Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!
Checkmarx vs Snyk: What are the differences?
Introduction: In this article, we will compare Checkmarx and Snyk, two popular security testing tools, and highlight their key differences.
Supported Languages: Checkmarx supports a wide range of programming languages including Java, C#, C++, Python, Ruby, and more, making it suitable for a variety of projects. On the other hand, Snyk primarily focuses on supporting JavaScript and its related frameworks, which makes it especially valuable for web applications developed using these technologies.
Static Analysis vs. Developer-Centric Testing: Checkmarx primarily utilizes static analysis techniques to identify code vulnerabilities and potential security risks. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the source code, including detecting code-level vulnerabilities and insecure configurations. In contrast, Snyk focuses on developer-centric testing, integrating into the developer workflow and providing real-time vulnerability scanning and patching during development and deployment processes.
Integration and Automation: Checkmarx provides integrations with various Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and continuous integration tools like Jenkins and TeamCity. It allows for automatic scanning during the development stage and integrates well with existing development workflows. On the other hand, Snyk also offers integrations with popular CI/CD tools but focuses on providing seamless integration and automation within developer-driven platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, and others.
Open Source vs. Proprietary: Checkmarx is a proprietary tool that offers a comprehensive set of features and support but requires licensing. Snyk, on the other hand, is based on an open-source model and provides free access for scanning open-source projects, making it an attractive choice for open-source developers.
Vulnerability Databases and Intelligence: Checkmarx has its own vulnerability database and intelligence platform, which provides insights into emerging threats and zero-day vulnerabilities. It offers customized dashboards and reporting capabilities for advanced vulnerability management. In contrast, Snyk leverages multiple vulnerability databases and intelligence sources to provide comprehensive vulnerability information for open-source dependencies.
Remediation Guidance and Developer Training: Checkmarx offers detailed remediation guidance for identified vulnerabilities, helping developers to understand the root causes and suggesting steps to fix the issues. It also offers training programs tailored for developers to improve their secure coding practices. Snyk, although it provides some remediation guidance, primarily focuses on assisting developers with automatically applying patches and providing actionable insights within their development environments.
In Summary, Checkmarx is a comprehensive static analysis tool with broad language support and extensive vulnerability management capabilities. Snyk, on the other hand, focuses on developer-centric testing, providing real-time vulnerability scanning and tight integration with developer tools, making it a suitable choice for JavaScript-based web applications and open-source projects.
I'm beginning to research the right way to better integrate how we achieve SCA / shift-left / SecureDevOps / secure software supply chain. If you use or have evaluated WhiteSource, Snyk, Sonatype Nexus, SonarQube or similar, I would very much appreciate your perspective on strengths and weaknesses and how you selected your ultimate solution. I want to integrate with GitLab CI.
I'd recommend Snyk since it provides an IDE extension for Developers, SAST, auto PR security fixes, container, IaC and includes open source scanning as well. I like their scoring method as well for better prioritization. I was able to remove most of the containers and cli tools I had in my pipelines since Snyk covers secrets, vulns, security and some code cleaning. SAST has false positives but the scoring helps. Also had to spend time putting some training docs but their engineers helped out with content.
Pros of Checkmarx
Pros of Snyk
- Github Integration10
- Free for open source projects5
- Finds lots of real vulnerabilities4
- Easy to deployed1
Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions
Cons of Checkmarx
Cons of Snyk
- Does not integrated with SonarQube2
- No malware detection1
- No surface monitoring1
- Complex UI1
- False positives1
Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions
What is Checkmarx?
What is Snyk?
Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!
What companies use Checkmarx?
What companies use Snyk?
Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions
What tools integrate with Snyk?
Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions
Blog Posts
+7