Black Duck vs GitLab comparison

Black Duck and GitLab are both solutions in the Software Composition Analysis (SCA) category. Black Duck is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.6, while GitLab is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Black Duck holds a 22.4% mindshare in SCA, compared to GitLab’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Black Duck users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of GitLab users who would recommend it.

Black Duck

Read 20 Black Duck reviews

12,247 Views
7,964 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

GitLab

Read 81 GitLab reviews

2,123 Views
1,796 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Black Duck

GitLab

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Black Duck and GitLab are key players in software development security and management. GitLab is favored for its extensive feature set, while Black Duck is notable for its effective support.

Features: Black Duck offers comprehensive open source vulnerability scanning, detailed risk reporting, and license compliance management. GitLab provides a robust CI/CD pipeline, efficient version control, and comprehensive DevOps tools.

Room for Improvement: Black Duck could enhance its user interface and streamline integration with newer platforms. More frequent updates and enhanced automation capabilities are desirable. GitLab may improve its documentation for beginners and could expand its feature set for more advanced uses. There may also be a need to enhance the freemium tier features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Black Duck offers seamless integration with existing workflows and effective customer support. GitLab's straightforward deployment capitalizes on its unified platform, providing intuitive tools for collaboration and development.

Pricing and ROI: Black Duck's pricing is competitive with effective returns in security management. GitLab, while having a higher initial investment, offers substantial ROI through enhanced development productivity and long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Black Duck vs. GitLab Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Black Duck vs. GitLab

January 2025

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Helped 831,158 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

Black Duck

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

1st

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

GitLab

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (10th), Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th), Rapid Application Development Software (12th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Software Composition Analysis (SCA) category, the mindshare of Black Duck is 22.4%, down from 23.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitLab is 4.7%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Featured Reviews

Saravanan_Radhakrishnan

Senior Manager at Happiest Minds Technologies

Enables applications to be secure, but it must provide more open APIs

The product enables other applications to be secure. We use it to onboard 400 to 500 applications into the DevOps platform, protect them, and have a secure environment. The tool integrates well with different technologies, application stacks, and databases. The APIs are available. We can read the blogs in the community for open-source compliance and security. The community feeds are important. Black Duck is a leader in Gartner. It is a reliable solution.

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Gaurav Chandel

AWS DevOps/ Site Reliability Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Boosted productivity with automated pipelines and seamless collaboration

There are some challenges with repository file management as GitLab may struggle to manage larger files. Improvements could be made regarding size management and file partitioning. Also, the UI has remained the same for a couple of years and could benefit from an update with AI features and better customization.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"It is able to drill down to the source level."

"The solution is stable."

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

"It highlights what the developers have done, and it shows the impact from an intellectual property point of view."

"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 most valuable feature for me in Black Duck is its ability to scan binary files effectively."

"Policy management is a valuable feature."

More Black Duck pros

"The initial setup of GitLab is pretty simple, with no complications."

"The most valuable feature of GitLab is the automatic merging of code."

"We use the Git repository and tagging feature. We are a product-based company and use this solution to move to a forward or backward tag."

"GitLab is a solution for source code management, container registry, pipelines, testing, and deployment."

"The most valuable aspects of GitLab are the ability to create branches, merge branches, and compare branches to resolve code conflicts."

"GitLab has better support, and its features are superior compared to Jenkins."

"It speeds up our development, it's faster, safer, and more convenient."

"For us, Gitlab's most valuable feature is the integration with Cypress. We're using Cypress as an automation tool, so we're using GitLab as a tool for running in parallel."

More GitLab pros

Cons

"We're not too sure about the extension of the firewall. It never shows up in the Hub."

"It needs to be more user-friendly for developers and in general, to ensure compliance."

"We have been having some issues with the latest releases where we are not able to scan our applications with the help of Black Duck."

"They are giving a lot of APIs and Python scripts for certain functionalities, but instead of using APIs and Python scripts, they should provide these functionalities through the UI. Users should be able to customize and add more fields through the UI. Users should be able to add more fields and generate reports. Currently, they are not giving flexibility in the UI. They're providing a script that simply generates an Excel file or CSV file. There is no flexibility."

"The solution's pricing model and documentation areas of concern where improvement is needed."

"There are areas for improvement such as false positives and the scanning of containers."

"The initial setup could be simplified. It was somewhat complex."

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

More Black Duck cons

"The solution should again offer an on-premises deployment option."

"GitLab could consider introducing a code-scanning tool. Purchasing such tools from external markets can incur charges, which might not be favorable. Integrating these features into GitLab would streamline the pipeline and make it more convenient for users."

"It should be used by a larger number of people. They should raise awareness."

"The pricing model of GitLab is an issue for me."

"The solution should be more cloud-native and have more cloud-native capabilities and features."

"It's more related to the supporting layer of features, such as issue management and issue tracking. We tend to always use, for example, Jira next to it. That doesn't mean that GitLab should build something similar to Jira because that will always have its place, but they could grow a bit in those kinds of supporting features. I see some, for example, covering ITSM on a DevOps team level, and that's one of the things that I and my current client would find really helpful. It's understandably not going to be their main focus and their core, and whenever you are with a company that needs a bit more advanced features on that specific topic, you're probably still going to integrate with another tool like Jira Service Management, for example. However, some basic features on things like that could be really helpful."

