Checkmarx SAST vs HCL AppScan comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Checkmarx and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. Checkmarx is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.7, while HCLSoftware is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0. Checkmarx holds a 2.2% mindshare in SAST, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Checkmarx users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

Checkmarx SAST

Read 5 Checkmarx SAST reviews

5,319 Views
5,266 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 44 HCL AppScan reviews

9,624 Views
6,737 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Checkmarx SAST

HCL AppScan

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Checkmarx SAST and HCL AppScan based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Checkmarx SAST vs. HCL AppScan Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Checkmarx SAST vs. HCL AppScan

November 2026

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Helped 920,769 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

Checkmarx SAST

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

19th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

20th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (24th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Checkmarx SAST is 2.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.9%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Checkmarx SAST	2.2%
HCL AppScan	2.9%
Other	94.9%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

RaghavendraRao PV

Incident Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Improved code security reporting has streamlined reviews but response times still need work

I assess the accuracy and efficiency of Checkmarx SAST and notice that sometimes there are false positives, so we bring it up to the vendor and ask them to add ignore rules to prevent it from appearing again when they see a particular pattern. This is how we have been notifying Checkmarx SAST about false positives. The detailed reports from Checkmarx SAST help with our security process by showing details about which line is actually vulnerable, which is beneficial for the developers, and I do not have any suggestions or inputs on that area. The ability to generate actionable insights from Checkmarx SAST impacts our software development lifecycle by allowing developers to generate reports. We have explained the options for generating both detailed reports and executive reports, and once they generate it, they get JIRA tickets to work off, although I doubt they open Checkmarx SAST user interface frequently.

Read full review

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.

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

"This helps us a lot in identifying vulnerabilities in early stages, and the integration within the IDEs helps developers get the results into their IDE itself, making it easier for them to fix vulnerabilities."

"The detailed reports from Checkmarx SAST help with our security process by showing details about which line is actually vulnerable, which is beneficial for the developers, and I do not have any suggestions or inputs on that area."

"The most important feature is that Checkmarx protects our company against attacks."

"The most important competitive advantage and benefit is the ability to identify vulnerabilities in the source code immediately without needing to complete the coding."

"The CX1 is a unified platform that covers all components such as SAST, SCA, DAST, container scanning, and infrastructure code, which is quite beneficial because some clients need one-stop solutions for all their needs."

"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."

"This solution saves us time due to the low number of false positives detected."

"AppScan is stable."

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

"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."

"We catch them, we fix them, and we can offer a higher quality product to our clients."

"It highlights, with several grades of severity, the types of vulnerabilities, so we can focus on the most severe security vulnerabilities in the code."

"It has certainly improved our organization in terms of quality of solutions that are developed."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"The accuracy of the results depends on various factors, as some of the test folders tend to give us false positives, which makes a huge impact on the vulnerabilities."

"The on-premises version is more expensive compared to the cloud version."

"The main challenge with Checkmarx SAST is the price. The price is a challenge because Checkmarx SAST is a very big brand, and many mid-sized companies cannot afford it as they are very price-conscious."

"We had some issues where Checkmarx did not recognize a vulnerability. We had to talk with the vendor, and they had to include an improvement in the tool to resolve this issue."

"I believe that nothing in particular could be improved about Checkmarx SAST, only the turnaround time and the fact that technical account managers keep moving around, which leads to some lag in communication."

"They could add a software component analysis tool."

"They have to improve support."

"There is not a central management for static and dynamic."

"Unfortunately, there is a big discussion if it is very expensive to use it or not, and there are competitors."

"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 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

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

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

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

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

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"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."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The tool was expensive."

"The price is very expensive."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Checkmarx SAST?

We were users in a small country, and we paid one consolidated bill for all the tools, so I don't know the specific amount for Checkmarx.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Checkmarx SAST?

