Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

HCL AppScan vs Sonatype Lifecycle comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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
7.0
Sonatype Lifecycle boosts security and efficiency, enhancing developers' productivity, app release speed, and reducing costs through proactive risk management.
I have seen a return on investment regarding time saved, as we now need a team of fewer than five people to manage operations for legacy systems and multiple websites.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
We have seen cost savings and efficiency improvements as we now know what happens in what was previously a black box.
Principal DevSecOPs at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

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
5.7
Sonatype Lifecycle's customer service is praised for being efficient, knowledgeable, and professional, with minor improvements needed in response times.
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
Customer support is responsive, typically replying in under two hours
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
They are helpful when we raise any tickets.
Principal DevSecOPs at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

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
7.0
Sonatype Lifecycle scales flexibly across environments, though some face challenges with cluster setup and high-availability configurations.
It handles high availability at the database level, such as synchronizing JFrog repository servers without complicated configurations.
Analista De Sistemas at Dataprev
The scalability of Sonatype Lifecycle is robust, especially with its SaaS offering and ease of resource scaling, whether horizontally or vertically.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

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
8.0
Sonatype Lifecycle is highly stable, with minimal downtime and effective binary management, despite minor lags and evolving cluster technology.
Since we've been using HCL AppScan for about three months, we really have not encountered a false positive.
Founder Director at Techsa Services
Sonatype Lifecycle is very stable, especially in the binary repository management use case for managing binary artifacts.
Analista De Sistemas at Dataprev
Sonatype Lifecycle is stable technologically with minimal encountered issues.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Room For Improvement

HCL AppScan requires improvements in vulnerability detection, usability, integration, performance, support, pricing, and language/codebase compatibility to stay competitive.
Sonatype Lifecycle struggles with integration, reporting inconsistencies, and seeks enhancements in language support, cloud capabilities, and dashboard intuitiveness.
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
We also noticed a lack of detailed information for configuring Sonatype Lifecycle for high availability and data recovery.
Analista De Sistemas at Dataprev
The visibility and clarity instructions are lacking. Users, especially those less experienced, are often baffled by the breadth of Sonatype Lifecycle Nexus IQ server's capabilities and may not know where to start.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

HCL AppScan is considered expensive but cost-effective, with varied pricing opinions influenced by its premium features and discounts.
Sonatype Lifecycle's competitive pricing is justified by features and security benefits, though additional costs may arise for larger deployments.
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
For larger numbers like our case with 1,000 user licenses, JFrog becomes much more cost-effective, roughly ten times cheaper than Sonatype.
Analista De Sistemas at Dataprev
The price and cost revolve primarily around the deployment aspect.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Valuable Features

HCL AppScan detects vulnerabilities, integrates with agile processes, offers scalability, user-friendly features, and AI-enhanced rapid scanning for security.
Sonatype Lifecycle excels in DevOps integration, vulnerability detection, open-source governance automation, and customizable security measures with minimal false positives.
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
The integration into our CICD pipeline enables us to continuously monitor code changes and identify new vulnerabilities.
Principal DevSecOPs at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
We are true and through on compliances, ensuring certain GDPR and IT Goth have their own set of requirements and OWASP scans.
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
The most valuable feature for us is Sonatype Lifecycle's capability in identifying vulnerabilities.
Analista De Sistemas at Dataprev
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL AppScan
Ranking in Application Security Tools
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (17th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (6th)
Sonatype Lifecycle
Ranking in Application Security Tools
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (6th), Software Supply Chain Security (6th), AI Software Development (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.2%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sonatype Lifecycle is 2.0%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sonatype Lifecycle2.0%
HCL AppScan2.2%
Other95.8%
Application Security 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.
@RahulVerma  - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Engineer at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
Compliance used to slow us down. Sonatype Lifecycle turned it into an automated, streamlined step that accelerates delivery instead of blocking it.
Sonatype Lifecycle already does a nice job, but as you use it, you can’t help but notice a few spots where it could feel even smoother. Imagine opening it and immediately seeing a clearer, friendlier dashboard that tells you exactly what deserves your attention without digging around. As you move through your workflow, it would be great if the tool connected more naturally with what you’re already using, so everything just flows. And when an issue pops up, instead of leaving you guessing, it could guide you through what to do next in a way that feels simple and supportive. Even having a bit more visibility into anything happening behind the scenes would make the experience feel more complete. It’s already strong, but with touches like these, it could feel even more helpful and intuitive in everyday use.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Security Tools solutions are best for your needs.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

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 Business13
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise29
 

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...
How does Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle compare with SonarQube?
We like the data that Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle consistently delivers. This solution helps us in fixing and understanding the issues a lot quicker. The policy engine allows you to set up different t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle?
From my experience, the licensing side is pretty straightforward to handle. Most of the cost and pricing considerations really come down to how the solution is deployed. Since we work with partners...
What needs improvement with Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle?
Sonatype Lifecycle already does a nice job, but as you use it, you can’t help but notice a few spots where it could feel even smoother. Imagine opening it and immediately seeing a clearer, friendli...
 

Also Known As

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan
Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle, Nexus Lifecycle
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT
Genome.One, Blackboard, Crediterform, Crosskey, Intuit, Progress Software, Qualys, Liberty Mutual Insurance
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL AppScan vs. Sonatype Lifecycle and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.