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 7.9, while Rapid7 is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.9. HCLSoftware holds a 16.3% mindshare in DAST, compared to Rapid7’s 12.2% 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

571 Views
433 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Read 18 Rapid7 InsightAppSec reviews

375 Views
257 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

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: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec

March 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 847,862 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

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (14th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (10th)

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Ranking in Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 16.3%, down from 27.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightAppSec is 12.2%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Featured Reviews

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

Krzysztof Witko

IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Automated authorization streamlines security processes

The previous product, AppSpyder, had a virtual patching module where we could generate patches for third-party web application firewalls, such as Imperva or F5. Currently, InsightAppSec lacks similar functionality. Customers must wait for remediation during the developers' preparation of a new version. Virtual patching could help protect web pages shortly after finishing the scan process.

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

"AppScan is stable."

"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."

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

"It is easy it is to use. It is quick to find things, because of the code scanning tools. It's quite simple to use and it is very good the way it reports the findings."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is Postman."

"It was easy to set up."

"It has certainly helped us find vulnerabilities in our software, so this is priceless in the end."

More HCL AppScan pros

"I rate stability ten out of ten."

"When considering DAST, it is not attributed to a singular feature but rather the capabilities of the engine that provides a genuine penetration testing experience and delivers insightful reports."

"Dynamic application security scanning provides predefined templates and supports customization. The ability to scan external and internal applications, including on-premises ones, is precious. Additionally, it is a cloud platform, so we don't need to deploy servers or resources. This makes it time-efficient and cost-effective."

"It is a very robust solution."

"You have various attack modules, and you also have the Attack Replay feature for the attack sequence. You can reproduce an attack and see it. That is a very good feature I noticed in this solution. It helps developers as well."

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

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

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

More Rapid7 InsightAppSec pros

Cons

"The solution could improve by having a mobile version."

"It has crashed at times."

"IBM Security AppScan Source is rather hard to use."

"The solution often has a high number of false positives. It's an aspect they really need to improve upon."

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."

"They could add a software component analysis tool."

"In future releases, I would like to see more aggressive reports. I would also like to see less false positives."

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

More HCL AppScan cons

"The product’s pricing could be flexible."

"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."

"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."

"We get a lot of false positives during the tests."

"In the future, if they can have integration with a lot of ticketing systems then it would be amazing."

"Rapid7 InsightAppSec needs improvement in detecting phishing pages."

"The only concern I have with Rapid7 is that it does not provide enough information about vulnerabilities within AppSec."

More Rapid7 InsightAppSec 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."

"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 price of HCL AppScan is okay, in my opinion. You just buy HCL AppScan and don't pay anything anymore, meaning it is just a one-time purchase."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"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."

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

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

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."

"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."

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

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

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?

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...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 InsightAppSec?

Our primary use case for Rapid7 InsightAppSec ( /products/rapid7-insightappsec-reviews ) is to scan for vulnerabilities on our APIs and UIs. We provide this service while being based at a client lo...

See all answers

Comparisons

Acunetix vs HCL AppScan

Compared 15% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs HCL AppScan

Compared 12% of the time

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 10% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

OWASP Zap vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Rapid7 AppSpider vs Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Compared 30% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Compared 14% of the time

OWASP Zap vs Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Compared 13% of the time

Acunetix vs Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Compared 9% of the time

More Rapid7 InsightAppSec Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

April 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 InsightAppSec

March 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

March 2025

Free Report: HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec

Find out what your peers are saying about HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our HCL AppScan vs. Rapid7 InsightAppSec report.

See our list of best Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) vendors.

We monitor all Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.