Checkmarx vs SonarQube

by Gralio Mar 10, 2025

Checkmarx and SonarQube both contribute to software quality but with different focuses. Checkmarx emphasizes robust security analysis, while SonarQube prioritizes code quality and maintainability. Checkmarx excels in identifying vulnerabilities in custom code and infrastructure, while SonarQube offers broader language support and easier integration into development workflows.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 185 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 31 minutes of reading.

Checkmarx

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SonarQube

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About

Checkmarx offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help businesses find and fix security issues within their software. Instead of waiting until a software is released, Checkmarx helps identify vulnerabilities during the development process. This includes scanning custom code, open-source components, and cloud infrastructure. Checkmarx promises accurate vulnerability detection and aims to integrate seamlessly into the workflow of developers, minimizing disruptions. The company boasts a large customer base including Fortune 500 companies and emphasizes its AI-powered solutions for greater efficiency and security coverage.

SonarQube helps development teams write better and more secure code. It integrates into your existing workflow and flags potential bugs, security vulnerabilities, and code quality issues in real-time. This helps you catch and fix problems early in the development process, saving time and money in the long run. SonarQube supports many popular programming languages and offers different editions to suit the needs of small teams and large enterprises.

Summary

Main difference

Checkmarx focuses on advanced security analysis, including custom code, open source components, and infrastructure, making it suitable for organizations with mature security postures and complex applications. SonarQube prioritizes code quality and maintainability across a wide range of programming languages, making it ideal for development teams focused on improving code health and reducing technical debt.

Relative strengths of Checkmarx (compared to SonarQube)

Broader security coverage including Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning, offering a more holistic security approach.
Focus on identifying vulnerabilities in custom code, which is crucial for organizations with significant in-house development.
Strong integration with popular development platforms like GitHub, enabling seamless incorporation into developer workflows.

Relative weaknesses of Checkmarx (compared to SonarQube)

Limited focus on code quality metrics beyond security, potentially neglecting maintainability and code style issues.
Can be more complex to set up and configure compared to SonarQube, requiring more expertise.
Pricing may be less transparent and potentially higher, making it less suitable for smaller businesses or teams with limited budgets.

Who should use Checkmarx VS. SonarQube

Checkmarx offers a suite of tools to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities in software during development. It scans custom code, open-source components, and cloud infrastructure, providing accurate vulnerability detection. Checkmarx integrates seamlessly into developer workflows and is trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

SonarQube helps development teams write better, more secure code by identifying bugs, vulnerabilities, and code quality issues. It integrates seamlessly with existing workflows and supports multiple programming languages. Users praise its effectiveness in identifying hidden issues and seamless CI/CD integration, while some note slow analysis speed for large projects and complex setup.

Ideal for large enterprises with dedicated AppSec teams.
Best for enterprises undergoing digital transformation or with cloud-native apps.

Ideal for software teams of all sizes aiming to enhance code quality and security.
Best suited for software development and IT companies.

Checkmarx and SonarQube features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Firewall Rule Analysis

Not supported

Checkmarx does not support firewall rule analysis.

Not supported

SonarQube does not directly support firewall rule analysis.
Multi-language support

Supported

Checkmarx supports scanning multiple programming languages within a project.

Supported

SonarQube supports multiple programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, and C++.
Quality gates and profiles

Partially supported

Checkmarx supports quality profiles and quality gates through SonarQube integration.

Supported

SonarQube supports customizable quality gates and profiles for consistent code quality.
Code review tools

Not supported

Checkmarx focuses on security code review, not general code review.

Partially supported

SonarQube supports automated code review but not manual code reviews.
Azure DevOps integration

Supported

Checkmarx integrates with Azure DevOps for automated scanning and reporting via Checkmarx One.

Supported

SonarQube integrates with Azure DevOps for automated code scanning and reporting.
GitHub integration

Supported

Checkmarx integrates with GitHub for automated scanning and reporting.

Supported

SonarQube integrates with GitHub for automated scanning and reporting.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

No data

-0.25

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

No data

+0.5

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

No data

+0.81

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

No data

+0.74

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

No data

-0.04

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

No data

-0.2

Neutral sentiment

Checkmarx and SonarQube Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-1

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.25

See full Pricing page

Checkmarx and SonarQube review insights

185 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Comprehensive SAST solution with wide language support.
Easy-to-use interface and vulnerability visualization.
Effective CI/CD integration.
Detailed vulnerability reports with actionable remediation advice.
Codebashing feature is valuable for training and education.
Excellent at finding database vulnerabilities.
Delta-scan feature reduces scan times for frequent scans.
Good open-source vulnerability scanning.
Helpful online community for support and troubleshooting.
Provides multiple report formats.

Effectively identifies hidden bugs, security vulnerabilities, and code quality issues across multiple languages.
Seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines allows for continuous quality monitoring.
Detailed reports facilitate team improvement and codebase understanding.
Customizable rules and plugins offer flexibility.
Provides valuable code reviews and feedback, improving code quality and developer confidence.

