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Fortify Static Code Analyzer vs PyCharm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

Fortify Static Code Analyzer
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PyCharm
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Static Code Analysis category, the mindshare of Fortify Static Code Analyzer is 11.3%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PyCharm is 0.3%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Static Code Analysis
 

Featured Reviews

Vishal Dhamke - PeerSpot reviewer
An expansive platform that comes with a comprehensive set of security rules and patterns to identify vulnerabilities
Setting up Fortify Static Application Security Testing (SAST) involves several steps to ensure that the tool is correctly configured and integrated into your development workflow say for instance Installation, License Activation, User Access and Permissions, Integration with Development Environment, Project Configuration, Custom Rules and Policies, etc. The initial setup is very easy, have used the enterprise version and a standalone version. The enterprise version definitely takes an ample amount of time to deploy because it needs to have a server along with other logistics in place along with a proper RBAC. The enterprise version would take an ample amount of time, but the standard version is just a few clicks. A team of four to five people is required for the maintenance and frequent updates are required to keep all the signatures up to date. I would rate the setup a nine out of ten.
Srujan Panuganti - PeerSpot reviewer
Convenient to use and surely increases the effectiveness of software development
The solution does not support some features of OpenCV even though it is part of a PyCharm package. Open CV is used to develop software that involves computer vision tasks. It seems the solution is not fully updated to use the latest PyCharm packages. I would like even more support toward robotics-related software tools. For example, support of ROS, ROS 1, and ROS 2 development would ensure that I continue to use the solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We write software, and therefore, the most valuable aspect for us is basically the code analysis part."
"Fortify integrates with various development environments and tools, such as IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) and CI/CD pipelines."
"We've found the documentation to be very good."
"It's helped us free up staff time."
"Fortify Static Code Analyzer tells us if there are any security leaks or not. If there are, then it's notifying us and does not allow us to pass the DevOps pipeline. If it is finds everything's perfect, as per our given guidelines, then it is allowing us to go ahead and start it, and we are able to deploy it."
"Fortify Static Code Analyzer's most valuable features are its ability to provide best practices for fixing code and its examples and capabilities to address security problems in the code. It effectively identifies security vulnerabilities by analyzing the code and offering insights on improving it."
"Integrating the Fortify Static Code Analyzer into our software development lifecycle was straightforward. It highlights important information beyond just syntax errors. It identifies issues like password credentials and access keys embedded in the code."
"The Software Security Center, which is often overlooked, stands out as the most effective feature."
"The solution has a great debugging feature."
"It is an excellent, fully integrated IDE with smart code analysis capability and a built-in debugger. It is a fantastic tool."
"The solution has a nice environment and extensions that make it easy to develop software."
"We have integrated the tool with GitHub. PyCharm provides easy integration with GitHub, allowing us to push changes directly. Many plugins are available on PyCharm for GitHub integration, including GitHub Copilot for auto code completion and GitHub Copilot Chat for assistance with code-related queries."
"The automated package installation is helpful. I like the code highlighting features. A huge library of plugins is available, including AI coding tools, though I don't use those myself. The debugging tools are good, showing errors and problem lines."
"The product's IDE feature is quite user-friendly."
"The recent AI-powered code completion is pretty cool."
"The integrated code structure makes coding more organized and manageable compared to using Python alone."
 

Cons

"It can be tricky if you want to exclude some files from scanning. For instance, if you do not want to scan and push testing files to Fortify Software Security Center, that is tricky with some IDEs, such as IntelliJ. We found that there is an Exclude feature that is not working. We reported that to them for future fixing. It needs some work on the plugins to make them consistent across IDEs and make them easier."
"Their licensing is expensive."
"False positives need improvement in the future. Fortify's vulnerability remediation guidance helps improve code security, but I think they need to improve the focus of the solution, as it still contains many bugs and needs a thorough review."
"The pricing is a bit high."
"Fortify Static Code Analyzer has a bit of a learning curve, and I don't find it particularly helpful in narrowing down the vulnerabilities we should prioritize."
"It comes with a hefty licensing fee."
"The troubleshooting capabilities of this solution could be improved. This would reduce the number of cases that users have to submit."
"Not all languages are supported in Fortify."
"The user interface and overall user experience could be more intuitive to make it easier for users to navigate and utilize the software effectively."
"Notebooks in PyCharm is not as intuitive as it could be."
"They should improve the product's interactiveness."
"The navigation can be better."
"The solution does not support some features of OpenCV even though it is part of a PyCharm package."
"There should be support for the RUST plugin in the Community edition for debugging."
"Customizing the tool can make it complicated."
"The solution is heavy because running it on laptops consumes a lot of memory and power. Typically, a laptop battery might last about eight to nine hours, but with the tool running, it reduces to two hours or one and a half hours at most. It is designed to handle large projects and heavy tasks, making it resource-intensive. For smaller projects, use IDEs like Visual Studio Code."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortify Static Code Analyzer could be reduced."
"There is a licensing fee, and if you bring them to the company and you want them to do the installation and the implementation in the beginning, there is a separate cost. Similarly, if you want consultation or training, there is a separate cost. I see it as suitable only for enterprises. I do not see it suitable for a small business or individual use."
"I rate the pricing of Fortify Static Code Analyzer as a seven out of ten since it is a bit expensive."
"From our standpoint, we are significantly better off with Fortify due to the favorable pricing we secured five years ago."
"The setup costs and pricing for Fortify may vary depending on the organization's needs and requirements."
"It has a couple of license models. The one that we use most frequently is called their flexible deployment. We use this one because it is flexible and based on the number of code-contributing developers in the organization. It includes almost everything in the Fortify suite for one developer price. It gives access to not just the secure code analyzer (SCA) but also to FSC, the secure code. It gives us accessibility to scan central, which is the decentralized scanning farm. It also gives us access to the software security center, which is the vulnerability management platform."
"The licensing is expensive and is in the 50K range."
"Although I am not responsible for the budget, Fortify SAST is expensive."
"The community edition is free and the professional edition has a licensing fee."
"They have a free Community edition, and they also have a licensed version. They definitely have an annual license. They probably also have a monthly license. Its pricing is good and reasonable. It is a little bit more expensive than the others, but it is well worth it. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of pricing."
"The price is reasonable."
"I use the free community version, so I'm saving money there."
"The community edition is free, which is good."
"I don't have much info on the pricing, but I would say it is somewhat competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
Integrating the Fortify Static Code Analyzer into our software development lifecycle was straightforward. It highlights important information beyond just syntax errors. It identifies issues like pa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
I rate the pricing of Fortify Static Code Analyzer as a seven out of ten since it is a bit expensive.
What needs improvement with Fortify Static Code Analyzer?
False positives need improvement in the future. Fortify's vulnerability remediation guidance helps improve code security, but I think they need to improve the focus of the solution, as it still Con...
What do you like most about PyCharm?
The integrated code structure makes coding more organized and manageable compared to using Python alone.
What needs improvement with PyCharm?
Customizing the tool can make it complicated.
What is your primary use case for PyCharm?
I use PyCharm as my main IDE for Python coding.
 

Also Known As

Fortify Static Code Analysis SAST
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortify Static Code Analyzer vs. PyCharm and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.