CodeSonar vs Fortify Application Defender comparison

CodeSecure and OpenText are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. CodeSecure is ranked #34 with an average rating of 7.0, while OpenText is ranked #32 with an average rating of 7.3. CodeSecure holds a 1.4% mindshare in AS, compared to OpenText’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of CodeSecure users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

CodeSonar

Read 7 CodeSonar reviews

1,855 Views
1,189 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Fortify Application Defender

Read 11 Fortify Application Defender reviews

1,002 Views
803 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

CodeSonar

Fortify Application Defender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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Fortify Application Defender and CodeSonar compete in software security assessment. CodeSonar is favored for its robust features despite higher costs, making it the preferred choice for users seeking comprehensive security options.

Features: Fortify Application Defender is recognized for ease of integration, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive support. CodeSonar is noted for advanced static analysis, in-depth error detection, and insights into code vulnerabilities, providing a more extensive feature set.

Room for Improvement: Fortify Application Defender users identify report customization, speed, and sharper reporting tools as areas for enhancement. CodeSonar users seek improved scalability, a more intuitive setup process, and streamlined deployment.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortify Application Defender receives praise for its seamless deployment and responsive customer support. CodeSonar users favor more intuitive deployment while appreciating its helpful support services.

Pricing and ROI: Fortify Application Defender offers competitive setup costs and good long-term ROI. CodeSonar requires higher initial investment but offers significant returns due to its comprehensive features, which many users find justify the cost.

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To learn more, read our detailed CodeSonar vs. Fortify Application Defender Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. Fortify Application Defender

April 2025

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Helped 847,862 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

CodeSonar

Ranking in Application Security Tools

34th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Code Analysis (8th)

Fortify Application Defender

Ranking in Application Security Tools

32nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of CodeSonar is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortify Application Defender is 0.7%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

Mathieu ALBRESPY

Intigration Developer at ez-Wheel

Nice interface, quick to deploy, and easy to expand

This is the first time I've used this kind of software. It was the only one we could apply to analyze with MISRA rules. At my new company, I tried to use Klocwork. I tried to use it, just once so I cannot compare it exactly with CodeSonar. I also have a plugin for my Visual Studio and I try to make it work. It's not easy, however, I don't think that we have this kind of functionality with CodeSonar. It can do some incremental analysis. However, since this feature is also available on CodeSonar, it would be a good idea to have a plugin on Visual Studio just to have a quick analysis.

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HisaoOgata

Department Manger at Hitachi Channel

Saves time and warns about the vulnerabilities in the software, but the false positive rate should be lower

We use the solution to prevent cyberattacks Based on the alerts created by the solution during development, we modify the software we are developing. The product finds mistakes automatically. It warns us about the vulnerabilities in the software. The product saves us cost and time. The product…

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 most valuable features of CodeSonar were all the categorized classes provided, and reports of future bugs which might occur in the production code. Additionally, I found the buffer overflow and underflow useful."

"There is nice functionality for code surfing and browsing."

"The tool is very good for detecting memory leaks."

"CodeSonar’s most valuable feature is finding security threats."

"It has been able to scale."

"The most valuable feature of CodeSonar is the catching of dead code. It is helpful."

"What I like best about CodeSonar is that it has fantastic speed, analysis and configuration times. Its detection of all runtime errors is also very good, though there were times it missed a few. The configuration of logs by CodeSonar is also very fantastic which I've not seen anywhere else. I also like the GUI interface of CodeSonar because it's very user friendly and the tool also shows very precise logs and results."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to automatically feed it rules what it's coupled with the WebInspect dynamic application scanning technology."

"The tool's most valuable feature is software composition analysis. This feature works well with my .NET applications, providing a better understanding of library vulnerabilities."

"Fortify Application Defender's most valuable features are machine learning algorithms, real-time remediation, and automatic vulnerability notifications."

"The product saves us cost and time."

"We are able to provide out customers with a secure application after development. They are no longer left wondering if they are vulnerable to different threats within the market following deployment."

"The information from Fortify Application Defender on how to fix and solve issues is very good compared to other solutions."

"The most valuable feature is that it analyzes data in real-time."

"The most valuable features of Fortify Application Defender are the code packages that are default."

More Fortify Application Defender pros

Cons

"In a future release, the solution should upgrade itself to the current trends and differentiate between the languages. If there are any classifications that can be set for these programming languages that would be helpful rather than having everything in the generic category."

"The scanning tool for core architecture could be improved."

