DevSecOps tools for application security, compared

Who this is for

This page is for teams choosing application security tools for a DevSecOps pipeline, or checking where their current stack leaves gaps. We build CRACI, so weigh that in. CRACI covers one stage of the pipeline, the build, and most tools here cover others. Every claim about another product comes from that vendor's own documentation, and most products have a longer CRACI vs X page.

What DevSecOps tools cover

A DevSecOps pipeline checks software at several points, and each type of tool looks at a different one. No single product covers every row at the same depth.

The build is the stage most toolchains leave out. Scanners check the code and the manifests before the build, and the running application after it, but the build is where dependencies are actually resolved and downloaded, and where a compromised package or CI action runs with access to your secrets.

How to choose

• Platform or best of breed? One platform means one contract, one dashboard and one set of policies. Specialized tools usually go deeper in their stage.
• Who fixes the findings? Tools that run in the IDE and on pull requests put findings in front of developers while the code is fresh. Check how each tool prioritizes, since alert volume decides whether anyone acts on them.
• Which source control and CI do you use? GitHub and GitLab bundle security into their own platforms. Most independent tools cover several CI systems. CRACI supports GitHub Actions only today, with GitLab CI and Jenkins on the roadmap.
• Does anything watch the build? Ask what your stack knows about a release build: which packages it fetched and which hosts it reached.
• What do you have to hand over? Customers, auditors and regulations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act increasingly ask for an SBOM per release and a record of how vulnerabilities were handled.
• How do you want to pay? Per developer, per committer, per contributor, per plan or by quote.

At a glance

Ten products do not fit one table, so they are split in two with the same rows. "Not stated" means the vendor pages we cite do not say either way. Pricing is as of September 2026.

AppSec suites and scanners

Platform-native and all-in-one

AppSec suites and scanners

Snyk

Snyk is a developer-first platform: SCA plus Snyk Code (SAST), Snyk Container and Snyk IaC, running in the IDE, the CLI, SCM integrations and CI. It prioritizes dependency findings with reachability, exploit maturity, EPSS and CVSS, and opens upgrade pull requests. Best for teams that want developers fixing issues from the editor onward. Watch out: its dependency tree comes from manifests and lockfiles, and the snyk sbom command is available only on Enterprise plans. CRACI vs Snyk

Checkmarx One

Checkmarx One is a broad AppSec platform: SAST, SCA, secrets, IaC, API security, DAST, containers and malicious package protection, with an ASPM layer on top. Its SCA uses exploitable path analysis, and policies can break builds. Best for organizations that want one vendor for application security testing. Watch out: the GitHub Action uploads a zip archive of your source for scanning (SCA Resolver can analyze on premises instead), and pricing is by quote. CRACI vs Checkmarx One and Checkmarx alternatives

Black Duck

Black Duck finds open source wherever it hides: package manager scans, signature and snippet scanning, and binary analysis of executables and firmware without source code. Its KnowledgeBase tracks more than 2,750 licenses, and Coverity adds SAST across 22 languages. Best for code with a long history of copied or vendored open source, and for checking third-party binaries. Watch out: pricing is quote-based, and its Fix PRs cover direct dependencies. CRACI vs Black Duck

Mend.io

Mend AppSec pairs Mend SCA, which traces the call graph through transitive dependencies, with Mend SAST for more than 30 languages. Mend Renovate keeps dependencies current across 90 or more package managers, and the Renovate CLI is free. Best for teams with a large backlog who want prioritization and automated updates together. Watch out: Mend's own docs recommend scanning after the build step, so accuracy depends on where in the pipeline you run it. CRACI vs Mend.io

Endor Labs

Endor Labs is built around function-level reachability, tracing code paths from your source to the vulnerable function in direct and transitive dependencies. It adds upgrade impact analysis, Endor Patches that backport fixes, AI SAST, secrets and container scanning, a Package Firewall and artifact signing. Best for teams drowning in dependency alerts. Watch out: its inventory comes from analyzing source code, and it does not run or restrict your builds. CRACI vs Endor Labs

Semgrep

Semgrep's AppSec platform combines Semgrep Code (SAST), Semgrep Supply Chain (SCA) and Semgrep Secrets. Supply Chain classifies findings as reachable, conditionally reachable or unreachable, and Semgrep says this reduces false positives by up to 98%. It also checks licenses, detects malicious dependencies and exports CycloneDX SBOMs. Best for teams that already write Semgrep rules, or small teams: the free plan covers up to 10 contributors. Watch out: paid products are priced separately, from $30 per contributor per month for Code or Supply Chain on the Teams plan.

Platform-native and all-in-one

GitHub Advanced Security

GitHub sells Secret Protection and Code Security (CodeQL, Copilot Autofix, dependency review) on top of the dependency graph and Dependabot, which every GitHub plan includes. Artifact attestations add signed provenance at SLSA v1.0 Build Level 2. Best for teams already on GitHub who want security inside pull requests. Watch out: the dependency graph describes the repository's manifests and lock files, and private repositories need a Team or Enterprise plan for the paid products. CRACI vs GitHub Advanced Security

GitLab Ultimate

GitLab builds security scanning into GitLab CI/CD. Basic SAST and secret detection are in every tier; dependency scanning, continuous vulnerability scanning, DAST and compliance features are in Ultimate. Container scanning can produce a CycloneDX SBOM, and runners can emit a SLSA 1.0 provenance statement. Best for teams that want source control, CI and security scanning from one vendor. Watch out: its scanners read lockfiles and dependency graph exports, and Ultimate is on custom pricing. CRACI vs GitLab CI

