Snyk vs Dependabot

Quick Verdict

If your repositories live on GitHub and you want free dependency security with zero setup, Dependabot is the obvious starting point. If you need a deeper vulnerability database, reachability analysis to cut through noise, or support for GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps, Snyk Open Source is worth the cost.

Feature Comparison

Snyk vs Dependabot: Head-to-Head

Vulnerability Database

This is where Snyk pulls ahead most clearly. Snyk maintains a proprietary vulnerability database that the company says is 3x larger than the next largest public database. Their security research team has personally disclosed over 3,400 vulnerabilities, and for JavaScript specifically, Snyk reports disclosing 92% of vulnerabilities before the NVD lists them. On average, Snyk detects vulnerabilities 47 days faster than competing databases.

Dependabot relies on the GitHub Advisory Database, which contains 28,000+ reviewed advisories. GitHub reviews each advisory before it triggers an alert, which reduces false positives compared to raw NVD feeds. The database is solid for known CVEs but does not include the proprietary research that Snyk’s team produces.

For teams where early detection of zero-day dependency vulnerabilities matters — financial services, healthcare, SaaS platforms handling sensitive data — Snyk’s database advantage is significant.

Automated Fix Pull Requests

Both tools create PRs to fix vulnerable dependencies, but they approach it differently.

Snyk creates fix PRs that upgrade to the minimum safe version and includes vulnerability details, changelog entries, and a compatibility score based on CI pass rates from public repos. When no upgrade is available, Snyk maintains its own patches — targeted code changes that fix the vulnerability without bumping the version. This is useful when an upgrade would introduce breaking changes.

Dependabot creates security update PRs that bump to the minimum patched version with release notes and compatibility scores. It also offers version update PRs on a configurable schedule to keep all dependencies current, not just vulnerable ones. Grouped updates can bundle multiple changes into a single PR to reduce noise.

Dependabot’s version updates are a feature Snyk does not offer. If keeping all dependencies current (not just fixing vulnerabilities) is a priority, Dependabot handles that natively.

Platform Support

Dependabot works on GitHub and only GitHub. If your code is on GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps, Dependabot is not an option.

Snyk works across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. It also has a CLI (snyk test, snyk monitor) that runs anywhere, plus IDE plugins for VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand), Eclipse, and Cursor. This makes Snyk the better fit for organizations with repositories spread across multiple platforms or teams that want in-IDE vulnerability feedback.

Noise Reduction

Snyk’s reachability analysis is a meaningful differentiator. It traces call paths from your application code to the vulnerable function in a dependency. If your code never actually calls the vulnerable function, the finding gets deprioritized. This is currently available for Java and JavaScript. The Risk Score combines 12+ factors — EPSS score, exploit maturity, reachability, fix availability — into a 0-1000 score for prioritization.

Dependabot uses auto-triage rules to manage noise. Preset rules auto-dismiss low-impact alerts on development dependencies. Custom rules filter by severity, package name, and CWE. Compatibility scores from public CI pass rates help you gauge upgrade safety. These are simpler approaches, but they do help.

Pricing

Dependabot is free. No limits, no paid tiers, no catches. This alone makes it the default choice for any GitHub repository.

Snyk’s free tier gives individual developers 200 open-source tests per month. Team and Enterprise plans are required for higher limits, license compliance, advanced reporting, and full reachability analysis. Pricing is not public, but expect a meaningful cost for teams above a handful of developers.

When to Choose Snyk

Choose Snyk Open Source if:

• Your vulnerability database needs to catch issues before they hit the NVD
• You have repositories on GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps (not just GitHub)
• Reachability analysis for Java or JavaScript dependencies would reduce your triage workload
• You need license compliance enforcement across your dependency tree
• IDE-level feedback on dependency vulnerabilities matters to your workflow
• You want continuous monitoring with a CLI that runs anywhere

When to Choose Dependabot

Choose Dependabot if:

• All your repositories are on GitHub
• Free, zero-setup dependency security is more important than database depth
• You want automated version updates to keep all dependencies current, not just vulnerable ones
• Grouped updates and configurable scheduling reduce PR noise in your workflow
• Budget is a constraint and you need solid SCA without any cost

Many teams use both: Dependabot for version updates and keeping dependencies current, Snyk for vulnerability detection and deeper security intelligence. The two tools complement each other well.

For more SCA 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.