"There could be a shared licensing model for the users."

"It was expensive."

"In terms of areas for improvement, the use case for CodeSonar was good, but compared to other tools, it seems CodeSonar isn't a sound static analysis tool, and this is a major con I've seen from it. Right now, in the market, people prefer sound static analysis tools, so I would have preferred if CodeSonar was developed into a sound static analysis tool formally, in terms of its algorithms, so then you can see it extensively used in the market because at the moment, here in India, only fifty to sixty customers use CodeSonar. If the product is developed into a sound static analysis tool, it could compete with Polyspace, and from its current fifty customers, that number could go up to a hundred."

"CodeSonar could improve by having better coding rules so we did not have to use another solution, such as MISRA C."

"It would be beneficial for the solution to include code standards and additional functionality for security."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"Fortify Application Defender gives a lot of false positives."

"The false positive rate should be lower."

"I encountered many false positives for Python applications."

"The solution could improve the time it takes to scan. When comparing it to SonarQube it does it in minutes while in Fortify Application Defender it can take hours."

"The workbench is a little bit complex when you first start using it."

"The biggest complaint that I have heard concerns additional platform support because right now, it only supports applications that are written in .NET and Java."

"The licensing can be a little complex."

More Fortify Application Defender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is a bit costly."

"The application’s pricing is high compared to other tools."

"Our organization purchased a license to use the solution."

"The solution's price depends on the number of licenses needed and the source code for the project."

"The base licensing costs for the SaaS platform is about $900 USD per application, per year."

"The licensing is very complex, it's project based and can range from $10,000 to $200,000+ depending on the project type and size."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten. It comes as an annual cloud subscription. The tool's pricing is around 50 lakhs."

"The product’s price is much higher than other tools."

"The price of this solution could be less expensive."

"Fortify Application Defender is very expensive."

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847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

25%

Computer Software Company

13%

University

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CodeSonar?

CodeSonar’s most valuable feature is finding security threats.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CodeSonar?

The application’s pricing is high compared to other tools. I rate its pricing a four out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CodeSonar?

Our license model allows one user per license. Currently, we have limitations for VPN profiles. We can’t share the key with other users. There could be a shared licensing model for the users. It wi...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortify Application Defender?

I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortify Application Defender?

The product should integrate industry-standard code review tools internally with its system. This would streamline the coding process, as developers wouldn't need multiple tools for code review and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortify Application Defender?

We use the solution for fast code review. It is integrated into our DevOps pipeline.

See all answers

Comparisons

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs CodeSonar

Compared 61% of the time

Coverity vs CodeSonar

Compared 21% of the time

Polyspace Code Prover vs CodeSonar

Compared 8% of the time

Klocwork vs CodeSonar

Compared 2% of the time

Understand vs CodeSonar

Compared 2% of the time

More CodeSonar Competitors

Checkmarx One vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 25% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 15% of the time

Coverity vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 13% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 13% of the time

CAST Application Intelligence Platform vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 13% of the time

More Fortify Application Defender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

April 2025

Download CodeSonar product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

April 2025

Download Fortify Application Defender product report

Also Known As

No data available

HPE Fortify Application Defender, Micro Focus Fortify Application Defender

Overview

GrammaTech enables organizations to develop software applications more efficiently, on-budget, and on-schedule by helping to eliminate harmful defects that can cause system failures, enable data breaches, and ultimately increase corporate liabilities in today’s connected world. GrammaTech is the developer of CodeSonar, the most powerful source and binary code analysis solution available today. Extraordinarily precise, CodeSonar finds, on average, 2 times more serious defects in software than other static analysis solutions. Designed for organizations with zero tolerance for defects and vulnerabilities in their applications, CodeSonar provides static analysis for applications where reliability and security are paramount - widely used by software developers in avionics, medical, automotive, industrial control, and other mission-critical applications. Some of GrammaTech's customers include Toyota, GE, Hyundai, Kawasaki, LG, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Panasonic, and Samsung.

CodeSecure

Micro Focus Security Fortify Application Defender is a runtime application self-protection (RASP) solution that helps you manage and mitigate risk from homegrown or third-party applications. It provides centralized visibility into application use and abuse while protecting from software vulnerability exploits and other violations in real time.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Viveris, Micrel Medical Devices, Olympus, SOFTEQ, SONY

ServiceMaster, Saltworks, SAP

Buyer's Guide

CodeSonar vs. Fortify Application Defender

April 2025

Free Report: CodeSonar vs. Fortify Application Defender

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