Top Checkmarx Alternatives for Application Security in 2025

Checkmarx is a popular SAST, DAST, and SCA provider that helps organizations detect and fix vulnerabilities and ensure application security. Its robust testing capabilities make it a go-to choice for many enterprises looking to integrate security into their DevSecOps pipeline.

However, like all tools, Checkmarx has certain limitations. Some users find it expensive and complex to set up, while others report long scan times and occasional false positives, which slow down development workflows. 

If you're exploring other options for securing your applications, here are the best Checkmarx alternatives, which offer a mix of powerful and efficient security solutions.

Why consider Checkmarx alternatives?

Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider Checkmarx alternatives for application security testing:

1. User experience and interface

Navigating the feature-rich platform and interpreting results can sometimes feel overwhelming. For optimal use, a learning curve and expertise are required. 

2. False positives

Some users report that Checkmarx can generate a high number of false positives and negatives, making it difficult to check manually and identify security vulnerabilities. As a result, your DevSecOps teams will waste more time triaging and resolving issues.

Pro tip: The best Checkmarx alternatives, like Appknox, have false positives of less than 1% compared to the mobile application security industry benchmark of 5%. 

This is due to a combination of automated scans and manual testing.

3. Performance and speed

Checkmarx can be slow, especially when dealing with large code bases or complex applications. Long wait times for vulnerability scans are not ideal in a fast-paced development environment where speed is a priority.

4. Complex setup and initial configuration 

Implementing advanced features requires substantial configuration, tuning, and time, again wasting time for security teams. 

5. Pricing

Checkmarx’s pricing models are based on the number of applications or lines of code, so it might not provide the most cost-effective solution for you if you're on a tight budget.

Pro tip: When you have several apps in your ecosystem, consider choosing tools with flexible, usage-based pricing. 

6. Limited language and framework support

Checkmarx supports many languages, but limitations remain, especially with newer or framework-specific vulnerabilities. While recent updates improved JavaScript scanning performance, support for frameworks like Angular and React may still be incomplete.

7. Integration challenges 

The tool offers limited integration capabilities with other tools in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). The integration process can be complex, as it may require your DevSecOps team to invest more time and resources in adapting to the tool's workflow. 

Top 7 Checkmarx Alternatives in 2025

1. Appknox  

Appknox is a comprehensive mobile-first VA tool that offers a suite of security testing solutions, such as automated 

• Static Application Security Testing (SAST), 
• Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), and 
• API Security Testing to detect vulnerabilities. 

Our penetration testing services combine manual expertise with automated tools, ensuring a thorough and effective security assessment.

One of Appknox's key strengths is its ease of use, which makes security testing accessible to anyone in your team. The platform also offers detailed yet easy-to-understand reports with clear insights into vulnerabilities, risk levels, and actionable remediation steps, making it easy to share with your stakeholders and non-technical users. 

This commitment to speed, accuracy, and user-friendly security testing led to Appknox being recognized as a 'Strong Performer' in Gartner’s Voice of the Customer for Application Security Testing in 2024, earning the highest customer ratings. This acknowledgment is a testament to our customers' trust in us and our impact.

Key features 

SAST 
Appknox’s automated SAST scans app binaries in a non-runtime environment, identifying vulnerabilities early in the SDLC for faster, more secure development.

DAST 
Appknox’s DAST analyzes real-time user interactions to detect runtime vulnerabilities, reducing false positives and expediting secure app releases by 75%.

API security 
Seamlessly integrated with automated DAST, Appknox’s API security testing identifies and resolves API vulnerabilities, ensuring robust endpoint protection.

SBOM 
Appknox’s SBOM provides a detailed list of your app’s components, making it easier to spot vulnerabilities and manage third-party risks without needing source code.

Storeknox 
Storeknox continuously monitors your apps across different stores, detecting fake apps and threats like malware or phishing so you can stay proactive about security even after deployment. 

Pros 

• Less than 1% false positives rate 
• Mobile-first vulnerability assessment 
• DAST done on real devices, not emulators 
• CVSS reports in less than 90 minutes
• Offers detailed reports highlighting issues and the next steps to follow 
• Offers an intuitive dashboard to navigate reports, track security trends, and integrate findings seamlessly into their workflow
• Remediation call with security experts 
• Integrates into the CI/CD pipelines to detect vulnerabilities early 

Pricing 

Appknox offers flexible, usage-based pricing with add-ons for manual testing, making it a top Checkmarx alternative.

Read more: How Appknox helped a global FMCG giant reduce its testing time by 90% and gain visibility of its entire app portfolio on a single platform.

Customer rating 

• Gartner: 4.8/5 

2. Veracode 

Veracode is a security testing platform that integrates SAST, DAST, SCA, IaC scanning, and penetration testing. 

This Checkmarx alternative streamlines security across diverse development environments, supports 100+ programming languages, and offers AI-powered remediation. 

It prioritizes vulnerabilities based on severity and exploitability while offering AI-driven guidance and automated fixes, helping resolve issues quickly.

