Fortify Application Defender vs SonarQube comparison

OpenText and SonarSource Sàrl are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. OpenText is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.0, while SonarSource Sàrl is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2. OpenText holds a 1.2% mindshare in AS, compared to SonarSource Sàrl’s 16.9% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of OpenText users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of SonarSource Sàrl users who would recommend it.

Fortify Application Defender

Read 11 Fortify Application Defender reviews

1,527 Views
1,267 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

SonarQube

Read 134 SonarQube reviews

38,374 Views
26,862 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Fortify Application Defender

SonarQube

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2025

SonarQube and Fortify Application Defender compete in the code analysis and application security category. SonarQube seems to have the upper hand due to its broader programming language support, centralized management, and effective quality gates, while Fortify is notable for its real-time remediation and machine learning algorithms.

Features: SonarQube provides comprehensive code analysis capabilities, including vulnerability identification and CI/CD integration, and supports over 20 programming languages. It offers customizable quality gates and centralized management for detailed code quality visualization. Fortify Application Defender is recognized for its real-time remediation, automatic notifications, and machine learning algorithms. It excels in software composition analysis and integrates effectively with CI/CD pipelines.

Room for Improvement: SonarQube requires enhancements in dynamic code analysis, a more intuitive UI, and reduced false positives for better security integration. Reporting and support for emerging technologies like AI could also be improved. Fortify Application Defender could lower false positives, expand language support, and improve integration with industry-standard code review tools. Its cost and complex licensing are concerns for users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonarQube offers flexible deployment across multiple platforms, including on-premises and cloud environments. It benefits from strong community support, despite limited official tech support in the free versions. Fortify offers deployment options on public and on-premises platforms but lacks support for older development environments. Users consider its customer service adequate but costly.

Pricing and ROI: SonarQube provides a cost-effective open-source version for smaller companies, with paid editions offering advanced features, though enterprise pricing can be high. It delivers significant ROI through enhanced code quality and technical debt reduction. Fortify is viewed as expensive with complex licensing. It offers ROI through improved application security and real-time monitoring, though may not be practical for smaller organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortify Application Defender vs. SonarQube Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Application Defender vs. SonarQube

February 2026

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Helped 881,707 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

Fortify Application Defender

Ranking in Application Security Tools

24th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SonarQube

Ranking in Application Security Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

134

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (1st), Software Development Analytics (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Fortify Application Defender is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonarQube is 16.9%, down from 26.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SonarQube	16.9%
Fortify Application Defender	1.2%
Other	81.9%

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

VinothSivam

CTO at Abcl

Useful for fast code review in devOps pipelines

I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten. However, I'm concerned about how it handles an increasing number of lines of code. As the complexity grows, so does the time it takes for the tool to review everything. I want more clarity on how Fortify Application Defender handles multiple threats. We have numerous endpoints, but the tool runs in our pipeline, meaning it operates in the cloud. All our code is configured there, and the tool runs integration testing, unit testing, user testing, and final production code tests. It's a day-to-day experience. It's utilized almost every day as part of our pipeline runs. Each team responsible for integration testing, human testing, user access testing, and preproduction testing runs it whenever they take a build.

Read full review

KarthikHarpanhalli

Sr Software Engineering Supervisor at Mozarc Medical

Gains control over rule customization and achieves reliable vulnerability assessment

The deployment process took me about 2 or 3 hours to deploy SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube), although I do not remember exactly since it was done about 2 years back. Currently, about 10 of my developers are using SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) in my company. I do not have plans to increase the usage of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) in the future as there will not be any requirement to increase. I am a senior software engineer and supervisor at Mozark Medical. My corporate email address is karthik.k.a.r.t.h.i.k.h.a.r.p.a.n.h.a.l.l.i@mozarkmedical.com. Overall, I would rate SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) as a 9 out of 10.

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

"The most valuable feature is the ability to automatically feed it rules what it's coupled with the WebInspect dynamic application scanning technology."

