Fortify Alternatives

Why Look for Fortify Alternatives?

Fortify Static Code Analyzer has been in enterprise application security for over a decade. Eleven consecutive years as a Gartner Leader, 33+ language support, and 1,700+ vulnerability categories made it the default SAST choice for large organizations, especially in government, finance, and defense. But defaults get questioned, and teams are evaluating alternatives for several practical reasons.

Cost sits at the top of most lists. Fortify is enterprise software priced accordingly, and the licensing model is not transparent. Organizations paying six figures annually often wonder whether newer tools could deliver comparable coverage for less. The OpenText acquisition of Micro Focus in 2023 made things murkier. Vendor acquisitions tend to mean pricing changes, product consolidation, and shifting roadmap priorities. Some Fortify customers report slower support response times and worry about the product’s direction under new ownership.

On the technical side, Fortify scans are thorough but slow. Deep interprocedural analysis across large codebases can take hours, which creates friction in CI/CD pipelines where developers expect feedback on pull requests within minutes. The audit-centric workflow, built around Fortify Audit Workbench, assumes a security team will triage findings before developers see them. That model works in some organizations but clashes with shift-left workflows where developers own their own security findings. Teams that have moved to modern SAST tools with fast IDE feedback and developer-friendly interfaces often find Fortify’s workflow feels dated.

Top Fortify Alternatives

1. Checkmarx

Checkmarx One is the most direct competitor to Fortify in the enterprise SAST market. Both target large organizations in regulated industries, both hold Gartner Leader status, and both provide deep source code analysis with taint tracking. Where Checkmarx pulls ahead is platform breadth. Checkmarx One bundles SAST, SCA, DAST, IaC security, container scanning, API security, and secrets detection, with an ASPM layer that correlates findings across all scanners.

The ASPM prioritization is worth calling out. Fortify generates thousands of findings on large codebases, and teams spend real time triaging what matters. Checkmarx’s ASPM layer uses business context and exploitability data to surface the findings that actually pose risk, which helps with the noise problem Fortify users know well. Checkmarx supports 75+ languages, more than doubling Fortify’s coverage.

Best for: Enterprise teams that want a unified AppSec platform covering SAST, SCA, DAST, and more. License: Commercial Key difference: Full application security suite with ASPM prioritization. Similar enterprise positioning to Fortify but with broader scanning coverage.

Checkmarx review

2. Semgrep

Semgrep reset expectations for what a SAST scanner should feel like. Its rule syntax mirrors the code you are scanning for, so writing a custom detection takes minutes rather than the days required with Fortify’s custom rule framework. The open-source engine covers 30+ languages and completes scans in seconds. The median CI scan time is 10 seconds, which is a different order of magnitude from Fortify.

Semgrep Pro adds cross-file dataflow analysis, taint tracking, and a managed rule registry with rules maintained by Semgrep’s security research team. Semgrep Supply Chain handles SCA, and Semgrep Secrets detects hardcoded credentials. The CLI-first workflow fits naturally into CI/CD pipelines, and the web dashboard gives security teams visibility without requiring a heavyweight server deployment.

The trade-off is clear: Semgrep does not support legacy languages like COBOL or ABAP, and the open-source engine is limited to single-file analysis. For organizations running modern language stacks where speed and customization matter more than legacy language support, Semgrep is the strongest alternative to Fortify.

Best for: Security-focused teams that want fast scans, easy custom rules, and a modern CLI-first workflow. License: Open-source (LGPL-2.1) with commercial Pro tier Key difference: Pattern-matching rules that look like code. 10-second median CI scans versus Fortify’s longer analysis times.

Semgrep review

3. Coverity

Coverity performs interprocedural dataflow and path-sensitive analysis at a depth that rivals Fortify’s own engine. It covers 22 languages and 200+ frameworks, with particular strength in C/C++ and Java. The tool is TUV SUD certified for safety-critical development under ISO 26262 and IEC 61508, which is why it became the standard in automotive, aerospace, and industrial applications.

Where Coverity differs from Fortify is precision. Coverity consistently produces fewer false positives than most SAST tools, and on large codebases that matters a lot. If you spend half your triage time dismissing false positives in Fortify, you will notice the difference. Coverity is now part of Black Duck Software (formerly Synopsys Software Integrity), which also offers SCA through Black Duck SCA.

For teams where C/C++ is a significant part of the codebase, Coverity is often the first alternative evaluated. Fortify handles C/C++ adequately, but Coverity’s analysis depth in these languages is hard to match.

Best for: Enterprise teams with large C/C++ or Java codebases that need precise, low-false-positive analysis. License: Commercial Key difference: Deepest interprocedural analysis available. Safety-certified for automotive and industrial use.

Coverity review

4. Snyk Code

Snyk Code takes the opposite approach to Fortify’s audit-centric model. Instead of running batch scans and routing findings through a security team, Snyk Code scans in real time inside the developer’s IDE. Findings appear as developers type, and the DeepCode AI engine generates fix suggestions trained on millions of real-world code patches.

This developer-first workflow reduces the feedback loop from days to seconds. Fortify’s model assumes developers will receive a list of findings after the security team has triaged them. Snyk Code assumes developers should see and fix issues during development, before code is even committed. For organizations trying to shift security left, this is a fundamentally different operating model.

Snyk Code supports 20+ languages and integrates with VS Code, IntelliJ, and other popular IDEs. As part of the broader Snyk platform, it connects to Snyk Open Source (SCA), Snyk Container, and Snyk IaC. A free tier exists for individual developers and small teams.

