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HCL AppScan vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.7
HCL AppScan enhances architecture with fewer errors and improved security, achieving 50% return and 20% cost savings.
Sentiment score
6.8
Visual Studio Test Professional boosts efficiency and productivity with cost-saving benefits, significantly enhancing development environments and quality.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.6
HCL AppScan's support is responsive with mixed reviews, facing regional challenges and lagging behind competitors like Veracode.
Sentiment score
6.8
Customers appreciate Visual Studio Test Professional's support, though some highlight navigation challenges and delays reaching knowledgeable staff.
Veracode provides excellent assistance and regularly scheduled calls to address customer concerns and updates.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
There is still room for improvement when it comes to the speed of response.
Founder Director at Techsa Services
Sometimes, the documentation is not readable, being too long or too detailed and not connected to my problem.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
3.9
HCL AppScan is scalable yet varies by license, integration issues, infrastructure compatibility, and CI/CD pipeline design effectiveness.
Sentiment score
7.4
Visual Studio Test Professional is highly scalable, adaptable, and supports large teams, though some find licensing costs a concern.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
HCL AppScan is stable and reliable, with minor hardware issues, improved by recent upgrades enhancing performance and stability.
Sentiment score
7.9
Visual Studio Test Professional is stable with high ratings, minor bugs, and reliable updates, despite occasional third-party integration issues.
Since we've been using HCL AppScan for about three months, we really have not encountered a false positive.
Founder Director at Techsa Services
 

Room For Improvement

HCL AppScan requires improvements in vulnerability detection, usability, integration, performance, support, pricing, and language/codebase compatibility to stay competitive.
Visual Studio Test Professional needs better integration, user-friendliness, scalability, modern features, and improved performance and documentation.
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.
Founder Director at Techsa Services
Additionally, in Visual Studio Code, we have an agent mode for GitHub Copilot, which is very helpful in testing or development phases, while Visual Studio's GitHub Copilot is a bit tricky and sometimes does not provide my desired output.
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface.
Chief Product Officer at Gradiant
Sometimes, the library version is not compatible with other libraries, causing errors in my application.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
 

Setup Cost

HCL AppScan is considered expensive but cost-effective, with varied pricing opinions influenced by its premium features and discounts.
Visual Studio Test Professional's pricing is high, yet valued for its functionality, offering free and professional licensing options.
Companies often choose based on budget constraints, with Veracode being on the higher end cost-wise.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
The price is expensive.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
 

Valuable Features

HCL AppScan detects vulnerabilities, integrates with agile processes, offers scalability, user-friendly features, and AI-enhanced rapid scanning for security.
Visual Studio Test Professional offers robust integration, user-friendly tools, and customization for efficient cross-platform development and team collaboration.
We were able to identify security issues such as certificate-related issues, authentication-related issues, and weak encryption-related issues.
Founder Director at Techsa Services
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.
Associate Principal, Software Engineering at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
It supports cross-platform functionality.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
Visual Studio Test Professional is highly valuable because it provides extensive extensions and plugins that assist in measuring code quality.
Chief Product Officer at Gradiant
We have a retrospective in our auto projects that we are using frequently to get lessons learned, what went well, and what is going wrong.
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL AppScan
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (15th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (14th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (3rd)
Visual Studio Test Professi...
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Functional Testing Tools (10th), Test Management Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Quality Assurance solutions, they serve different purposes. HCL AppScan is designed for Application Security Tools and holds a mindshare of 2.4%, down 2.5% compared to last year.
Visual Studio Test Professional, on the other hand, focuses on Functional Testing Tools, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 0.6% since last year.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HCL AppScan2.4%
SonarQube19.2%
Checkmarx One10.2%
Other68.2%
Application Security Tools
Functional Testing Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Visual Studio Test Professional1.1%
Tricentis Tosca15.7%
BrowserStack8.8%
Other74.4%
Functional Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Ravi Khanchandani - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Payel Saha - PeerSpot reviewer
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Integrated collaboration with automated test management has improved our agile workflows and continuously supports quality reporting
Visual Studio Test Professional could be improved as earlier we had flexibility in automation testing with TFS, which became a bit difficult moving to Azure DevOps. Additionally, in Visual Studio Code, we have an agent mode for GitHub Copilot, which is very helpful in testing or development phases, while Visual Studio's GitHub Copilot is a bit tricky and sometimes does not provide my desired output.For future improvements, I would like to see prompt fixing, as currently, if something goes wrong in Visual Studio, the fixing options are not always correct. If that intelligence is embedded, it would be very helpful.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Performing Arts
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
 

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.
What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?
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 interf...
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...
What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?
The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Studio Test Professional?
The tool is free, resulting in no costs associated with its use. The absence of price makes it cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?
Visual Studio Test Professional could be improved as earlier we had flexibility in automation testing with TFS, which became a bit difficult moving to Azure DevOps. Additionally, in Visual Studio C...
 

Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT
Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa
Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Veracode, Checkmarx and others in Application Security Tools. Updated: November 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.