"I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy."

"Its ability to find security defects is valuable."

"The product saves us cost and time."

"The most valuable features of Fortify Application Defender are the code packages that are default."

"We are able to provide out customers with a secure application after development. They are no longer left wondering if they are vulnerable to different threats within the market following deployment."

"The most valuable feature is that it analyzes data in real-time."

"The solution helped us to improve the code quality of our organization."

More Fortify Application Defender pros

"SonarQube is designed well making it easy to use, simple to identify issues and find solutions to problems."

"Overall, I would rate SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) as a 9 out of 10."

"It is the best product we use for easy integration into YAML pipelines for scanning."

"The initial setup is simple. It requires some security, but it's simple."

"If code coverage is a low number then that's of great value to me."

"SonarQube is good in terms of code review and to report on basic vulnerabilities in your applications."

"I find SonarQube Cloud very easy to use and simple to integrate initially."

"It's enabled us to improve software quality and help us to disseminate best practices."

More SonarQube pros

Cons

"The solution could improve the time it takes to scan. When comparing it to SonarQube it does it in minutes while in Fortify Application Defender it can take hours."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The licensing can be a little complex."

"Support for older compilers/IDEs is lacking."

"I encountered many false positives for Python applications."

"The workbench is a little bit complex when you first start using it."

"Fortify Application Defender could improve by supporting more code languages, such as GRAAS and Groovy."

"The product should integrate industry-standard code review tools internally with its system. This would streamline the coding process, as developers wouldn't need multiple tools for code review and security checks. Many independent and open-source tools are available, from Apache to various libraries. Using multiple DevOps pipeline tools can slow the turnaround time."

More Fortify Application Defender cons

"We previously experienced issues with security but a segregated security violation has been implemented and the issues we experienced are being fixed."

"The documentation is not clear and it needs to be updated."

"For improvement, this solution could be offered on Docker and the cloud and the support for this solution could be improved. Customizing rules could also be made simpler."

"It would be helpful if notifications could go out to an extra person."

"SonarQube Cloud could improve its vulnerability detection compared to Veracode."

"The solution could improve by having better-consulting services."

"There are times that we have the database crash. However, this might be an issue with how we have configured it and not a software issue. Apart from this, I do not see any issues with the solution."

"We also use Fortify, which is another tool to find security errors. Fortify is a better security tool. It is better than SonarQube in finding errors. Sometimes, SonarQube doesn't find some of the errors that Fortify is able to find. Fortify also has a community, which SonarQube doesn't have. Its installation is a little bit complex. We need to install a database, install the product, and specify the version of the database and the product. They can simplify the installation and make it easier. We use docker for the installation because it is easier to use. Its dashboard needs to be improved. It is not intuitive. It is hard to understand the interface, and it can be improved to provide a better user experience."

More SonarQube cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is very complex, it's project based and can range from $10,000 to $200,000+ depending on the project type and size."

"The product’s price is much higher than other tools."

"The base licensing costs for the SaaS platform is about $900 USD per application, per year."

"Fortify Application Defender is very expensive."

"The price of this solution could be less expensive."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten. It comes as an annual cloud subscription. The tool's pricing is around 50 lakhs."

"The current pricing is quite cheap."

"Previously, the pricing was 17,000 euros for five million lines analyzed. However, they now charge $15,000 per one million lines, significantly increasing the cost."

"We are using the free, unlicensed version."

"We use the free version; there are no hidden costs or licensing required."

"I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"There are many different packages with different pricing options available. We are able to try what we have and if we need extra features we can upgrade the license."

"We're using the Community Edition, and we don't pay for anything."

"We are using the open-source version, which is available free of cost."

More SonarQube pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	41
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	79

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortify Application Defender?

I find the configuration of rules in Fortify Application Defender useful. Its integration is also easy.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortify Application Defender?

