Snyk Code vs Checkmarx

Quick Verdict

Snyk Code is the faster, more developer-friendly option. It scans code in real time inside IDEs, returns results in seconds, and suggests fixes through DeepCode AI. Teams that want security feedback inside their normal development workflow without a separate scanning step will get less friction from Snyk Code. Checkmarx goes deeper on static analysis across 75+ languages, adds ASPM-level prioritization, and bundles SAST, SCA, DAST, IaC, container, API security, and secrets detection into one platform. If your organization operates in a regulated industry and needs centralized governance across all those scanning types, Checkmarx is the broader platform.

Feature Comparison

Snyk Code vs Checkmarx: Head-to-Head

Scanning Depth and Accuracy

Checkmarx has a longer track record in deep static analysis. Its SAST engine builds a full model of your codebase with data flow, control flow, and type resolution across 75+ languages. Independent comparisons have found Checkmarx detecting more true positives in custom application code than Snyk Code. One analysis reported 3.4x more findings. That thoroughness has trade-offs: more results means more triage work, and scan times stretch into minutes or hours for large codebases.

Snyk Code works differently. The DeepCode AI engine was trained on millions of open-source projects and combines pattern matching with semantic analysis. It favors signal-to-noise ratio over raw detection volume. Scans finish in seconds, and the false positive rate is low enough that developers don’t tune out the findings. The engine traces data flow across files, though its cross-file analysis is less thorough than what Checkmarx produces on a full scan.

If you have security analysts to triage a high volume of findings, Checkmarx surfaces more. If you need developers to actually look at and fix findings during their normal workflow, Snyk Code’s leaner output gets better results.

Developer Experience and IDE Integration

Snyk Code was built around IDE integration from the start. Install the Snyk extension in VS Code or IntelliJ, and it scans code as you type. Findings appear inline with severity ratings and fix suggestions. Developers see security feedback right where they write code, no context switch needed. The fix suggestions pull from real-world remediation patterns and can be applied with a click.

Checkmarx offers IDE plugins for VS Code, IntelliJ, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Cursor, and Windsurf. The Checkmarx One Assist and Developer Assist agents provide remediation guidance within the editor. Developer Assist works preventatively, flagging issues as code is written. The experience is better than earlier Checkmarx versions, though it still feels more like a security tool that plugs into IDEs rather than something built for the IDE from day one.

Both tools integrate with pull request workflows. Snyk Code comments on PRs through the Snyk CLI or GitHub integration. Checkmarx does the same through its SCM integrations. The practical difference is speed: Snyk Code adds seconds to a PR check, while Checkmarx scans add more overhead depending on project size and scan configuration.

Platform Breadth

This is where the comparison gets lopsided. Checkmarx One is a full application security platform: SAST, SCA, DAST, IaC security, container security, API security, secrets detection, malicious package protection, and ASPM. All scanning results feed into a single dashboard where ASPM prioritizes findings based on application context. A critical vulnerability in a customer-facing payment service gets flagged before the same issue in an internal admin tool.

Snyk Code is one product in the Snyk Developer Security Platform. Snyk Open Source handles SCA, Snyk Container covers container images, and Snyk IaC handles infrastructure as code. Each product shares a unified dashboard. But there’s no Snyk DAST, and the platform does not include the same centralized ASPM prioritization across all scanning types that Checkmarx provides.

If you want all application security testing under one vendor with centralized governance, Checkmarx covers more testing types in one contract. If you mostly need developer-facing SAST and SCA, Snyk’s platform handles that well.

Pricing and Deployment

Snyk Code offers a free tier for individual developers. Paid team plans start at around $25 per month per developer, with enterprise pricing available for larger deployments. The overall cost ranges from $5,000 to $70,000 depending on the number of developers, products selected, and contract terms.

Checkmarx is enterprise-only with no published pricing. Enterprise contracts typically range from $5,000 to $35,000+ per year for 50 developers, depending on which modules you license. The full Checkmarx One platform with all scanning types costs more. Users consistently report that acquiring all modules is expensive.

Both support cloud and on-premises deployment for enterprise customers. Snyk also offers a local analysis mode where code never leaves the customer’s perimeter.

When to Choose Snyk Code

Choose Snyk Code if:

• Developer experience is a priority and you want security feedback integrated into IDE and PR workflows
• Fast scan times matter — you need SAST results in seconds for PR gates, not minutes
• AI-powered fix suggestions that developers can apply with a click would reduce remediation time
• You want a free tier to evaluate before committing to a paid plan
• Your team uses one of the ~15 supported languages and doesn’t need the 75+ language coverage Checkmarx offers
• You’re already using Snyk Open Source or Snyk Container and want unified visibility

When to Choose Checkmarx

Choose Checkmarx if:

• You need deep static analysis across 75+ languages with maximum detection coverage
• Centralized ASPM prioritization across SAST, SCA, DAST, and other scanning types is a requirement
• Compliance and regulatory requirements demand thorough security testing with audit trails
• Your organization prefers a single vendor for all application security testing types
• On-premises deployment is a hard requirement
• You have a dedicated security team to triage findings from a more verbose scanner

Plenty of organizations start with Snyk Code for developer-facing feedback and add Checkmarx later (or the other way around) once the security program grows and they need both speed and depth.

For more SAST tools, see our full category comparison.

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.