Users dislike

High cost of acquiring all modules.
High number of false positives.
Slow scanning times.
Customer support can be slow.
Complex Jenkins integration snippet.
Verbose reports can be difficult to parse.
UI could be more user-friendly, especially the dashboard and issue descriptions.
No free version available to try before purchasing.
Limited documentation for Apex specifically.
False positives require manual review and can be time-consuming to manage.

Slow analysis speed, especially for large projects, impacts workflow.
Setup and configuration can be complex and time-consuming.
Limited and costly Enterprise features, like parallel analysis.
Some features, like reports API and SCA, could be more flexible.

Checkmarx and SonarQube Ratings

G2

4.2/5

(34)
Glassdoor

3.8/5

(315)

G2

4.4/5

(90)
Capterra

4.6/5

(61)
Glassdoor

2.7/5

(61)

Company health

Employee growth

4% decrease in the last year

22% increase in the last year

Web traffic

20% increase in the last quarter

14% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

January 2015 - $92M

January 2022 - $457M

How do Checkmarx and SonarQube differ in their approach to infrastructure-as-code scanning?

Checkmarx focuses on identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations within IaC templates themselves, treating them as code, while SonarQube primarily targets the code that interacts with and manages infrastructure, rather than the infrastructure definitions themselves. Essentially, Checkmarx scans the blueprint, and SonarQube analyzes the tools using the blueprint.

Which product best integrates with existing developer workflows for code quality checks?

SonarQube better integrates with existing developer workflows for code quality checks. Its focus is on integrating directly into development pipelines and providing real-time feedback within tools developers already use, fostering early issue detection and resolution. While Checkmarx also offers integrations like GitHub, SonarQube's core functionality and broader range of integrations with platforms like Azure DevOps are geared towards a more seamless fit within the development process. This focus on continuous code quality within the developer workflow makes SonarQube a stronger choice for this specific requirement.

What are the advantages of Checkmarx?

Checkmarx focuses on application security, offering specialized tools for web application scanning, API scanning, cloud infrastructure scanning, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security scanning. This makes it advantageous for organizations prioritizing application security and needing in-depth vulnerability analysis within their software development lifecycle. It also boasts a large enterprise customer base, suggesting a focus and experience in serving the specific needs of larger companies.

What are the disadvantages of Checkmarx?

Checkmarx can be expensive, potentially limiting its accessibility for smaller businesses or those with limited budgets. Some users have reported difficulties with the setup and configuration process, which can be complex and time-consuming. While Checkmarx offers a comprehensive suite of tools, some users have noted a lack of flexibility in certain features and reporting capabilities. Finally, there has been a recent decline in employee growth on LinkedIn which may signal potential issues with company stability or future development of the product.

Alternatives to Checkmarx and SonarQube

Codacy

Codacy helps software development teams improve code quality and security. It automatically checks your code for errors, vulnerabilities, and style inconsistencies as you write it. This helps developers find and fix problems early, saving time and money on fixing issues later. Codacy supports over 40 programming languages and integrates with popular development tools.

Codiga

Codiga is a code analysis tool that helps development teams improve code quality and security. It offers real-time feedback in your IDE, automated code reviews, and customizable analysis rules to catch potential problems early in the development process. Codiga also helps developers find and use secure code snippets directly within their workflow. The platform integrates with popular development tools like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, making it a valuable addition for teams looking to streamline their coding practices and deliver more reliable software.

Invicti (formerly Netsparker)

Invicti is a comprehensive security solution for your website and applications. It automatically scans for vulnerabilities and provides clear reports to help you prioritize and fix issues. Invicti stands out for its accuracy in detecting real threats, minimizing time wasted on false alarms. It integrates with existing development tools to seamlessly fit into your workflow, making security an ongoing process. Invicti scales to meet the needs of large organizations with complex systems, ensuring thorough protection for all your web assets.

Coverity

Coverity is a tool that helps find and fix security flaws and coding errors within software. It examines your code for potential problems, explains the cause of each issue, and makes it easy for developers to fix them. This helps companies release more secure software and comply with industry coding standards. Coverity is known for its speed, accuracy, and ability to work with large, complex codebases.

HCL AppScan

HCL AppScan is a suite of tools that help companies find and fix security weaknesses in their software. It can scan code, applications, and APIs for vulnerabilities, even those found in open-source components. The tool integrates with the software development process, making it easier for developers to address security issues early on. HCL AppScan offers centralized reporting and management, giving security teams better visibility and control over their application security.

DeepSource

DeepSource is a code analysis platform that helps businesses create higher quality and more secure software. It automatically checks your code for errors, security vulnerabilities, and areas that need improvement as you write it. This helps developers find and fix issues quickly, often even suggesting the fixes for you. DeepSource integrates with popular platforms like GitHub and GitLab and provides reports and insights to track your code quality over time. It aims to help your development team work faster while improving the overall quality and security of your software.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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