Best for: Developer teams that want inline IDE feedback with AI-generated fix suggestions. License: Commercial (free tier available) Key difference: Real-time IDE scanning with AI fix suggestions. Developer-first approach versus Fortify’s security-team-first model.

Snyk Code review

5. SonarQube

SonarQube occupies a different niche than Fortify. Where Fortify focuses exclusively on security vulnerabilities, SonarQube combines code quality analysis (bugs, code smells, duplication, complexity) with security scanning across 35+ languages and 6,000+ rules. The free Community Edition covers basic security rules for 19 languages. Paid tiers unlock taint analysis, branch analysis, and PR decoration.

The quality gate system is SonarQube’s strongest feature for CI/CD integration. You define pass/fail criteria for code quality and security metrics, and the pipeline blocks merges that do not meet the bar. Fortify does not have an equivalent code quality dimension. For teams that want a single tool covering both quality and security, SonarQube removes the need for two separate tools.

SonarQube is not as deep on security as Fortify. The Community Edition lacks taint analysis entirely, and even the paid tiers do not match Fortify’s 1,700+ vulnerability categories. But for many teams, SonarQube’s combination of quality and security at a lower price point is a better fit than Fortify’s security-only depth.

Best for: Teams that want code quality and security analysis together with quality gates. License: Free Community Edition / Commercial Key difference: Combines code quality metrics with security scanning. Free Community Edition covers basic needs.

SonarQube review

6. Veracode SAST

Veracode is Fortify’s longest-standing enterprise rival. Both are Gartner Leaders, both serve regulated industries, and both offer deep analysis across broad language sets. The differentiator is Veracode’s binary analysis approach. You upload compiled bytecode rather than source code, which means the vendor never sees your source. For organizations where source code confidentiality is a compliance requirement, this matters.

Veracode’s Pipeline Scan returns results in under 90 seconds for CI/CD integration, which is significantly faster than Fortify’s full scan times on comparable codebases. The full platform scan provides deeper analysis for release gates. Veracode supports 100+ languages and frameworks, tripling Fortify’s language count.

Veracode also bundles DAST, SCA, and manual penetration testing under one platform. Fortify pairs with WebInspect for DAST, but the integration is looser than Veracode’s unified approach. Teams looking for a single vendor covering multiple testing types may find Veracode’s platform more cohesive.

Best for: Enterprise teams wanting cloud-based SAST without managing scanning infrastructure. License: Commercial Key difference: Binary analysis that does not require source code access. Unified SAST+DAST+SCA platform.

Veracode SAST review

7. GitHub CodeQL

CodeQL works differently from most SAST tools. It builds a database representation of your codebase and lets you write queries against it using a purpose-built query language called QL. This enables deep dataflow and taint tracking across 12 supported languages, with enough precision to detect complex vulnerability patterns that simpler pattern-matching tools miss.

For teams already on GitHub, CodeQL is the path of least resistance. It runs as a GitHub Action, stores results in the Security tab, and requires zero additional infrastructure. Public repositories get CodeQL for free. Private repositories need GitHub Advanced Security, which is a per-committer license.

The limitation is language coverage. CodeQL supports 12 languages compared to Fortify’s 33+. If your stack is covered, CodeQL’s detection quality is excellent. If you need COBOL, ABAP, or other legacy languages, CodeQL is not an option. Custom queries are powerful but require learning the QL language, which has a steeper learning curve than Semgrep’s pattern syntax.

Best for: Teams on GitHub that want deep semantic analysis with native platform integration. License: Free (public repos), commercial (private repos via GitHub Advanced Security) Key difference: Semantic query language for custom vulnerability patterns. Free for open-source projects.

GitHub CodeQL review

8. HCL AppScan

HCL AppScan carries forward IBM AppScan, which HCL acquired in 2019. It combines SAST, DAST, IAST, and SCA in the AppScan 360 platform. The free CodeSweep IDE extension provides basic SAST scanning at no cost, which is unusual for a commercial vendor.

AppScan supports 30+ languages with RapidFix AI for automated remediation suggestions. The platform offers both cloud and on-premises deployment, matching Fortify’s flexibility. For organizations in federal government and defense, AppScan holds relevant compliance certifications including FIPS 140-3.

Teams migrating from IBM AppScan will find a familiar interface and workflow. For Fortify users, AppScan represents a comparable enterprise offering at what is typically a lower price point, though with less depth in legacy language support.

Best for: Enterprise teams migrating from IBM AppScan or needing FIPS 140-3 compliance. License: Commercial (CodeSweep free IDE extension) Key difference: Full AppSec platform with on-premises deployment and federal compliance certifications.

HCL AppScan review

Feature Comparison

When to Stay with Fortify

Fortify still makes sense in several scenarios:

• You have legacy language codebases. Fortify’s COBOL, ABAP, and Visual Basic support is unmatched by most modern SAST tools. If these languages are in production, your alternatives are limited.
• You need flexible deployment. The combination of on-premises, SaaS (Fortify on Demand), and hybrid deployment gives regulated organizations options that cloud-only tools cannot match.
• Compliance requires a proven track record. Eleven years as a Gartner Leader carries weight with auditors and procurement teams in regulated industries.
• You rely on deep vulnerability categorization. Fortify’s 1,700+ vulnerability categories and detailed CWE mapping provide the depth that compliance-driven security programs need.
• Your team has invested in Fortify customization. Custom rules, tuned scan configurations, and integration with Fortify Audit Workbench represent significant institutional knowledge.

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.