GitLab vs OWASP Zap comparison

GitLab and OWASP are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. GitLab is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2, while OWASP is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.0. GitLab holds a 2.3% mindshare in SAST, compared to OWASP’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of OWASP users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 87 GitLab reviews

17,724 Views
2,836 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

7,548 Views
6,944 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

GitLab

OWASP Zap

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

OWASP Zap and GitLab are both influential in the software development lifecycle, operating in security testing and broad lifecycle management categories respectively. Based on the data, GitLab often has the upper hand due to its comprehensive feature set that many find worth the higher cost.

Features: OWASP Zap provides active and passive scanning, a scripting environment, and API support for automation. It also supports multiple platforms with a detailed reporting mechanism. GitLab includes CI/CD pipelines, code repository management, and project management tools, making it a versatile choice for many development needs.

Room for Improvement: OWASP Zap could enhance its deployment flexibility, increase customer support, and offer more comprehensive security solutions. GitLab could improve its cost-effectiveness, add advanced security features, and offer simpler initial setups.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab provides extensive deployment options and active community support, giving it an advantage in usability. OWASP Zap is straightforward for on-premise deployments focused on security testing but lacks the deployment flexibility of GitLab.

Pricing and ROI: OWASP Zap remains a cost-effective choice as an open-source tool with no initial costs. GitLab, offering subscription plans, justifies its cost through extensive capabilities, appealing to those seeking comprehensive lifecycle management.

To learn more, read our detailed GitLab vs. OWASP Zap Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. OWASP Zap

November 2025

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Helped 873,209 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 Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (12th), Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Rapid Application Development Software (10th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (1st)

OWASP Zap

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of GitLab is 2.3%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OWASP Zap is 4.4%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
GitLab	2.3%
OWASP Zap	4.4%
Other	93.3%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Rohit Kesharwani

Manager, Engineering at 7-Eleven

Improved agility and time to market with CI/CD enhancements

The CI/CD pipelines in GitLab are highly valuable. Another important feature is the single source of repository, allowing efficient repository management and source code management. GitLab provides manageability by allowing us to manage source code effectively through separate repositories. Additionally, GitLab enables the creation of individual CI/CD pipelines for each repository, making software more agile. By integrating GitLab as a DevOps platform, we have enhanced agility, improved our time to market, and different teams can work collaboratively on various projects.

Read full review

Amit Beniwal

Project Manager at Al Hassan LLC

Simplifies vulnerability discovery and has high quality support

There are areas for improvement with OWASP Zap, particularly in the alignment of vulnerabilities concerning CVSS scores. Sometimes, a vulnerability initially categorized as high severity may be reduced to medium or low over time after security patches are applied. This alignment with the present severity score and CVSS score could be improved.

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

"When a developer checks in code, it is automatically built and deployed, and automated test cases are also run. We have extensive integration with GitLab, which helps us with source code management. We run the static code analysis using SonarQube."

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

"GitLab has better support, and its features are superior compared to Jenkins."

"The CI/CD pipeline with Helm has significantly improved deployment speed and efficiency."

"Their CI/CD engine is very mature. It's very comprehensive and flexible, and compared to other projects, I believe that GitLab is number one right now from that perspective."

"GitLab is very well-organized and easy to use. Also, it offers most features that customers need."

"The most valuable feature of GitLab is the automatic merging of code."

"This product is always evolving, and they listen to the customers."

More GitLab pros

"The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, it's very difficult."

"The ZAP scan and code crawler are valuable features."

"The application scanning feature is the most valuable feature."

"The OWASP's tool is free of cost, which gives it a great advantage, especially for smaller companies to make use of the tool."

"Two features are valuable. The first one is that the scan gets completed really quickly, and the second one is that even though it searches in a limited scope, what it does in that limited scope is very good. When you use Zap for testing, you're only using it for specific aspects or you're only looking for certain things. It works very well in that limited scope."

"They offer free access to some other tools."

"Automatic scanning is a valuable feature and very easy to use."

"Automatic updates and pull request analysis."

More OWASP Zap pros

Cons

"GitLab could improve the patch repository. It does not have support for Conan patch version regions. Additionally, better support for Kubernetes deployment is needed as part of the package."

"We'd like to see better integration with the Atlassian ecosystem."

"It should be used by a larger number of people. They should raise awareness."

"It would be really good if they integrated more features in application security."

"The user interface could be more user-friendly. We do most of our operations through the website interface but it could be better."

"I would like to see static analysis also embedded in GitLab. That would also help us. If there's something that it does internally by GitLab and then that is already tied up with your pipeline and then it can tell you that you're coding is good or your code is not great. Based on that, it would pass or fail. That should be streamlined. I would think that would help to a greater extent, in terms of having one solution rather than depending on multiple vendors."

"The integration and storage capabilities could be better."

"I used Spring Cloud config and to connect that to GitLab was so hard."