The product should integrate industry-standard code review tools internally with its system. This would streamline the coding process, as developers wouldn't need multiple tools for code review and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortify Application Defender?

We use the solution for fast code review. It is integrated into our DevOps pipeline.

See all answers

Is SonarQube the best tool for static analysis?

I am not very familiar with SonarQube and their solutions, so I can not answer. But if you are asking me about which tools that are the best for for Static Code Analysis, I suggest you have a look...

See all answers

Which gives you more for your money - SonarQube or Veracode?

SonarQube is easy to deploy and configure, and also integrates well with other tools to do quality code analysis. SonarQube has a great community edition, which is open-source and free. Easy to use...

See all answers

How would you decide between Coverity and Sonarqube?

We researched Coverity, but in the end, we chose SonarQube. SonarQube is a tool for reviewing code quality and security. It helps to guide our development teams during code reviews by providing rem...

See all answers

Comparisons

Checkmarx One vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 14% of the time

Coverity Static vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 5% of the time

Klocwork vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 5% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 5% of the time

Veracode vs Fortify Application Defender

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortify Application Defender Competitors

Checkmarx One vs SonarQube

Compared 28% of the time

Snyk vs SonarQube

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub Advanced Security vs SonarQube

Compared 6% of the time

Coverity Static vs SonarQube

Compared 5% of the time

Semgrep vs SonarQube

Compared 4% of the time

More SonarQube Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

January 2026

Download Fortify Application Defender product report

Buyer's Guide

SonarQube

January 2026

Download SonarQube product report

Also Known As

HPE Fortify Application Defender, Micro Focus Fortify Application Defender

Sonar, SonarQube Cloud

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

OpenText

SonarSource Sàrl

Overview

Micro Focus Security Fortify Application Defender is a runtime application self-protection (RASP) solution that helps you manage and mitigate risk from homegrown or third-party applications. It provides centralized visibility into application use and abuse while protecting from software vulnerability exploits and other violations in real time.

OpenText

SonarQube leads automated code review, enhancing code quality and security in AI-driven SDLCs. It analyzes pull requests, providing developers with actionable feedback and AI-driven fixes before code merges. Trusted by top enterprises, it supports SaaS and self-managed deployments.

SonarQube supports a wide range of programming languages and integrates seamlessly with CI/CD tools like Jenkins. It is renowned for its static code analysis, code coverage, and security vulnerability detection. While its open-source foundation and scalability are praised, users seek enhanced integration across multiple languages, better security features, and improved documentation. Despite challenges, its ability to automate code inspections and ensure compliance with coding standards makes it essential in software development processes, facilitating continuous improvement.

What are the most important features?

Language Support: Extensive support for multiple programming languages.
Custom Coding Rules: Allows defining project-specific rules.
Integration: Seamlessly works with Jenkins and CI/CD pipelines.
Quality Gates: Simplifies monitoring code quality.
Dashboards: Facilitates easy monitoring and management.
Static Code Analysis: Detects issues early in development.
Security Detection: Identifies vulnerabilities automatically.

What benefits should users look for?

Improved Code Quality: Enhances reliability and maintainability.
Security Assurance: Strengthens code against vulnerabilities.
Technical Debt Reduction: Ensures cleaner, maintainable code.
Efficient Feedback: Speeds up development cycles.
Standards Compliance: Aids in adhering to best practices.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and automotive, SonarQube is leveraged for static code analysis, automating code inspections, and ensuring compliance with stringent standards. Teams integrate it into their CI/CD pipelines to maintain high-quality code, identify security vulnerabilities, and enhance code maintainability.

SonarSource Sàrl

Sample Customers

ServiceMaster, Saltworks, SAP

Snowflake, Booking.com, Deutsche Bank, AstraZeneca, and Ford Motor Company.

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Application Defender vs. SonarQube

February 2026

Free Report: Fortify Application Defender vs. SonarQube

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortify Application Defender vs. SonarQube and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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