Checkmarx vs Fortify

Quick Verdict

Both Checkmarx and Fortify are Gartner Magic Quadrant Leaders for application security testing. Checkmarx One is the better pick for teams that want SAST, SCA, DAST, and API security unified in one platform with ASPM-level prioritization. Fortify is the better pick for organizations running legacy languages like COBOL, ABAP, and Visual Basic, or those that need flexible on-premises and hybrid deployment options.

Feature Comparison

Checkmarx vs Fortify: Head-to-Head

Language and Framework Support

Checkmarx claims support for 75+ programming languages and 100+ frameworks. That covers most modern development stacks comprehensively. Fortify lists 33+ languages and 350+ frameworks, but its real differentiator is deep coverage of legacy languages. COBOL, ABAP, Visual Basic, Classic ASP, ColdFusion, and PL/SQL are all first-class targets. If your organization maintains mainframe code or older enterprise applications, Fortify covers ground that most modern SAST tools skip entirely.

Fortify also tracks over one million individual APIs across its supported languages, giving it granular detection capability for framework-specific vulnerabilities. Checkmarx does not publicly quantify its API coverage in the same way but covers a wide range of frameworks across its supported languages.

Developer Experience

Checkmarx has invested heavily in IDE integration. Plugins are available for VS Code, IntelliJ, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Cursor, and Windsurf. Developer Assist works preventatively, catching security issues as code is written rather than after a full scan completes. The platform has 75+ SDLC integrations covering SCM, CI/CD, ticketing, and communication tools.

Fortify provides IDE plugins and CI/CD integrations for major platforms, though the integration count is smaller. Fortify Audit Workbench is the primary interface for reviewing and triaging findings. The desktop client is functional but has a steeper learning curve compared to web-based dashboards.

Security Coverage

This is where the scope difference matters most. Checkmarx One is a full application security platform: SAST, SCA, DAST, IaC security, container security, API security, secrets detection, and malicious package protection. ASPM sits on top and prioritizes findings across all scanning engines based on application context. Organizations that would otherwise buy five or six separate tools can consolidate under Checkmarx One.

Fortify is a SAST tool with IaC scanning capabilities. It does one thing with serious depth — 1,700+ vulnerability categories — but if you need SCA, DAST, or API security, you will need to bring in additional tools. OpenText offers some complementary products, but they are not as tightly integrated as Checkmarx One’s unified platform.

Enterprise Features

Both tools serve regulated industries and offer compliance reporting, role-based access control, and audit trails. Checkmarx’s ASPM provides cross-scanner correlation and business-context prioritization, which is a significant advantage for large security programs managing thousands of findings.

Fortify’s flexible deployment model is its enterprise differentiator. On-premises deployment satisfies organizations that cannot send source code to the cloud. Fortify on Demand offers a managed SaaS option for teams that prefer not to maintain scanning infrastructure. Hybrid deployments combine both. Checkmarx also supports cloud and on-premises, but Fortify’s three-model approach has a longer track record.

Pricing

Neither tool publishes pricing. Both require contacting sales for a custom quote. Checkmarx One is sold as a platform subscription that covers all scanning engines, which can represent good value if you need multiple testing types. Fortify pricing depends on deployment model, scan volume, and language coverage. On-premises licenses have a different cost structure than Fortify on Demand subscriptions. Expect enterprise-level pricing from both vendors.

When to Choose Checkmarx

Choose Checkmarx if:

• You want SAST, SCA, DAST, and API security in a single platform instead of managing separate tools
• ASPM-level prioritization across multiple scanning engines matters to your security program
• Your development stack is primarily modern languages (Java, JavaScript, Python, Go, C#, etc.)
• You want broad IDE coverage including AI-powered coding assistants like Cursor and Windsurf
• Consolidating AppSec vendors and reducing tool sprawl is a goal

When to Choose Fortify

Choose Fortify if:

• You maintain legacy codebases in COBOL, ABAP, Visual Basic, Classic ASP, or ColdFusion
• On-premises deployment is a hard requirement (no source code in the cloud)
• You want the flexibility of on-premises, SaaS, or hybrid deployment
• Deep vulnerability category coverage (1,700+) across a wide API surface matters more than platform breadth
• Your organization already uses OpenText products and wants vendor alignment

Both tools are strong choices for enterprise SAST. The decision typically comes down to whether you need a unified AppSec platform (Checkmarx) or deep standalone SAST with legacy language support and flexible deployment (Fortify).

Frequently Asked Questions

Written by

Suphi Cankurt

Suphi Cankurt is an application security enthusiast based in Helsinki, Finland. He reviews and compares 129 AppSec tools across 10 categories on AppSec Santa. Learn more.