"The pricing has been substantially increased, which is a major concern."

"It has fewer options, and its UI is not so user-friendly."

More GitLab cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price charged by Black Duck is exorbitant."

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

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

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

"It is expensive."

"The pricing is a little high."

"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."

"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."

"My company uses the free version of GitLab, which is GitLab Community Edition. There is a licensed version also available for GitLab."

"It is very expensive. We can't bear it now, and we have to find another solution. We have a yearly subscription in which we can increase the number of licenses, but we have to pay at the end of the year."

"I think that we pay approximately $100 USD per month."

"The solution is based on a subscription model and is reasonably priced."

"We are using its free version, and we are evaluating its Premium version. Its Ultimate version is very expensive."

"We are currently using the open-source version."

"In total, I believe we have more than 300 licenses spread over about 100 users, though I can't comment on the costs involved."

"GitLab is a free solution to use."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

14%

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

29%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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What do you like most about Black Duck?

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

See all answers

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...

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What do you like most about GitLab?

I find the features and version control history to be most valuable for our development workflow. These aspects provide us with a clear view of changes and help us manage requests efficiently.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitLab?

The pricing of GitLab is reasonable, aligning with what I consider to be average compared to competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

There are missing search features, particularly when searching repositories or applying filters. Additionally, I have encountered issues with the deployment of CI/CD pipelines, especially dealing w...

See all answers

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

SonarQube Cloud (formerly SonarCloud) vs GitLab

Compared 1% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Black Duck

January 2025

Download Black Duck product report

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

January 2025

Download GitLab product report

Also Known As

Blackduck Hub, Black Duck Protex, Black Duck Security Checker

Fuzzit

Learn More

Black Duck

GitLab

Overview

Organizations use Black Duck for compliance, internal audits, license management, and security, scanning software to identify vulnerabilities, non-compliant code, and dependencies in open-source projects.

Black Duck integrates into CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps processes, helping multiple industries detect and handle risks associated with open-source usage. Users leverage it for source and binary analysis to ensure security and compliance before software release. Automatic component analysis, effective vulnerability scanning, and a comprehensive knowledge base are some of its valuable features. Despite needing improvements in scanning speed, UI, and documentation, Black Duck remains crucial for ensuring open-source security and compliance.

What are Black Duck's most important features?

Automatic Component Analysis: Provides automatic identification and analysis of open-source components.
Effective Vulnerability Scanning: Scans for vulnerabilities in both source code and binary files.
Comprehensive Knowledge Base: Offers expansive information on open-source components.
Policy Management: Enables the creation and enforcement of security and compliance policies.
Binary File Scanning: Capable of scanning binary files for in-depth security checks.
Ease of Use: Demonstrates ease of use, particularly on Mac products.
Stability: Known for its stable performance.
Docker Integration: Smooth integration with Docker for enhanced deployment.
Open-source Evaluation: Excellent evaluation capabilities for open-source software.
License Management: Manages open-source licenses effectively.
Easy Installation: Simple installation process.
Secure Onboarding: Ensures secure application onboarding.
API Availability: Provides APIs for custom integrations.
Community Support: Backed by an active community.
Dependency Tree Visualization: Visualizes dependencies for better management.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in reviews?

Improved Compliance: Helps maintain compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Risk Mitigation: Reduces risks associated with open-source vulnerabilities.
Enhanced Security: Strengthens software security by identifying and addressing potential issues early.
Time-saving: Automates many aspects of vulnerability scanning and analysis, saving valuable time.
Cost Efficiency: Detects issues early, potentially saving costs related to compliance breaches and security incidents.
Integration Ease: Seamlessly integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.
Knowledge Resource: Access to comprehensive information aiding better decision-making.

Black Duck is implemented by industries ranging from finance to healthcare, addressing security and compliance in open-source usage. Financial institutions employ it to manage license risks and ensure audit readiness. Healthcare organizations use it to comply with stringent data protection regulations, ensuring patient data security and privacy. Tech companies integrate Black Duck within CI/CD pipelines to maintain the security and compliance of software products before release. Its deployment varies, tailored to meet the specific risk management and compliance needs dictated by each sector's regulatory environment.

GitLab is a complete DevOps platform that enables teams to collaborate and deliver software faster.

It provides a single application for the entire DevOps lifecycle, from planning and development to testing, deployment, and monitoring.

With GitLab, teams can streamline their workflows, automate processes, and improve productivity.

Sample Customers

Samsung, Siemens, ScienceLogic, BryterCX, Dynatrace

1. NASA 2. IBM 3. Sony 4. Alibaba 5. CERN 6. Siemens 7. Volkswagen 8. ING 9. Ticketmaster 10. SpaceX 11. Adobe 12. Intuit 13. Autodesk 14. Rakuten 15. Unity Technologies 16. Pandora 17. Electronic Arts 18. Nordstrom 19. Verizon 20. Comcast 21. Philips 22. Deutsche Telekom 23. Orange 24. Fujitsu 25. Ericsson 26. Nokia 27. General Electric 28. Cisco 29. Accenture 30. Deloitte 31. PwC 32. KPMG

Buyer's Guide

Black Duck vs. GitLab

January 2025

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