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Fortify Static Code Analyzer vs Semgrep comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

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
Semgrep
Ranking in Static Code Analysis
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (29th), Supply Chain Management Software (3rd), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Static Code Analysis category, the mindshare of Fortify Static Code Analyzer is 24.1%, up from 19.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Semgrep is 10.0%, up from 3.6% 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 with comprehensive 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, for example: installation, license activation, user access and permissions, integration with the development environment, project configuration, custom rules and policies, etc. The initial setup is very easy. I 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, other logistics, and a proper RBAC in place. 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.
Henry Mwawai - PeerSpot reviewer
Automated code reviews and good scalability with custom rule adaptability
We use Semgrep to check custom user pipelines and test their claims for any vulnerabilities. We process the code by passing it through the testing process for any operability issues before sending feedback to the developers and providing the final product. This is part of the static testing…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration Subset core integration, using Jenkins is one of the good features."
"The most valuable features include its ability to detect vulnerabilities accurately and its integration with our CI/CD pipeline."
"We write software, and therefore, the most valuable aspect for us is basically the code analysis part."
"The reference provided for each issue is extremely helpful."
"We've found the documentation to be very good."
"I like the Fortify taxonomy as it provides us with a list of all of the vulnerabilities found. Fortify release updated rule packs quarterly, with accompanying documentation, that lets us know what new features are being released."
"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."
"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 most valuable feature is the ability to write our custom rules."
 

Cons

"Streamlining the upgrade process and enhancing compatibility would make it easier for us to keep our security tools up-to-date."
"Fortify Static Code Analyzer is a good solution, but sometimes we receive false positives. If they could reduce the number of false positives it would be good."
"The generation of false positives should be reduced."
"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."
"I know the areas that they are trying to improve on. They've been getting feedback for several years. There are two main points. The first thing is keeping current with static code languages. I know it is difficult because code languages pop up all the time or there are new variants, but it is something that Fortify needs to put a better focus on. They need to keep current with their language support. The second thing is a philosophical issue, and I don't know if they'll ever change it. They've done a decent job of putting tools in place to mitigate things, but static code analysis is inherently noisy. If you just take a tool out of the box and run a scan, you're going to get a lot of results back, and not all of those results are interesting or important, which is different for every organization. Currently, we get four to five errors on the side of tagging, and it notifies you of every tiny inconsistency. If the tool sees something that it doesn't know, it flags, which becomes work that has to be done afterward. Clients don't typically like it. There has got to be a way of prioritizing. There are a ton of filter options within Fortify, but the problem is that you've got to go through the crazy noisy scan once before you know which filters you need to put in place to get to the interesting stuff. I keep hearing from their product team that they're working on a way to do container or docker scanning. That's a huge market mover. A lot of people are interested in that right now, and it is relevant. That is definitely something that I'd love to see in the next version or two."
"It comes with a hefty licensing fee."
"The generation of false positives should be reduced."
"There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From our standpoint, we are significantly better off with Fortify due to the favorable pricing we secured five years ago."
"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."
"The licensing is expensive and is in the 50K range."
"I rate the pricing of Fortify Static Code Analyzer as a seven out of ten since it is a bit expensive."
"Although I am not responsible for the budget, Fortify SAST is expensive."
"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 price of Fortify Static Code Analyzer could be reduced."
"The setup costs and pricing for Fortify may vary depending on the organization's needs and requirements."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Media Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with Semgrep?
There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly.
What is your primary use case for Semgrep?
We use Semgrep to check custom user pipelines and test their claims for any vulnerabilities. We process the code by passing it through the testing process for any operability issues before sending ...
 

Also Known As

Fortify Static Code Analysis SAST
Semgrep Code, Semgrep Supply Chain, Semgrep AppSec Platform
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Policygenius, Tide, Lyft, Thinkific, FloQast, Vanta, and Fareportal
Find out what your peers are saying about Veracode, Checkmarx, OpenText and others in Static Code Analysis. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.