OWASP Zap vs Polaris Platform comparison

The compared OWASP and Black Duck solutions aren't in the same category. OWASP is ranked #10 in SAST , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 3.5% mindshare in the category. Black Duck is ranked #12 in SCA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of OWASP users are willing to recommend the solution.

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

7,287 Views
6,704 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Polaris Platform

Read 1 Polaris Platform review

1,625 Views
699 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Polaris Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between OWASP Zap and Polaris Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Veracode, Checkmarx and others in Static Application Security Testing (SAST).

To learn more, read our detailed Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

February 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 881,757 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

OWASP Zap

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (10th)

Polaris Platform

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

3.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (12th), Static Code Analysis (12th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Quality Assurance solutions, they serve different purposes. OWASP Zap is designed for Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and holds a mindshare of 3.5%, down 4.9% compared to last year.
Polaris Platform, on the other hand, focuses on Software Composition Analysis (SCA), holds 1.8% mindshare, down 1.9% since last year.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
OWASP Zap	3.5%
SonarQube	18.2%
Checkmarx One	10.3%
Other	68.0%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Polaris Platform	1.8%
Black Duck SCA	11.9%
Snyk	10.5%
Other	75.8%

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Featured Reviews

Prasant Pokarnaa

Delivery Head - DevOps at Datamato Technologies

Effective vulnerability identification enhances security scans but AI-driven enhancements are needed

OWASP is only meant for two or three different types of scans. It is a tool which will scan the code for security for vulnerabilities We were able to convince the customers to really remove those rules when GitLab was able to show the results. Customers should be aware that GitLab is not just a…

Read full review

Alina-Eugenia Negulescu

Head of Procurement and Vendor Manger at twoday

Company consistently identifies security vulnerabilities with current solution but considers moving to a more developer-oriented tool due to complexity and costs

I wouldn't recommend it for small and medium customers, both in terms of the complexity and organizational processes and operational processes around it. I wouldn't go with Black Duck. It's not straightforward as it is with more developer-oriented and plug-and-play versions, so it requires a bit of knowledge and documentation to set it up. On the support part, in the past, we had some issues regarding the availability of the information on the knowledge portal. That was particularly due to the fact that when they integrated their knowledge hub or knowledge portal different kind of documentation, they have not adapted the text. There were circular references on the documentation that was misleading and confusing our people rather than helping them.

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

"Simple and easy to learn and master."

"The community edition updates services regularly. They add new vulnerabilities into the scanning list."

"The ZAP scan and code crawler are valuable features."

"The application scanning feature is the most valuable feature."

"OWASP Zap is a good tool, one of my favorites for a long time, and I would recommend it."

"OWASP is quite matured in identifying the vulnerabilities."

"OWASP Zap is straightforward to use. If someone doesn't have the budget for tools like Burp Suite, OWASP Zap is an excellent alternative."

"It has improved my organization with faster security tests."

More OWASP Zap pros

"We have detected security vulnerabilities, which is absolutely one big benefit."

Cons

"It would be beneficial to enhance the algorithm to provide better summaries of automatic scanning results."

"The documentation is lacking and out-of-date, it really needs more love."

"Zap could improve by providing better reports for security and recommendations for the vulnerabilities."

"I would like to see a version of “repeater” within OWASP ZAP, a tool capable of sending from one to 1000 of the same requests, but with preselected modified fields, changing from a predetermined word list, or manually created."

"Sometimes, we get some false positives."

"OWASP Zap could benefit from a noise cancellation feature like that of Burp Suite Professional, where AI helps reduce certain non-critical findings."

"There's very little documentation that comes with OWASP Zap."

"As security evolves, we would like DevOps built into it. As of now, Zap does not provide this."

More OWASP Zap cons

"I wouldn't recommend it for small and medium customers, both in terms of the complexity and organizational processes and operational processes around it."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's free and open, currently under the Apache 2 license. If ZAP does what you need it to do, selling a free solution is a very easy."

