HCL AppScan vs Rapid7 AppSpider comparison

HCLSoftware and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. HCLSoftware is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3, while Rapid7 is ranked #32. HCLSoftware holds a 2.3% mindshare in SAST, compared to Rapid7’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

HCL AppScan

Read 44 HCL AppScan reviews

4,387 Views
3,334 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Rapid7 AppSpider

Read 14 Rapid7 AppSpider reviews

1,430 Views
829 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Rapid7 AppSpider

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

HCL AppScan and Rapid7 AppSpider are both competing in web application security testing. Based on user feedback, HCL AppScan is preferred for pricing and support, while Rapid7 AppSpider stands out for its features, making it appealing to those who prioritize functionality over cost.

Features: HCL AppScan offers comprehensive application security testing, ease of integration with workflows, and user-friendly interfaces. Rapid7 AppSpider provides dynamic scanning capabilities, robust reporting features, and flexible configurations. Users find Rapid7 AppSpider's features slightly more advanced due to its depth and flexibility.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan users express a need for enhanced scanning speed, better documentation, and improved UI. Rapid7 AppSpider users seek better false-positive management, additional configuration options, and more intuitive interfaces. HCL AppScan's issues with scan speed and documentation are frequently noted.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan offers a straightforward deployment process and reliable customer service. Rapid7 AppSpider provides a flexible deployment model but faces mixed reviews regarding customer support responsiveness. HCL AppScan tends to satisfy users more in setup and support accessibility.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan is viewed as cost-effective with a favorable ROI, balancing cost and value well. Rapid7 AppSpider is generally more expensive but is considered a worthwhile investment for those valuing its advanced capabilities. Users perceive Rapid7 AppSpider's pricing as justified given its feature set.

To learn more, read our detailed HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 AppSpider Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 AppSpider

December 2025

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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

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (20th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (4th)

Rapid7 AppSpider

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

32nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.3%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 AppSpider is 0.7%, up from 0.5% 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 (%)
HCL AppScan	2.3%
Rapid7 AppSpider	0.7%
Other	97.0%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Ravi Khanchandani

Founder Director at Techsa Services

Has improved identification of encryption and authentication issues across cloud and on-prem applications

During the learning curve of onboarding HCL AppScan, we learned that HCL has altered the portfolio and now offers HCL AppScan 360, which has a much better look and feel with an improved user interface. However, there is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved. When I'm doing an application scan, HCL AppScan has the ability to generate information about what components are in use. For example, if I'm scanning a web application, it shows me the various components being used. It tells me whether I have Java libraries, .NET frameworks, or other log management libraries such as Log4j, and what versions of those specific components are present. I would like to see more detailed reports from the tool. Currently, you can find out the components belonging to a specific software, but if detailed reporting became available, you would be in a better position to identify vulnerabilities. For instance, I could identify that I had the Log4j vulnerability and know that I need to fix my application accordingly. If they add the features I'm describing, I would consider giving them a higher rating. However, I've only been experienced with the product for three months.

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Hiroshi Watanabe

Marketing Expert at J's communication

Clients benefit from broad authentication and effective crawling but need localization improvements

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments One of the most valuable features of AppSpider is its broad range of authentication identification, which is a key reason for its utilization.…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The static scans are good, and the SaaS as well."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is scanning QR codes."

"Usually when we deploy the application, there is a process for ethical hacking. The main benefit is that, the ethical hacking is almost clean, every time. So it's less cost, less effort, less time to production."

"The UI was very intuitive."

"This is a stable solution."

"The product has valuable features for static and dynamic testing."

"The security and the dashboard are the most valuable features."

More HCL AppScan pros

"What I like most about AppSpider is that it's easy to use and its automated scan gives me all the details I need to know when it comes to vulnerabilities and their solutions."

"It is really accurate and the rate of false positives is very low."

"The most valuable feature is the reporting, which is compliant with international standards."

"I would say that it is stable, as I am not aware of any major issues."

"I like the ability the product has to detect vulnerabilities quickly, when it has been released in our environment, then displaying them to us."

"The most valuable feature of Rapid7 AppSpider is the vulnerability reporting data. Additionally, the data is reported in a convenient way rather than seeing them as a PDF. We are able to generate all the reports exactly what we want in a flexible way."

"The solution is highly stable, rated at ten out of ten."

"The setup is usually straightforward."

More Rapid7 AppSpider pros

Cons

"AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives."

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."

"IBM Security AppScan needs to add performance optimization for quickly scanning the target web applications."

"If HCL AppScan is able to alert the clients over email once the scan is complete, it would be great. Right now, HCL AppScan doesn't let me know if the scanning part is finished or not, because of which I have to come back and check mostly."

"I would love to see more containers. Many of the tools are great, they require an amount of configuration, setup and infrastructure. If most the applications were in a container, I think everything would be a little bit faster, because all our clients are now using containers."

"The tool should improve its output. Scanning is not a challenge anymore since there are many such tools available in the market. The product needs to focus on how its output is being used by end users. It should be also more user-friendly. One of the major challenges is in the tool's integration with applications that need to be scanned. Sometimes, the scanning is not proper."

"I think being able to search across more containers, especially some of the docker elements. We need a little tighter integration there. That's the only thing I can see at this point."

"There is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved."

More HCL AppScan cons

"Support response times are slow and can be improved."

"The solution is too slow. It could take a full day to scan. Competitors are much faster."

"AppSpider has some problems with the RAM needed while scanning."

"The enterprise interface is too simple. It should be more customizable."

"The product needs to be able to scale for large companies, like ours. We have millions of IP addresses that need to be scanned, and the scalability is not great."

"It needs better integration with mobile applications."

"The dashboard and interface are crucial and they need some improvement."

"Implementing Rapid7 AppSpider requires scanning and self-identification mechanisms. You can add different types of authentication to each scan."

More Rapid7 AppSpider cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."

"The price is very expensive."

"The tool was expensive."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"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."

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

"Our clients are willing to pay the extra money. It is expensive."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

"AppSpider is closed-source software and you need to acquire a license in order to use it."

"The price of Rapid7 AppSpider cost 9,000 annually but there is limited usage. Large companies are able to negotiate a better price or a better deal for the usage with the vendor."

"It is expensive if you want to buy the Enterprise version that is able to scan multiple applications at once."

"The price is pretty fair."

"The licensing cost depends on the number of users."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	31

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

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.

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What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

I'm currently working with BigFix and HCL AppScan. At least three people in my company are using HCL AppScan. Since we are a reseller, we run it in both lab environments and live production applica...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 AppSpider?

The price is not high, but for Japanese customers, localization may incur additional costs.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rapid7 AppSpider?

For Japanese customers, localization is needed. The product should offer a GUI in Japanese and provide Japanese reports for end-users.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 AppSpider?

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments.

See all answers

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Compared 11% of the time

Acunetix vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

January 2026

Download HCL AppScan product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 AppSpider

January 2026

Download Rapid7 AppSpider product report

Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

AppSpider

Overview

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

SPAs, APIs, mobile—the evolution of application technology is measured in months, not years. Is your web application security testing tool designed to keep up? AppSpider lets you collect all the information needed to test all the apps so that you aren’t left with gaping application risks.

Our dynamic application security testing (DAST) solution crawls to the deepest, darkest corners of even the most modern and complex apps to effectively test for risk and get you the insight you need to remediate faster. With AppSpider on your side (or, rather, all of your sides), you’ll be able to scan all the apps today and always be ready for whatever comes next.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

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

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 AppSpider

December 2025

Free Report: HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 AppSpider

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