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AI Tool Comparison

Comparing as AI Application Security (SAST/SCA/DAST)
Semgrep vs Checkmarx

Compare features, pricing, pros & cons, and user ratings to decide which AI tool is best for your needs.

Semgrep

Semgrep

VS
Checkmarx

Checkmarx

Verdict by Category

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Detailed Comparison

Feature
Semgrep
Checkmarx
Pricing
FreemiumSemgrep Community Edition is completely free and open-source under LGPL-2.1 with no usage limits, no account required, and no artificial restrictions — a genuine free SAST engine for individual developers and teams. Team plan at approximately $35/contributor/month bundles Semgrep Code (SAST), Semgrep Supply Chain (SCA), and Semgrep Secrets together with Semgrep Assistant AI triage, cross-file analysis, 20,000+ Pro rules, SSO, PR/MR integration, and IDE plugins. Modules can also be purchased separately (approximately $30 each for SAST and SCA, $15 for Secrets) for teams needing only specific capabilities. Enterprise plan at custom pricing adds dedicated support and SLAs, advanced RBAC, custom deployment options, Semgrep Guardian pipeline builder, AI Memories across all repositories, MCP server integration, and advanced compliance reporting. Contact Semgrep through semgrep.dev for enterprise pricing.
EnterpriseCheckmarx does not publish transparent pricing. All plans require direct engagement with the sales team. Enterprise contracts are custom-priced based on developer seats, number of applications, scan volume, and selected modules (SAST, SCA, DAST, API Security, IaC, container, supply chain). Reference pricing ranges from approximately $25,000 to $150,000+ per year for typical enterprise deployments. A free trial and personalized demo are available through the Checkmarx sales team at checkmarx.com. Volume discounts and multi-year commitments are standard in enterprise negotiations.
Categories
AI Cybersecurity ToolsAI Coding Assistants
AI Cybersecurity ToolsAI Coding Assistants
Summary
Open-source SAST and AI AppSec platform — custom rules, Semgrep Assistant, and Multimodal engine for AI-generated code
Unified enterprise AppSec with SAST, SCA, DAST and agentic AI security for Fortune 500
Semgrep

Semgrep Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Genuinely free open-source SAST engine (LGPL-2.1) with no account or usage limits — real value, not a crippled demo
  • 100M+ scans/year at Figma, Dropbox, Okta, Lyft, Snowflake — proven at scale in demanding engineering environments
  • YAML custom rules — most readable, maintainable, and auditable rule format in the AppSec market
  • Semgrep Multimodal (2026) — hybrid rule + LLM engine reporting 8x more true positives with 50% less noise
  • Semgrep Assistant AI Memories auto-applies past triage decisions — no double-reviewing the same false positive
  • MCP server integration (2025) — AI coding assistants can call Semgrep scans in real-time as code is generated
  • Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader for Application Security Testing (2025), $204M raised, Menlo/Lightspeed/Sequoia-backed

Cons

  • Commercial Team/Enterprise plans add up quickly when stacking multiple modules (SAST + SCA + Secrets)
  • Requires source code access — cannot scan compiled binaries unlike Veracode
  • No built-in developer security training module (unlike Checkmarx Codebashing or Veracode eLearning)
  • GitLab Ultimate packages the open-source engine for free — reduces incremental value for GitLab users
  • Advanced AI features (Memories, MCP server, Multimodal) gated to higher-tier paid plans
Checkmarx

Checkmarx Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in Application Security Testing for 7 consecutive years — industry's highest analyst validation
  • $150M+ ARR, 1,800+ enterprise customers, 60% of Fortune 500 — most widely deployed enterprise AppSec platform
  • Unified SAST + SCA + DAST + API + IaC + container + supply chain in one platform — reduces AppSec tool sprawl
  • Agentic AppSec (2026) — autonomous AI agents proactively protect SDLC without manual intervention
  • 75+ languages and 100+ frameworks supported — most comprehensive polyglot coverage in the market
  • AI Security module addresses LLM-integrated application vulnerabilities — critical as AI-generated code proliferates
  • Codebashing developer training embeds security education directly into the developer workflow

Cons

  • No public pricing — enterprise contracts required, often $25K-$150K+/year
  • Steep learning curve for advanced query customization and policy configuration
  • Heavy resource usage during scans can slow CI/CD pipelines if not tuned
  • Complex platform with many modules may overwhelm smaller security teams
  • Premium pricing places it out of reach for SMBs and startups