OWASP Zap vs Semgrep comparison

OWASP and Semgrep are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. OWASP is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0, while Semgrep is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.0. OWASP holds a 2.9% mindshare in SAST, compared to Semgrep’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of OWASP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Semgrep users who would recommend it.

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

8,774 Views
8,072 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Semgrep

Read 6 Semgrep reviews

4,928 Views
3,795 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Semgrep

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between OWASP Zap and Semgrep 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 OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep

June 2026

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Helped 900,747 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

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

14th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Semgrep

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

18th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Supply Chain Management Software (6th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (11th), Static Code Analysis (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of OWASP Zap is 2.9%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Semgrep is 2.4%, down 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 (%)
OWASP Zap	2.9%
Semgrep	2.4%
Other	94.7%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Amit Beniwal

Project Manager at Al Hassan LLC

Simplifies vulnerability discovery and has high quality support

There are areas for improvement with OWASP Zap, particularly in the alignment of vulnerabilities concerning CVSS scores. Sometimes, a vulnerability initially categorized as high severity may be reduced to medium or low over time after security patches are applied. This alignment with the present severity score and CVSS score could be improved.

Read full review

Manjunath Maneppagol

Cloud & Application Security at Sixt SE

Context-aware code analysis has reduced noise and now improves developer experience with actionable security findings

I have consistently observed that their scan time is an issue for mono repos. Sometimes with their AI-based scanning, when you triage that scan, the scan never completes or finishes(, which makes it difficult. Another consistent issue is that whenever you have a new repo to onboard to the platform, the tool ideally should detect the master branch by default. However, sometimes the tool fails to identify it and will never scan it unless manually somebody looks into it and fixes the issue. Although their support team is really good, this issue was present six or eight months ago during the POC and is still present now. If it is affecting multiple customers, it should be prioritized and fixed. I would say that their integration aspects could have been improved. I see a lot of different security solutions that provide flexibility to the security teams based on Jira project, team divisions, Slack, and all those can be very much easily customized. Semgrep needs to work on the enhancement of their notification capabilities. Currently, they are working on identifying business logic vulnerabilities or privilege escalation vulnerabilities by looking at the code, and they should continue to focus on and improve this effort. Regarding stability, whenever you have a mono-repo which is a very large repository, the scan never finishes or the scan never kicks in. At that time, you have to reach out to the support team and ask them to expand the resources in the back end to fix it. This is an issue I keep seeing often on that platform.

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

"Two features are valuable. The first one is that the scan gets completed really quickly, and the second one is that even though it searches in a limited scope, what it does in that limited scope is very good. When you use Zap for testing, you're only using it for specific aspects or you're only looking for certain things. It works very well in that limited scope."

"The OWASP's tool is free of cost, which gives it a great advantage, especially for smaller companies to make use of the tool and at the same time give a comprehensive report with great confidence to the client for helping them in their go-live decision."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. I think it's stable enough. I don't see any crashes within the application, so its stability is high."

"The stability of the solution is very good."

"One valuable feature of OWASP Zap is that it is simple to use."

"We use OWASP Zap for web application security scanning."

"The product discovers more vulnerabilities compared to other tools."

"Simple to use, good user interface."

More OWASP Zap pros

"Semgrep flourishes with the SAST, secret scanning, and Software Composition Analysis types of scanning."

"Since implementing Semgrep, I have noticed significant outcomes, for example, I can resolve vulnerabilities that previously took four days in under a day, saving both time and money, thus enhancing our return on investment."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to write our custom rules."

"Compared to other competitors in the market, the AI-backed capability is the biggest strength of Semgrep."

"The feature is easy to use, saves a lot of time, and is streamlined in nature."

"The best part of Semgrep is its ease of integration with CI/CD pipelines and how it is a developer-friendly tool."

Cons

"They stopped their support for a short period. They've recently started to come back again. In the early days, support was much better."

"We get too many false positives and that should definitely be improved."

"The technical support team must be proactive."

