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CodeSonar vs Klocwork comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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
30th
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Klocwork
Ranking in Application Security Tools
18th
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of CodeSonar is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Klocwork is 1.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Klocwork1.4%
CodeSonar1.1%
Other97.5%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Mathieu ALBRESPY - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
KG
Manager, Quality, Functional Safety, Cybersecurity Embedded Processing at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Experience with compliance improvements and efficiency boosts but static analysis engine shows a need for enhancement
One area for improvement is that when customers use different static analysis tools, they report more issues compared to Klocwork. The static analysis engine of Klocwork has areas that need improvement. Customers using different static analysis tools report more issues than with Klocwork, indicating that Klocwork's engine is not as superior. Klocwork should be able to analyze large codebases efficiently, supporting a desktop version for periodic small delta changes before pushing to the server.

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."
"It has helped us a lot with some issues and has helped us avoid bad code."
"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 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."
"The solution is very stable and we have used it for a long time with no issues."
"CodeSonar’s most valuable feature is finding security threats."
"What I like best about CodeSonar is that it has fantastic speed, analysis and configuration times."
"Overall I find Klocwork's features superior for our needs."
"The most valuable feature of Klocwork is its reduced setup time."
"The most valuable feature of Klocwork is finding defects while you're doing the coding, similar to using spell check on Word, so you can find out defects during the development phase and you don't have to wait until the development is over to find the flaws and address the deficiencies."
"The best advantage of Klocwork is the reduced setup time."
"First will be the on-the-fly analysis as it is reducing the time for developing code and report generation."
"It's integrated into our CI, continuous integration."
"We like using the static analysis and code refactoring, which are very valuable because of our requirements to meet safety critical levels and reliability."
"Using Klocwork, we have cleared all these issues without much difficulty."
 

Cons

"CodeSonar could improve by having better coding rules so we did not have to use another solution, such as MISRA C."
"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."
"There could be a shared licensing model for the users."
"It was difficult for us to apply a rule, especially to a part of the code, and not apply it to the rest of the code."
"The MISRA guidelines were not appropriately reported and there were some flags or errors."
"The scanning tool for core architecture could be improved."
"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."
"The main problem is that since it only parses the code, the warnings or the problems that are given as a result of the report can sometimes require a lot of effort to analyze."
"We'd like to see integration with Agile DevOps and Agile methodologies."
"There are many things that can be improved. The code used between projects is one of the very painful points in Klocwork."
"Support for AUTOSAR C++14 by adding a new taxonomy that you can use to ensure compliance with the AUTOSAR C++14 Standard, release 18-03."
"The way to define the rules is too complex."
"Every update that we receive requires of us a lengthy and involved process."
"The way to define the rules is too complex. The definition/rules for static analysis could be automated according to various SILs, so as to avoid confusion."
"Even though it does the job, there's room for feature enhancements, such as integrations with Git for better tracking and notifications."
 

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."
"Licensing fees are paid annually, but they also have a perpetual license."
"The pricing for Klocwork is very competitive if you compare it from apple to apple. It has competitive pricing regarding the licensing model and the per-license cost. Klocwork isn't a high-end investment for anyone deploying it; even SMBs can afford it. The Klocwork cost per user would depend on the license type, so I'm unable to mention a ballpark figure because it would depend on the type of installation and how the deployment will be, and the nodes to give an accurate calculation or figure. The total price depends on the package, so my company could never publish pricing for Klocwork on the website. My team first collects information from potential clients on the deployment scenario, project environment, etc., before suggesting a package for Klocwork. My rating for Klocwork in terms of pricing is a five because of its flexible license models. There's a license model for every type of organization, whether small, midsize, or enterprise, so it's a five out of five for me."
"There are other solutions on the market such as Microsoft Visual Studio. They have been adding more static code analysis features that come for free. It is getting better all the time. That is one of the possibilities is that we've been considering that we may stop using the Klocwork because it doesn't give us any added value."
"The limitation that we have is that Klocwork is licensed to certain programs, and if you want to license them to other programs, you have to pay more money."
"This solution offers competitive pricing."
"When it comes to licensing, the solution has two packages, one for a fixed and the other for a floating server, with the former being more cost effective than the latter."
"Klocwork is still tight on their licensing. If Klocwork would loosen up on the licensing, and where the license could be used, and how many different programs could be run on it, then we have several development programs that I would love to be able to use it for going forward."
"Klocwork should not to be quite so heavy handed on the licensing for very specific programs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
24%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
22%
Computer Software Company
8%
Transportation Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Klocwork?
Klocwork's pricing seems attractive, as it uses a per-user license model that does not have a lot of overhead.
What needs improvement with Klocwork?
One area for improvement is that when customers use different static analysis tools, they report more issues compared to Klocwork. The static analysis engine of Klocwork has areas that need improve...
What is your primary use case for Klocwork?
I work on tools such as Klocwork, LDRA, as well as Jira and Confluence, focusing more on the software quality assurance aspect. We use Klocwork for coding and aggregate checks. We use it for static...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Viveris, Micrel Medical Devices, Olympus, SOFTEQ, SONY
ACCESS Co Ltd, Risk-AI, Winbond Electronics, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, University of Southern California, Alebra Technologies, SIMULIA, Risk Management Solutions, Brigham Young University, SRD, HRL
Find out what your peers are saying about CodeSonar vs. Klocwork and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.