Rapid7 AppSpider vs SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) comparison

Rapid7 AppSpider vs. SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube)

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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

Rapid7 AppSpider

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

32nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SonarQube Server (formerly ...

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

116

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (1st), Software Development Analytics (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Rapid7 AppSpider is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) is 22.7%, down from 27.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Rizwan-Alam

Head Information Security at Akhtar Fuiou Technologies

Easy automated web app scanning, but gives many false positives and isn't always stable

One of the challenges I have with AppSpider is that it gives you a lot of false positives, especially when compared to other solutions. This is the main aspect that I hope to see Rapid7 improve on. Beyond reducing false positives, I would also like to see them implement better reporting features, particularly in the executive summary type of reports which need to be user-friendly and easily understood by non-technical people. The recommendations and solutions on these reports could always be improved to make them more relevant, too. Lastly, the stability isn't that great, and sometimes it becomes non-responsive. I feel like the stability of the application is very average and currently needs more work.

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Sthembiso Zondi

Head of Software Engineering at ronaldmariah@gmail.com

Consistent improvements in code quality and security with effective integration and reliable technical support

The features of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) that I find most useful are the suggestions received from reviewing the code. When they review the code, they provide suggestions on how to fix it, and we find those very useful from a development perspective. We use SonarQube Server's (formerly SonarQube) centralized management and visualization of code quality metrics on the dashboard because that's the executive dashboard that we send to the executives to show where we are in terms of quality, security, and where the company can improve. We use that for organizational improvement purposes. The ability to tailor metrics tracking in SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) has been beneficial to my team. There are team-specific dashboards which are related to specific repositories they utilize, and we have that aggregative dashboard that shows the whole organization's performance. We can drill down per specific repository, which makes it easier for the team to improve specific things.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The setup is usually straightforward."

"AppSpider's most valuable feature is reporting - everything is stored in the local database so it can be sent to other machines."

"I would say that it is stable, as I am not aware of any major issues."

"One of the most valuable features of AppSpider is its broad range of authentication identification, which is a key reason for its utilization."

"The initial deployment is very straightforward and simple. The product is stable if configured properly."

"The most valuable feature of Rapid7 AppSpider is the vulnerability reporting data. Additionally, the data is reported in a convenient way rather than seeing them as a PDF. We are able to generate all the reports exactly what we want in a flexible way."

"The entire solution is interactive and has a point-and-click user experience, which makes it easy to find items or drill down on information. You don't need specialized skills to use the product."

"It is really accurate and the rate of false positives is very low."

More Rapid7 AppSpider pros

"I like that it's easy to navigate not just in terms of code findings but you can actually see them in the context of your source code because it gives you a copy of your code with the items that it found and highlights them. You can see it directly in your code, so you can easily go back and make the corrections in the code. It basically finds the problems for you and tells you where they are."

"SonarQube: Recording of issues over a period of time, with an indication of the addition in the new issues or the reduction of existing issues (which were fixed)."

"Integrate it into the developers' workbench so that they can bench check their code against what will be done in the server-based audit version."

"Using SonarQube benefits us because we are able to avoid the inclusion of malware in our applications."

"The solution offers a very good community edition."

"Engineers have also learned from the results and have improved themselves as engineers. This will help them with their careers."

"The overall quality of the indicator is good."

"It's a great product. If you are in a hurry and just want to focus on the functional requirements of any kind of project, SonarQube is highly helpful. It enables the developers to code securely. SonarQube has a Community edition, which is open source and free. There are also three proprietary or paid versions: Enterprise edition, Data Center edition, and Developer edition."

More SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) pros

Cons

"AppSpider has some problems with the RAM needed while scanning."

"The solution is too slow. It could take a full day to scan. Competitors are much faster."

"The enterprise interface is too simple. It should be more customizable."

"It needs better integration with mobile applications."

"The product needs to be able to scale for large companies, like ours. We have millions of IP addresses that need to be scanned, and the scalability is not great."

"The tech support is responsive but issues remain unresolved."

"One of the challenges I have with AppSpider is that it gives you a lot of false positives, especially when compared to other solutions."

"This price of this solution is a little bit expensive."

More Rapid7 AppSpider cons

"In terms of analysis and findings, other tools provide more in-depth insights and detailed steps to mitigate or handle issues."

"Monitoring is a feature that can be improved in the next version."

"Code security scanning could be improved."