More GitLab cons

"Deployment is somewhat complicated."

"The product should allow users to customize the report based on their needs."

"Too many false positives; test reports could be improved."

"The solution is somewhat unreliable because after we get the finding, we have to manually verify each of its findings to see whether it's a false positive or a true finding, and it takes time."

"It would be a great improvement if they could include a marketplace to add extra features to the tool."

"The technical support team must be proactive."

"Lacks resources where users can internally access a learning module from the tool."

"I would like to see a version of “repeater” within OWASP ZAP, a tool capable of sending from one to 1000 of the same requests, but with preselected modified fields, changing from a predetermined word list, or manually created."

More OWASP Zap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Regarding pricing, I would rate GitLab as moderately priced, maybe around a seven or eight out of ten. It could be more flexible for clients but generally offers good value."

"The price is okay."

"The open-source version is very good and the commercial version is reasonably priced."

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

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"The solution is based on a licensing model that includes technical support and is paid annually."

"GitLab is comparatively expensive, but it provides value because it's feature-rich."

"The initial setup cost is excellent and you can add the premium features later."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"It is open source, and we can scan freely."

"This is an open-source solution and can be used free of charge."

"We have used the freeware version. I believe Zap only has freeware."

"As Zap is free and open-source, with tons of features similar to those of commercial solutions, I would definitely recommend trying it out."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"This app is completely free and open source. So there is no question about any pricing."

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

"The tool is open-source."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	35
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	42

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

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?

We are currently using general GitLab, not GitLab Premium.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

GitLab needs to improve the CI/CD functionality because it is not compatible with Jenkins and other tools, as it is not that efficient. Security-wise, we have security features enabled in GitLab fo...

See all answers

Is OWASP Zap better than PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro?

OWASP Zap and PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro have many similar features. OWASP Zap has web application scanning available with basic security vulnerabilities while Burp Suite Pro has it available with ...

See all answers

What do you like most about OWASP Zap?

The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OWASP Zap?

OWASP might be cost-effective, however, people prefer to use the free edition available as open source.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GitLab

Compared 42% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 10% of the time

SonarQube vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

TeamCity vs GitLab

Compared 4% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 4% of the time

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SonarQube vs OWASP Zap

Compared 21% of the time

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 15% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub Code Scanning vs OWASP Zap

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

October 2025

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Also Known As

Fuzzit

No data available

Overview

GitLab offers a secure and user-friendly platform for CI/CD pipeline management, code repository control, and collaboration, enhancing development speed and efficiency. It facilitates automation with extensive customization and tool integration, ideal for DevOps processes.

GitLab supports source code management, version control, and collaborative development. It's frequently used in CI/CD processes to automate builds and deployments while integrating DevOps practices. GitLab allows companies to manage repositories, automate pipelines, conduct code reviews, and maintain development lifecycles. The platform supports infrastructure and configuration management, enabling efficient code collaboration, deployment automation, and comprehensive repository handling. Many organizations commit and deploy developed code using GitLab's capabilities.

What are GitLab's most valuable features?

CI/CD Pipeline Management: Streamlines development through automated testing and deployment.
User-Friendly Interface: Ensures ease of collaboration and task automation.
Code Merging and Branching: Facilitates smooth code integration and version control.
Security Platform: Provides strong security features for safe development.
Tool Integration: Enhances functionality with diverse tool integration.

What benefits should users evaluate?

Development Speed: Accelerates processes through automation.
Collaboration Ease: Simplifies team interactions and workflow.
Customization Options: Offers extensive personalization for specific needs.
Comprehensive Documentation: Provides detailed guidance for users.
Secure Platform: Maintains integrity with robust security features.

In specific industries, GitLab serves as a backbone for source code management and CI/CD implementation. Companies leverage its capabilities for infrastructure management and deployment automation, thus streamlining project delivery timelines. Its ability to handle configuration management and code repositories effectively aids in maintaining development lifecycles, making it a preferred choice for organizations committed to enhancing their DevOps practices.

GitLab

OWASP Zap is a free and open-source web application security scanner.

The solution helps developers identify vulnerabilities in their web applications by actively scanning for common security issues.

With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Zap is a popular choice among developers for ensuring the security of their web applications.

OWASP

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

1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Amazon 5. Facebook 6. Twitter 7. LinkedIn 8. Netflix 9. Adobe 10. PayPal 11. Salesforce 12. Cisco 13. Oracle 14. Intel 15. HP 16. Dell 17. VMware 18. Symantec 19. McAfee 20. Citrix 21. Red Hat 22. Juniper Networks 23. SAP 24. Accenture 25. Deloitte 26. Ernst & Young 27. PwC 28. KPMG 29. Capgemini 30. Infosys 31. Wipro 32. TCS

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. OWASP Zap

November 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. OWASP Zap

Find out what your peers are saying about GitLab vs. OWASP Zap and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.

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