SonarQube vs Semgrep

Quick Verdict

SonarQube is the right choice if you want both code quality and security in one platform, with mature quality gates that can block deployments. Semgrep is the right choice if security-focused static analysis, fast CI scans, and easy custom rule writing are your priorities. SonarQube gives you the broader view; Semgrep gives you speed and security depth.

Feature Comparison

SonarQube vs Semgrep: Head-to-Head

Scope and Philosophy

SonarQube is a code quality platform that includes security analysis. It tracks four dimensions: reliability (bugs), security (vulnerabilities and security hotspots), maintainability (code smells and technical debt), and test coverage. The quality gate system blocks deployments that do not meet configured thresholds across all these dimensions. If your team cares about code health beyond just security, SonarQube gives you one dashboard for everything.

Semgrep started as a security-focused pattern-matching engine. The open-source CLI does static analysis for bugs and security issues. The commercial platform adds SCA (Semgrep Supply Chain) and secrets detection. There is no code smell tracking, duplication analysis, or test coverage measurement. Semgrep does security well and leaves code quality to other tools.

Rule Systems and Custom Rules

This is where Semgrep has a distinct advantage. Semgrep rules are written in YAML and look like the source code they match. To find insecure YAML loading in Python, you write a pattern that resembles yaml.load(...). Developers can write and review security rules without learning a separate language. Creating a new custom rule takes minutes.

SonarQube’s rule system is more complex. Custom rules require Java plugins or use SonarQube’s XML-based approach. The learning curve is steeper, and rule development takes longer. In practice, most teams rely on the 6,000+ built-in rules rather than writing their own.

For organizations with specific security patterns they want to enforce — internal coding standards, framework-specific checks, banned function calls — Semgrep’s rule syntax is a significant productivity advantage.

Performance

Semgrep is fast. The company reports a 10-second median CI scan time. The tool parses source code into ASTs and runs pattern matching locally, without requiring a server. This speed makes it practical to run on every PR without slowing down developer workflows.

SonarQube runs analysis through the SonarScanner, which sends results to a SonarQube server for processing. Scan times depend on project size, server resources, and which rules are enabled. A large codebase can take minutes to analyze. The server-based architecture adds infrastructure overhead but also provides persistent dashboards, historical trends, and quality gate management.

Security Depth

SonarQube’s security analysis improves with paid tiers. The Community Edition has basic security rules. The Enterprise Edition adds taint analysis that traces data flow from user input to dangerous operations, which is critical for detecting injection vulnerabilities. The security rule set covers OWASP Top 10, CWE Top 25, and SANS Top 25.

Semgrep’s Pro Engine adds cross-file and cross-function dataflow analysis. The company claims it reduces false positives in high/critical findings by up to 98%. The commercial platform includes 20,000+ proprietary rules on top of the 2,000+ community rules. Semgrep Supply Chain adds SCA with reachability analysis, and Semgrep Secrets adds credential detection with semantic analysis.

Both tools offer serious security analysis at their commercial tiers. SonarQube’s advantage is that security analysis comes packaged with code quality. Semgrep’s advantage is that security-specific features are more deeply developed.

CI/CD and Developer Workflow

SonarQube’s quality gates are among the most mature in the industry. Configure pass/fail conditions on coverage, duplication, reliability, security, and maintainability. PR decoration shows new findings directly on pull requests in GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. SonarLint provides real-time feedback in VS Code, IntelliJ, Eclipse, and Visual Studio.

Semgrep integrates with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Buildkite, and CircleCI. The semgrep ci command handles pipeline scanning. The platform provides PR comments with findings and remediation guidance. Semgrep Assistant adds AI-powered context to findings.

Both tools work well in CI/CD. SonarQube’s quality gates add a dimension that Semgrep does not cover — blocking deployments based on code quality metrics, not just security findings.

Pricing

SonarQube Community Edition is free. The Developer Edition starts at $150/year for 100K lines of code. Enterprise pricing is higher and includes taint analysis and additional security features. SonarCloud (SaaS) is free for public projects.

Semgrep’s open-source CLI is free. The commercial platform pricing is not public and depends on team size and feature needs. The Pro Engine, proprietary rules, and team management features all require a paid plan.

For small teams, both tools have viable free tiers. For larger organizations, pricing depends on which features you need and how much code you scan.

When to Choose SonarQube

Choose SonarQube if:

• You want code quality and security analysis in a single platform
• Quality gates that block deployments on coverage, reliability, and security thresholds matter to your workflow
• Historical trend tracking and technical debt measurement are priorities
• Self-hosted deployment is a requirement (SonarQube runs on your infrastructure)
• Your team already uses SonarLint in their IDEs
• You need broad language coverage with 6,000+ built-in rules

When to Choose Semgrep

Choose Semgrep if:

• Speed matters — 10-second CI scans make it practical for every PR
• You want to write custom security rules that look like source code
• Security-focused analysis is your primary goal (not code quality tracking)
• Cross-file dataflow analysis with low false positives is important
• You also need SCA (Semgrep Supply Chain) and secrets detection in one platform
• Your team wants to enforce security patterns without complex plugin development

Both tools are strong choices for SAST. The decision often comes down to whether you need a unified code quality and security platform (SonarQube) or a fast, security-focused scanner with exceptional custom rule capabilities (Semgrep).

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.