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

"We have used the freeware version. I believe Zap only has freeware."

"The tool is open source."

"OWASP ZAP is a free tool provided by OWASP’s engineers and experts. There is an option to donate."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"It is open source, and we can scan freely."

"This is an open-source solution and can be used free of charge."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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.

See recommendations

881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

University

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

No data available

Questions from the Community

Is OWASP Zap better than PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro?

OWASP Zap and PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro have many similar features. OWASP Zap has web application scanning available with basic security vulnerabilities while Burp Suite Pro has it available with ...

See all answers

What do you like most about OWASP Zap?

The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OWASP Zap?

OWASP might be cost-effective, however, people prefer to use the free edition available as open source.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Polaris Platform?

In my opinion, I think that it's a very good product for mature companies. It is quite expensive compared with competitors, with other providers of similar services of application security manageme...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Polaris Platform?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Polaris Platform?

The product teams use them under supervision from the security department. I'm not extremely familiar with the details on how the product teams are using it, but I think they have integrated it int...

See all answers

Comparisons

SonarQube vs OWASP Zap

Compared 15% of the time

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 14% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 8% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

Compared 7% of the time

More OWASP Zap Competitors

SonarQube vs Polaris Platform

Compared 22% of the time

Black Duck SCA vs Polaris Platform

Compared 14% of the time

Coverity Static vs Polaris Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Software Risk Manager ASPM vs Polaris Platform

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub Code Scanning vs Polaris Platform

Compared 4% of the time

More Polaris Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

January 2026

Download OWASP Zap product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

February 2026

Download Polaris Platform product report

Overview

OWASP Zap is a free and open-source web application security scanner.

The solution helps developers identify vulnerabilities in their web applications by actively scanning for common security issues.

With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Zap is a popular choice among developers for ensuring the security of their web applications.

OWASP

Polaris Platform is a cloud-native application security testing solution tailored for modern development and DevSecOps teams, integrating multiple security-analysis engines to enhance software security.

As a unified platform, Polaris consolidates static code analysis, open-source dependency scanning, and dynamic testing, offering comprehensive security assessments suited to different stages of the software development lifecycle. This approach allows for strategic, flexible security testing that aligns with specific project or application needs, seamlessly integrating into existing workflows without requiring generic scans.

What are the key features of Polaris Platform?

Static Code Analysis: Efficiently detects security vulnerabilities in the source code.
Open-source Dependency Scanning: Identifies and manages risks associated with third-party libraries.
Dynamic Testing: Simulates real-world attacks to evaluate application security in active environments.
Integrated Platform: Combines various security tools for a streamlined testing process.

What benefits should users expect from using Polaris Platform?

Enhanced Security Insight: Provides detailed, actionable reports on potential vulnerabilities.
Seamless Integration: Fits smoothly into existing development workflows, minimizing disruption.
Flexibility: Allows tailored security assessments according to project phases or requirements.

Polaris Platform implementation varies across industries, with tech companies utilizing it for securing app ecosystems, while financial sectors leverage its comprehensive testing to protect sensitive data. Healthcare providers adopt it to ensure compliance with regulations and maintain data integrity.

Black Duck

Sample Customers

1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Amazon 5. Facebook 6. Twitter 7. LinkedIn 8. Netflix 9. Adobe 10. PayPal 11. Salesforce 12. Cisco 13. Oracle 14. Intel 15. HP 16. Dell 17. VMware 18. Symantec 19. McAfee 20. Citrix 21. Red Hat 22. Juniper Networks 23. SAP 24. Accenture 25. Deloitte 26. Ernst & Young 27. PwC 28. KPMG 29. Capgemini 30. Infosys 31. Wipro 32. TCS

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

February 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Veracode, Checkmarx and others in Static Application Security Testing (SAST). Updated: February 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Static Application Security Testing (SAST) 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.