports."

"The initial setup of Black Duck is complex. It's not very straightforward. You need a lot of support and hand-holding from the Black Duck team itself for it to be deployed successfully across the organization."

More Black Duck SCA cons

"Instant updates for end users to identify vulnerabilities as soon as possible will make Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis better. The UI of the solution could also be improved."

"I have received complaints from my customers that the pricing could be improved."

"API security is an area with shortcomings that needs improvement."

"Its pricing can be improved. It is a little bit high priced. It would be better if it was a little less expensive. It is a good tool, and we're still figuring out how to fully leverage it. There are some questions regarding whether it can scan the MuleSoft code. We don't know if this is a gap in the tool or something else. This is one thing that we're just working through right now, and I am not ready to conclude that there is a weakness there. MuleSoft is kind of its own beast, and we're trying to see how we get it to work with Checkmarx."

"Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis should improve dynamic analysis."

"Parts of the implementation process could improve by making it more user-friendly."

"In terms of areas for improvement, what could be improved in Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis is pricing because customers always compare the pricing among secure DevOps solutions in the market. Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis has a lot of competitors yet its features aren't much different. Pricing is the first thing customers consider, and from a partner perspective, if you can offer affordable pricing to your customers, it's more likely you'll have a winning deal. The performance of Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis also needs improvement because sometimes, it's slow, and in particular, scanning could take several hours."

"Some of the recommendations provided by the product are generic. Even if the recommendations provided by the product are of low level, the appropriate ones can help users deal with vulnerabilities."

More Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a little high."

"The price charged by Black Duck is exorbitant."

"Depending on the use case, the cost could range from $10,000 USD to $70,000 USD."

"The price is quite high because the behavior of the software during the scan is similar to competing products."

"I rate the product's price one on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."

"It is expensive."

"The price is low. It's not an expensive solution."

"Black Duck is more suitable if you require a lot of licensing compliance. For smaller organizations, WhiteSource is better because its pricing policies are not really suitable for huge organizations."

"We don't have a license. The usage is limited to one, two, three, five, or ten people. It is currently used for all projects, and there are plans to increase its usage."

"Pricing for Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis needs to be competitive."

"My customers need to pay for the licensing part, and they need to opt for an annual subscription."

"It is a little bit high priced. It would be better if it was a little less expensive."

"The license model is somewhat perplexing as it comprises multiple aspects that can be confusing for customers. The model is determined by the number of registered users and the number of projects being scanned, along with a third component that adds to the complexity."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

29%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

How does WhiteSource compare with Black Duck?

We researched Black Duck but ultimately chose WhiteSource when looking for an application security tool. WhiteSource is a software solution that enables agile open source security and license compl...

What do you like most about Black Duck?

The cloud option of the product is always available and a positive aspect of the solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Black Duck?

The price charged by Black Duck is exorbitant. For the features provided by the product, I would not want to pay a high price. There are many other products in the market that offer better features...

What do you like most about Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis?

The tool's visual scan analysis shows me all the libraries' vulnerabilities and license types. It helps identify the most complex issues with licenses. It provides good visibility. SCA shows me all...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis?

Pricing is complex and high for small organizations but offers great benefits for larger organizations. It is notably different compared to competitors like GitHub Advanced Security.

What needs improvement with Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis?

The solution could improve by determining the success factor of an upgrade, which is currently lacking.

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Product Reports

Black Duck SCA

Download Black Duck SCA product report

Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis

Download Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis product report

Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis report

Also Known As

Blackduck Hub, Black Duck Protex, Black Duck Security Checker

CxSCA

Overview

Black Duck is an essential tool for software composition analysis and license compliance. It identifies vulnerabilities effectively and supports security management in DevOps environments, offering integration, performance stability, and community support.

Organizations rely on Black Duck for seamless integration in CI/CD pipelines, thorough scanning of source and binary codes, and management of operational risks associated with open-source and commercial licenses. It plays a crucial role in security risk management and delivers a robust policy management framework. Users value its ease of use and reliable community support while benefiting from its comprehensive dependency visualization capabilities. Despite its strengths, there is room for enhancement in integration with other tools, UI friendliness, and reporting features.

What are Black Duck's key features?

Automated Component Analysis: Offers detailed insights into open-source components.
Vulnerability Scanning: Identifies and addresses potential security issues.
Knowledge Base: Extensive database for informed decision-making.
Policy Management: Comprehensive control over security policies.
Integration: Seamlessly fits into existing DevOps workflows.

What should users look for in ROI?

Security Assurance: Mitigates risks associated with open-source software.
Efficiency: Reduces time spent on manual auditing tasks.
License Compliance: Ensures compliance with open-source licenses.
Risk Management: Enhances operational risk management in software development.

Enterprise environments use Black Duck extensively for security, compliance, and risk management, ensuring software meets regulatory standards and mitigates vulnerabilities. Its implementation in specific industries aids in controlled and secure software development processes, underlining its role in maintaining rigorous security standards while delivering dependable performance.

Black Duck

Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis (SCA) helps organizations manage the risks associated with open source and third-party components in their software applications. While leveraging open source libraries and third-party dependencies is common practice, it can also introduce security vulnerabilities and license risks.

Checkmarx SCA offers a multifaceted approach to managing these risks by:

Automatically scanning project repositories, build configurations, and manifests to create a comprehensive inventory of all components, including version information and associated licenses.
Performing vulnerability assessments on each component, including identifying and prioritizing actual exploitable or reachable vulnerabilities.
Protecting organizations from software supply chain attacks involving malicious packages, such as the XZ Utils backdoor.
Identifying licenses associated and providing insights into license obligations, restrictions, and potential conflicts.
Integrating seamlessly into existing development workflows and CI/CD pipelines.
Providing actionable remediation guidance to help organizations address identified vulnerabilities and compliance issues effectively.

Checkmarx

Sample Customers

Samsung, Siemens, ScienceLogic, BryterCX, Dynatrace

AXA, Liveperson, Aaron's, Playtech, Morningstar

Black Duck SCA vs. Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis