HCL AppScan vs Rapid7 InsightAppSec comparison

HCLSoftware and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) category. HCLSoftware is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while Rapid7 is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.8. HCLSoftware holds a 14.4% mindshare in DAST, compared to Rapid7’s 11.8% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

HCL AppScan

Read 43 HCL AppScan reviews

4,780 Views
478 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Read 19 Rapid7 InsightAppSec reviews

1,598 Views
368 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 13, 2024

HCL AppScan and Rapid7 InsightAppSec are two leading cybersecurity solutions. Rapid7 InsightAppSec seems to have the upper hand due to its superior features despite higher costs.

Features: HCL AppScan: Comprehensive scanning capabilities, integration options, and cost-effectiveness. Rapid7 InsightAppSec: Intuitive reporting features, ease of use, user-friendly interface.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan: Better reporting, more frequent updates, improved deployment process. Rapid7 InsightAppSec: Better API, improved technical support responsiveness, less areas for enhancement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan: Complicated deployment process, mixed customer service reviews. Rapid7 InsightAppSec: Smoother deployment, superior customer service.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan: Cost-effective, good ROI. Rapid7 InsightAppSec: Higher upfront costs justified by richer feature set, higher perceived value.

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

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec

June 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 Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (15th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (15th)

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Ranking in Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 14.4%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightAppSec is 11.8%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Featured Reviews

Sthembiso Zondi

Head of Software Engineering at ronaldmariah@gmail.com

Has a straightforward setup process and valuable security features

We use AppScan primarily for security testing and performance monitoring across our systems The product's features for comprehensive code analysis (static) and live environment testing (dynamic) have significantly enhanced our ability to identify and address vulnerabilities, improving overall…

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Shritam Bhowmick

Vulnerability Management Lead at garrett

Provides reliable applications security but needs better integration options

There are areas for improvements regarding false positives. Integration capabilities are lacking, as options for integrations with other tools such as SNOW, Jira, or other integration tools are not sufficient in Rapid7 InsightAppSec. The user interface sometimes has glitches, which may prevent appropriate results during navigation, and even when we get appropriate results, it can be impossible to export them to CSV records or download files. Regarding scalability, Rapid7 InsightAppSec is not a scalable solution for our industry due to limited integration capabilities. Rapid7 relies on another tool called InsightConnect, which requires additional investment, detracting from scalability. Another area that needs improvement is the integration of AI capabilities into the platform. Both Rapid7 InsightAppSec and InsightVM need to advance in that area. In terms of behavioral and pattern recognition, identifying complex attacks such as SQL, blind SQL, JSON, and LDAP injections often results in 94% false positives. This necessitates improvement in their behavioral-based analytics feature.

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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

"It comes with all of the templates that we need. For example, we are a company that is regulated by PCI. In order to be PCI compliant, we have a lot of checks and procedures to which we have to comply."

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

"It provides a better integration for our ecosystem."

"The platform has valuable security features, helping us identify sensitive code issues and the possibility of internal applications' exposure to external threats."

"We use it as a security testing application."

"The solution offers services in a few specific development languages."

"The solution is easy to use."

"The UI was very intuitive."

More HCL AppScan pros

"It uses a signature-based method to check for problems with your code and will provide an alert if anything is found."

"We have seen measurable decrease in the mean time to respond to threats by 20 percent."

"It is very convenient to get reports from the tool, which offers high-level environmental statistics."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the graphical interface."

"Relatively speaking, InsightAppSec is good compared to Insight VM."

"Rapid7 InsightAppSec helps us in both regulatory compliance and in strengthening our security posture."

"I rate stability ten out of ten."

More Rapid7 InsightAppSec pros

Cons

"Improvement can be done as per customer requirements."

"They should have a better UI for dashboards."

"The dashboard, for AppScan or the Fortified fast tool, which we use needs to be improved."

"It has crashed at times."

"A desktop version should be added."

"The solution needs to improve in some areas. The tool needs to add more languages. It also needs to improve its speed."

"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."

"Many silly false positives are produced."

More HCL AppScan cons

"The reporting feature of Rapid7 InsightAppSec needs improvement as it currently provides basic reports."

"Currently, InsightAppSec lacks similar functionality. Customers must wait for remediation during the developers' preparation of a new version."

"When you add new projects for the same product, it either duplicates or replaces the scan configuration. If I run a scan for the same product with a different scan configuration, it should keep the previous scan configuration and not replace it with the new scan configuration. It should just add the new scan configuration. That would be helpful. They do keep the results as it is, but the scan configuration keeps changing. For example, I have set a scan configuration to a full scan, and next week, I want to run a new scan for the same product with some changes or new functionalities. I want to run a partial scan. Currently, if I change the scan configuration to partial, it changes the old one also to partial. That should be improved."

"They should add more features. I would like to see them do a little more on static analysis and also interactivity analysis. Currently, it does very basic static analysis. It could do a little more static analysis, which is something that would help. A lot more interactivity analysis should also be there. It should basically look at security during interactivity."

"There is room for improvement in the response time of customer service and support levels."

"There is room for improvement in Rapid7 InsightAppSec by giving clients the ability for extra columns on reports and enabling the extraction of remediation reports into a CSV format. Currently, the PDF format is cumbersome to go through when dealing with thousands of pages."

"I would like more details of what the product can do."

"The dynamic scanning feature has simplified and improved the security testing process. I suggest adding a SaaS feature to the solution to support scanning SaaS applications, making it more comprehensive. It would be beneficial if the solution could also scan mobile applications. It only scans web applications and should also cover mobile applications, including firmware recommendations."

More Rapid7 InsightAppSec cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

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

"With the features, that they offer, and the support, they offer, AppScan pricing is on a higher level."

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

"The solution is cheap."

"The price is very expensive."

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

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

"I'm not sure how much it costs exactly, but I know it's expensive."

"Rapid7 InsightAppSec is cheap."

"Its price is competitive. It is not expensive."

"I rate Rapid7 InsightAppSec’s pricing an eight out of ten."

"They offer a good price, but I don't remember its cost. It is fair as compared to the competition. We have opted for project-based licensing, not user-based. We can add any number of users. That doesn't matter. It is worth the money."

"The price of this product is very cheap."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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

What do you like most about Rapid7 InsightAppSec?

In Rapid7 InsightAppSec, a distinctive feature is the provision of a CDM for integrating web servers and web applications. To establish the connection between these applications, you only need to p...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rapid7 InsightAppSec?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 InsightAppSec?

Our main use case for Rapid7 InsightAppSec is to perform internal assessment of applications and external facing applications. We have a cloud engine plus on-premises engine, and we have been lever...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

July 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

June 2025

Download Rapid7 InsightAppSec product report

Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

InsightAppSec

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

Your web applications may be complex, but your application security testing tool doesn’t need to be. InsightAppSec brings Rapid7’s proven Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) technology to the Insight platform, combining powerful application crawling and attack capabilities, flexibility in scan scope and scheduling, and accuracy in results with a modern UI, intuitive workflows, and sensible data organization. This enables you to identify XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, and other vulnerabilities with unparalleled ease. The best part? All of these capabilities are delivered via the cloud so that you’re up and running in minutes to identify the critical security risks that exist in your applications.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

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

CenterPoint Energy, CPA Australia, Hypertherm, First American Financial Corporation, Rackspace

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec

June 2025

Free Report: HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec

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