"While the solution can scale to a certain extent, it cannot scale a lot."

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

"Lacks resources where users can internally access a learning module from the tool."

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

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

More OWASP Zap cons

"However, as a tool it is really complex to maintain and to use, and it has a huge price tag."

"I have consistently observed that their scan time is an issue; sometimes with their AI-based scanning, when you triage that scan, the scan never completes or finishes, which makes it difficult."

"Semgrep can be improved by making it more user-friendly."

"I give Semgrep a six out of 10 simply because there are other tools that are better than this out there."

"There should be more information on how to acquire the system, catering to beginners in application security, to make it more user-friendly."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This app is completely free and open source. So there is no question about any pricing."

"This solution is open source and free."

"OWASP Zap is free to use."

"The tool is open-source."

"It is highly recommended as it is an open source tool."

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

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

"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."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

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	22

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 ...

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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 needs improvement with OWASP Zap?

The improvement that has to be done for APIs focuses on manual activities where the feature exists, but it is not at the same level as what Burp Suite does with intercepting and tools such as Postm...

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What needs improvement with Semgrep?

As we use Semgrep for secret scanning, I know it is an open-source tool. Oftentimes, that leads to the refinement of the engine, but oftentimes Semgrep ends up flagging a lot of false positive valu...

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What is your primary use case for Semgrep?

I have used Semgrep more as a testing and a POC tool. So, there is no consistent usage of Semgrep, but I have used the tool multiple times for POC purposes. As a DevSecOps Security Engineer, my mai...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Semgrep?

My advice to others looking into using Semgrep is to keep in mind that this is an open-source tool. I gave Semgrep an overall rating of 6.5 out of 10.

See all answers

Comparisons

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

Compared 11% of the time

Acunetix vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

SonarQube vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 8% of the time

Qualys Web Application Scanning vs OWASP Zap

Compared 6% of the time

More OWASP Zap Competitors

SonarQube vs Semgrep

Compared 17% of the time

Aikido Security vs Semgrep

Compared 8% of the time

Snyk vs Semgrep

Compared 7% of the time

Black Duck SCA vs Semgrep

Compared 5% of the time

Arnica vs Semgrep

Compared 4% of the time

More Semgrep Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

June 2026

Download OWASP Zap product report

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

May 2026

Download Semgrep product report

Also Known As

No data available

Semgrep Code, Semgrep Supply Chain, Semgrep AppSec Platform

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

Semgrep is an advanced static analysis tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and enforce coding standards, catering primarily to professionals with a focus on enhancing code security and quality.

Engineered for software development environments, Semgrep delivers efficient security feedback with minimal setup. By offering a rich collection of rule sets, it allows customization and integration into CI/CD pipelines, supporting continuous code examination. Semgrep not only uncovers hidden flaws but also enforces best practices, making it a valuable asset for development teams seeking to build secure and reliable software.

What are the most important features of Semgrep?

Customizable Rules: Allows users to define specific rules to match unique coding requirements.
Open Rule Repository: Provides access to a vast array of pre-defined rules covering common security issues.
CI/CD Integration: Seamlessly integrates into development workflows, providing immediate feedback.
Multi-language Support: Detects issues across different programming languages, enhancing its usability.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security Posture: Elevates the security standards of codebases.
Time Efficiency: Reduces time spent on manual code reviews.
Adaptability: Easily adapts to evolving coding standards and practices.
Cost-effectiveness: Minimizes the need for external security audits.

In industry applications, Semgrep is a popular choice for sectors such as finance and healthcare, where code integrity and security are paramount. Its integration capabilities allow for effective oversight of compliance and secure coding standards without disrupting existing workflows. This adaptability ensures it meets sector-specific requirements, making it a trusted tool in fields where data privacy and protection are critical.

Semgrep

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

Policygenius, Tide, Lyft, Thinkific, FloQast, Vanta, and Fareportal

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep

June 2026

Free Report: OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep

Find out what your peers are saying about OWASP Zap vs. Semgrep and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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