Pros  

• Offers static (SAST) and dynamic (DAST) application security testing, Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and manual penetration testing, primarily targeting web applications and enterprise software 
• Combines manual and automated scanning to ensure high security for applications 

Cons 

• Not a mobile-first security testing tool 
• Does not provide mobile-specific DAST, API testing, or real-device scanning like Appknox

Pricing 

• Custom pricing 

Rating 

• Gartner: 4.7/5 

3. SonarQube 

SonarQube is a code quality assurance tool that performs static code analysis to help you identify and resolve issues in the application’s code. It supports over 29 programming languages, including Python, PHP, Kotlin, and Swift.

As a Checkmarx competitor, it scans the source code for common security issues, such as SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows. This allows you to address these risks before they become problems in the application. 

Pros 

• With comprehensive code quality analysis, it gives detailed insights into code quality, covering aspects such as code smells, bugs, and maintainability issues 
• Supports a wide array of programming languages, making it versatile for diverse development environments

Cons 

• Primarily designed for code quality analysis and may not cover all security aspects comprehensively – like in-depth assessment tailored for mobile applications and platforms 
• As a cloud-based service, it is not ideal for organizations with strict on-premises requirements or data residency concerns

Pricing

• Free: $0
• Team: $32 per month 
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

Rating 

• Gartner: 4.3/5 

4. Snyk 

The Checkmarx alternative scans source code for security vulnerabilities and provides automated fixes. It streamlines vulnerability remediation by automatically generating pull requests with necessary patches, reducing manual effort and accelerating the fixing process. 

The cloud-based security platform Snyk prioritizes vulnerabilities based on reachability and exposure, ensuring that development teams focus on the most critical risks first.

Pros 

• Focuses on a developer-first approach
• Provides broad coverage across various aspects of application security with SAST, SCA, container security, and IaC scanning 

Cons 

• Lacks mobile-first security testing for platforms such as Android and iOS 
• Unlike Checkmarx, you cannot create customizable security rules, making it less ideal for organizations that need to tailor security analysis to their specific needs 

Pricing 

• Free: $0 
• Team: $25/month per user 
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

Rating 

• Gartner: 4.5/5 

Suggested read: Top 7 mobile application security testing tools for enterprises

5. OWASP ZAP 

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) by Checkmarx is an open-source penetration testing tool that acts as a proxy between a web application and a user’s browser. 

Think of it as a free Checkmarx alternative for intercepting, analyzing, and modifying HTTP and HTTPS traffic. 

ZAP can perform both passive and active scans. Passive scanning examines traffic for vulnerabilities without altering requests or responses, while active scanning simulates attacks to detect deeper security flaws. 

Pros 

• The interface is user-friendly 
• Offers detailed reports in HTML, XML, and JSON formats  
• Customising ZAP according to your testing needs is easy 

Cons 

• No regular updates as it is open source and free 
• Lacks a mobile-first security testing approach 

Pricing 

• Free

Rating 

• Gartner: Not available 

6. Invicti 

The web application security tool Invicti automates the detection of vulnerabilities in websites, web applications, and APIs through SAST, DAST, IAST, container, and API security scans. 

With proof-based scanning, Invicti automatically verifies detected vulnerabilities to reduce false positives and give your security teams actionable insights for remediation.

Pros 

• Provides a range of customization options to scan any web application 
• Detects a wide range of security issues, including SQL Injection, remote code execution, and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Cons 

• Fails to offer dynamic testing for mobile-first applications 
• Lacks CSV reporting, making it difficult to integrate with custom reporting templates 

Pricing 

• Custom pricing 

Rating 

• Gartner: 4.2/5 

7. Fortify by OpenText

OpenText Fortify offers SAST and DAST to identify vulnerabilities in source code and live applications. While the SAST supports scanning source code, binaries, and bytecode, the DAST tests applications during runtime. 

Fortify’s SCA helps detect issues within third-party libraries and open-source components. 

The platform provides a centralized security dashboard, giving you a unified view to prioritize vulnerabilities across multiple projects. It also offers detailed security reports with risk scoring and extensive remediation guidance to help you quickly address vulnerabilities. 

Pros 

• Provides a detailed description of the highlighted issues 
• Generates reports in PDF to make it easy to present the output to stakeholders and for auditing 

Cons 

• Generates false positives at times with all the SCA tools 
• Since it’s a cloud-based AppSec solution, it may not be ideal for organizations that require on-premise/varying infrastructure preferences 

Pricing 

• Custom pricing 

Rating 

• Gartner: 4.5/5 

At a glance: Checkmarx alternatives

TLDR: Choosing the right Checkmarx alternative 

Ideally, mobile application security doesn’t slow down your security teams. In fact, it empowers your teams to identify vulnerabilities within minutes, not days, and push secure code without bottlenecks.

And Appknox is a mobile app security software solution that helps you simplify security by making it an automated process integrated directly into your CI/CD pipelines. 

With <1% false positives and negatives, seamless integration into your workflow, real-time insights, and on-call support from security experts, Appknox strengthens your application security with high accuracy and confidence.

Sign up for a free trial to learn more about how Appknox can help you strengthen the security of your entire application portfolio.

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