I believe that nothing in particular could be improved about Checkmarx SAST, only the turnaround time and the fact that technical account managers keep moving around, which leads to some lag in com...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Checkmarx SAST?

I manage the application security side of the products here, currently utilizing solutions such as Checkmarx, Akamai, Traceable, and Invicti, which are the security scanning tools that we use. In t...

See all answers

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 HCL AppScan?

AppScan is considered more cost-effective than Veracode, although I have not updated the exact pricing details. Companies often choose based on budget constraints, with Veracode being on the higher...

See all answers

Comparisons

Checkmarx One vs Checkmarx SAST

Compared 13% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Checkmarx SAST

Compared 10% of the time

Snyk vs Checkmarx SAST

Compared 8% of the time

SonarQube vs Checkmarx SAST

Compared 7% of the time

Veracode vs Checkmarx SAST

Compared 6% of the time

More Checkmarx SAST Competitors

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

Checkmarx One vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

SonarQube vs HCL AppScan

Compared 5% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs HCL AppScan

Compared 5% of the time

Invicti Web + API vs HCL AppScan

Compared 5% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Checkmarx SAST

October 2026

Download Checkmarx SAST product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

October 2026

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

SAST

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

Checkmarx SAST provides advanced static application security testing by identifying vulnerabilities in source code. It's ideal for ISOs, security professionals, and developers striving to secure applications during development.

Checkmarx SAST is known for its powerful code scanning capabilities that integrate seamlessly into existing development environments. It supports a wide range of programming languages, which makes it applicable for diverse development projects. Some users suggest improvements in the scan performance speed and enhanced support in handling false positives to further optimize workflow efficiency.

What are the standout features of Checkmarx SAST?

Language Support: Offers broad language support catering to multiple coding frameworks.
Integration Flexibility: Seamlessly integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines and developer tools.
Comprehensive Scanning: Detects security vulnerabilities early in the development process.
Detailed Reporting: Provides comprehensive reports that help prioritize remediation efforts.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances application security by catching vulnerabilities early.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces costs associated with post-deployment issue resolution.
Developer Empowerment: Allows developers to identify and fix issues independently.
Regulatory Compliance: Assists in meeting compliance requirements efficiently.

Implemented across various industries, Checkmarx SAST supports sectors like finance, healthcare, and technology with their stringent security requirements. By integrating seamlessly into existing workflows, it ensures that applications remain secure while not disrupting industry-specific processes.

Checkmarx

HCL AppScan offers quick vulnerability detection with effective SDLC integration and is known for its user-friendly interface and seamless security integration.

HCL AppScan provides dynamic and static scanning to identify vulnerabilities like XSS and SQL injection. It integrates well into CI/CD pipelines, supports multiple languages, and offers web and dynamic scanning, helping businesses ensure security across development lifecycles. Users benefit from API coverage, Postman integration, and its ability to function in cloud and on-premise environments, facilitating a shift from DevOps to DevSecOps practices.

What features define HCL AppScan?

User-friendly interface: Simplifies navigation and usage.
Vulnerability detection: Quickly identifies issues like XSS and SQL injection.
Integration with SDLC: Seamlessly blends with development processes.
Dynamic scanning: Offers comprehensive security evaluations.
Multiple language support: Supports diverse programming environments.

What benefits should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts to growing needs and projects.
Low false-positive rates: Delivers accurate and reliable results.
Detailed reporting: Provides comprehensive vulnerability insights.
Effective integration: Enhances CI/CD pipeline security.

HCL AppScan is leveraged in sectors requiring rigorous security checks, such as finance and healthcare, where it conducts comprehensive scans and offers insights into potential vulnerabilities. Its robust scanning capabilities aid companies in maintaining compliance and security standards.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Checkmarx SAST vs. HCL AppScan

November 2026

Free Report: Checkmarx SAST vs. HCL AppScan

Find out what your peers are saying about Checkmarx SAST vs. HCL AppScan and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.

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