"There needs to be a shareable reporting piece or something we can click and generate easily."

"It requires advanced heuristics to recognize more complex constructs that could be disregarded as issues."

"Although it has Sonar built into it, it is still lacking. Customization features of identifying a particular attack still need to be worked on. To give you an example: if we want to scan and do a false positive analysis, those types of features are missing. If we want to rescan something from a particular point that is a feature that is also missing. It’s in our queue. That will hopefully save a lot of time."

"The solution is a bit lacking on the security side, in terms of finding and identifying vulnerabilities."

"New plug-ins should be integrated into SonarCloud to give more flexibility to the product."

More SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is pretty fair."

"The price of Rapid7 AppSpider cost 9,000 annually but there is limited usage. Large companies are able to negotiate a better price or a better deal for the usage with the vendor."

"AppSpider is closed-source software and you need to acquire a license in order to use it."

"The licensing cost depends on the number of users."

"It is expensive if you want to buy the Enterprise version that is able to scan multiple applications at once."

"The development license cost is reasonable, and we've had no concerns about SonarQube when it comes to cost."

"The tool's pricing is reasonable."

"It's an open-source solution, with no additional costs."

"We use the tool's community edition."

"SonarQube is a fairly affordable solution for a larger scale if you have a specific role or specific department for secure code."

"We're using an older version because it is the open-source flavor of it and we can continue using it at no cost. We're not paying any licensing at all, which was another factor in choosing this route so that we can learn and grow with it and not be committed to licenses and other similar things. If we choose to get something else, we have to relearn, but we don't have to relicense. Basically, we're paying no license costs."

"We're using their free Community Edition version."

"I was using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."

More SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) 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%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 AppSpider?

The price is not high, but for Japanese customers, localization may incur additional costs.

What needs improvement with Rapid7 AppSpider?

For Japanese customers, localization is needed. The product should offer a GUI in Japanese and provide Japanese reports for end-users.

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 AppSpider?

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments.

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...

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...

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...

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Product Reports

Rapid7 AppSpider

Download Rapid7 AppSpider product report

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube)

Download SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) product report

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) report

Also Known As

AppSpider

Sonar

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Rapid7

Sonar

Overview

SPAs, APIs, mobile—the evolution of application technology is measured in months, not years. Is your web application security testing tool designed to keep up? AppSpider lets you collect all the information needed to test all the apps so that you aren’t left with gaping application risks.

Our dynamic application security testing (DAST) solution crawls to the deepest, darkest corners of even the most modern and complex apps to effectively test for risk and get you the insight you need to remediate faster. With AppSpider on your side (or, rather, all of your sides), you’ll be able to scan all the apps today and always be ready for whatever comes next.

Rapid7

SonarQube Server enhances code quality and security via static code analysis. It detects vulnerabilities, improves standards, and reduces technical debt, integrating into CI/CD pipelines.

SonarQube Server is a comprehensive tool for enhancing code quality and security. It offers static code analysis to identify vulnerabilities, improve coding standards, and reduce technical debt. By integrating into CI/CD pipelines, it provides automated checks for adherence to best practices. Organizations use it for code inspection, security testing, and compliance, ensuring development environments with better maintainability and fewer issues.

What are the key features of SonarQube Server?

Support for 20+ languages: Extensive programming language support suitable for diverse coding environments.
Custom coding rules: Allows for tailored rule sets to match specific coding standards.
Flexible quality gates: Define criteria for code acceptance at various intervals.
CI/CD integration: Seamless integration with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment tools.
Rich interface: User-friendly dashboard with detailed visual insights.

What benefits should users expect from SonarQube Server?

Improved code quality: Enhanced analysis contributes to fewer bugs and improved coding practices.
Security enhancements: Identifies and mitigates security vulnerabilities pre-emptively.
Maintainability: Reduces technical debt, yielding long-term development efficiency.
Customizable: Flexibility in configuration aligns with specific project needs.

Many industries implement SonarQube Server to uphold coding standards, maintain security protocols, and streamline their software development lifecycle. In sectors like finance and healthcare, adhering to regulations and ensuring reliable software is critical, making SonarQube Server invaluable. It is often integrated into CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that code changes meet set standards before deployment. This approach enhances productivity and maintains compliance with industry-specific requirements.

Sonar

Sample Customers

Microsoft

Information Not Available

Rapid7 AppSpider vs. SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube)