GitLab vs HCL AppScan comparison

GitLab and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. GitLab is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.6, while HCLSoftware is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.9. GitLab holds a 3.0% mindshare in AS, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 82 GitLab reviews

3,789 Views
3,120 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 43 HCL AppScan reviews

3,931 Views
2,974 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

GitLab

HCL AppScan

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

HCL AppScan and GitLab operate in the software security and development space. GitLab appears to have the upper hand with its comprehensive feature set and ease of integration, enhancing user experience in development functions.

Features: HCL AppScan offers advanced security testing tools, thorough vulnerability assessments, and support for various technologies. GitLab features a DevOps platform, seamless CI/CD pipeline integration, and collaborative tools, providing broader development support beyond security testing.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan users note the need for better report customization, integration flexibility, and interoperability. GitLab users highlight occasional performance issues, enhanced documentation, and product efficiency improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan deployment is complex due to its extensive security capabilities, but it has strong customer service. GitLab offers straightforward deployment within its integrated ecosystem, with users reporting satisfactory customer service.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan incurs higher setup costs, with users recognizing security-related returns. GitLab's flexible pricing model is seen as providing strong ROI through its comprehensive features supporting complete development workflows.

To learn more, read our detailed GitLab vs. HCL AppScan Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. HCL AppScan

March 2025

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Helped 841,004 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

GitLab

Ranking in Application Security Tools

8th

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Rapid Application Development Software (12th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (3rd)

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Application Security Tools

15th

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of GitLab is 3.0%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

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

Rishi Anupam

Senior Manager at Airtel

A stable and scalable scanning solution with good reporting feature

The solution is used for the vulnerabilities scan on the network side The reporting part is the most valuable feature. The penetration testing feature should be included. I have been using the solution for four years. It is a stable solution. I rate it seven out of ten. It is a scalable…

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

"I have had no problem with the stability of the solution."

"The stability of GitLab is impressive."

"The solution has an established roadmap that lays out its plans for upgrades over the next two to three years."

"The solution's service delivery model is fantastic."

"We use GitLab in the new project for CI/CD, integration, and deployment."

"GitLab's best feature is Actions."

"The most valuable feature of GitLab is its convenience. I am able to trace back most of my changes up to a far distance in time and it helps me to analyze and see the older version of the code."

"It is a speedy platform compared to the others I have used. I have also enjoyed using the platform as this solution offers a good user experience."

More GitLab pros

"Compared to other tools only AppScan supports special language."

"I like the recording feature."

"The solution is easy to use."

"AppScan's most valuable features include its ability to identify vulnerabilities accurately, provide detailed remediation steps, and the newly introduced AI-powered features that enhance its functionality further."

"We are now deploying less defects to production."

"For me, as a manager, it was the ease of use. Inserting security into the development process is not normally an easy project to do. The ability for the developer to actually use it and get results and focuses, that's what counted."

"You can easily find particular features and functions through the UI."

"The HCL AppScan turnaround time for Burp Suite or any new feature request is pretty good, and that is why we are sticking with the HCL."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"I would like to see better integration with project management tools such as Jira."

"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 initial setup was quite challenging because it takes some time to understand how to pull out or push the code."

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

"The integration and storage capabilities could be better."

"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 with variable environments."

"You need to have a good knowledge of the product in order to use it."

"In the free version, when a merge request is raised, there is no way to enforce certain rules. We can't enforce that this merge request must be reviewed or approved by two or three people in the team before it is pushed to the master branch. That's why we are exploring using some agents."

More GitLab cons

"Visibility is an issue for us. Our partners do not know we have integrations with some of IBM products."

"We would like to see a check in the specific vulnerabilities in mobile applications or rooted devices, such as jailbreaking devices."

"I would like to see the roadmap for this product. We are still waiting to see it as we have only so many resources."

"HCL AppScan needs to improve security."

"Many silly false positives are produced."

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."

"We would like to integrate with some of the other reporting tools that we're planning to use in the future."

"AppScan is too complicated and should be made more user-friendly."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of GitLab could be better, it is expensive."

"Its price is fine. It is on the cheaper side and not expensive. You have to pay additionally for GitLab CI/CD minutes. Initially, we used the free version. When we ran out of GitLab minutes, we migrated to the paid version."

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

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

"We are using the open-source version."

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

"As I work in a vast enterprise, I'm unsure about the licensing cost for GitLab. It's the management team that takes care of that."

"I'm not aware of the licensing costs because those were covered by the customer."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten. The product's pricing is expensive compared to the features that they offer."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The tool was expensive."

"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high. HCL AppScan is an expensive tool."

"The solution is cheap."

"The product is moderately priced, though it's an investment due to extensive code analysis needs."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

28%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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?

Certain features in Jira are not available in GitLab, such as the functionality to have weights at the milestone and epic levels. Hopefully, these features will be resolved with work items in GitLa...

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives. It also requires enhancements in customer support, similar to what Veracode provides. Regularly scheduling calls with clients to discuss fe...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

The primary use case for AppScan is for security purposes. I compare AppScan with other tools such as Veracode. We use AppScan for vulnerability detection and auto-remediation of vulnerabilities wi...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GitLab

Compared 32% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 11% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 8% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitLab

Compared 6% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

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Acunetix vs HCL AppScan

Compared 16% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs HCL AppScan

Compared 12% of the time

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 9% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

Invicti vs HCL AppScan

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

February 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

February 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

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.

GitLab

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

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

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. HCL AppScan

March 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. HCL AppScan

Find out what your peers are saying about GitLab vs. HCL AppScan and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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