Aikido

Aikido puts SCA, SAST, secrets, IaC, cloud posture, containers, DAST and license scanning behind one dashboard. Its SCA uses function-level reachability, AutoFix opens pull requests, and the free Safe Chain tool blocks known malware in npm and PyPI installs. Best for smaller teams that want broad coverage quickly. Watch out: dependencies come from manifests and lockfiles, and its SOC 2 and ISO 27001 reports start on the Advanced plan. CRACI vs Aikido

ASPM platforms

Application security posture management (ASPM) platforms sit on top of the scanners. They connect to your repositories, pipelines and security tools, correlate the findings and prioritize risk across the development lifecycle. Apiiro maps your architecture from code to runtime in its Risk Graph. Cycode combines its own scanners with more than 100 connectors. OX Security aggregates third-party findings and checks CI/CD posture. Legit Security keeps an inventory of SDLC systems and the security controls on them. All four are compared in detail on the software supply chain security tools page.

Build and pipeline security

The tools above check code, dependencies and running applications. Build security tools watch the CI job itself. StepSecurity Harden-Runner is an agent on your existing GitHub Actions runners that ties outbound connections, processes and file writes to the workflow step that caused them, and can block egress outside an allowlist. Cycode's Cimon is an eBPF agent for CI jobs with similar monitoring. CRACI vs StepSecurity

CRACI

CRACI is a runner for GitHub Actions rather than an agent on one. You change runs-on to craci, and while each job runs in its own virtual machine, a package-aware proxy records every package it fetches, including packages restored from CI caches. Each job's SBOM states its completeness and exports as CycloneDX or SPDX. An egress policy, validated before the job starts, fails closed. The API returns SBOMs, network traces and provenance, and CRACI keeps re-evaluating the SBOMs of what shipped, with triage, routing to owning teams and policy gates that can block a build on findings or licenses. Builds run about twice as fast as on GitHub-hosted runners.

CRACI is not the right choice for SAST, secrets, IaC, container or DAST scanning, reachability analysis, or CI systems other than GitHub Actions today (GitLab CI and Jenkins are on the roadmap). For those stages pick from the tools above. Read more about build-time SBOM generation and pricing, or book a demo to see the record of a GitHub Actions build.

CRACI compared with each tool

• CRACI vs Snyk What your manifests declare vs what your build did.
• CRACI vs Aikido A broad AppSec suite vs deterministic build evidence.
• CRACI vs Sonatype Repository gatekeeping and SCA vs build evidence.
• CRACI vs Black Duck Code, snippet and binary scanning vs build evidence.
• CRACI vs Mend.io Dependency scanning vs dependency observation.
• CRACI vs Checkmarx AppSec testing platform vs build-time evidence.
• CRACI vs Endor Labs Reachability analysis vs build observation.
• CRACI vs JFrog Artifact management vs per-build evidence.
• CRACI vs GitHub Advanced Security Code, secret and dependency scanning vs build evidence.
• CRACI vs Dependabot Version updates vs knowing what your builds used.

Side by side

Several tools on one page, for when you are choosing a category, not one product.

• SCA tools compared Snyk, Sonatype, Black Duck, Mend, Checkmarx, Endor Labs and more.
• Vulnerability management tools compared Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7, Microsoft Defender and tools for the software you build.

DevSecOps tools FAQ

Short answers to common questions about DevSecOps and AppSec tools

What are DevSecOps tools?

DevSecOps tools build security checks into the software delivery pipeline instead of leaving them to a review at the end. The main types are SAST for your own code, secrets scanning, software composition analysis (SCA) for dependencies, IaC and container scanning, DAST against a running application, build and pipeline security, and ASPM platforms that correlate findings across all of them.

What is the difference between DevSecOps and application security?

Application security is the goal: software without exploitable flaws. DevSecOps is a way of working toward it, where security checks run automatically at each stage of development and delivery, owned by the teams that build the software rather than by a separate gate at release.

Which DevSecOps tool should I start with?

Start where your risk is. Most teams begin with SCA and secrets scanning, because vulnerable dependencies and leaked keys are common and cheap to find, then add SAST. If you have to prove what went into each release, or control what your builds can reach, add build and pipeline security. Programs with many repositories and scanners often add ASPM on top.

What is the difference between SAST, DAST and SCA?

SAST reads your own source code for flaws such as injection bugs. DAST tests the running application from the outside, the way an attacker would. SCA checks the open-source and third-party components you depend on for known vulnerabilities and license issues.

Do I need an all-in-one DevSecOps platform?

Not necessarily. Platforms such as Aikido, Checkmarx One and GitLab Ultimate put many scanners behind one contract and dashboard, which suits smaller teams and consolidation projects. Specialized tools usually go deeper in their area, such as reachability in SCA or recording the build. Many teams combine one broad platform with one or two specialized tools.

Where does CRACI fit in a DevSecOps toolchain?

In the build. CRACI is the runner for your GitHub Actions jobs: it records the packages each job actually pulled in as a CycloneDX or SPDX SBOM that states its own completeness, enforces an egress policy on the build network and keeps tracking vulnerabilities in what you shipped. It does not do SAST, secrets, IaC, container or DAST scanning.