# Software composition analysis for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "software composition analysis tool" and as "open source dependency vulnerability scanner", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/software-composition-analysis/enterprise

**Standing:** Sonatype Lifecycle leads with 30% of first choices; verdict contested. 54 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Sonatype Lifecycle](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sonatype-lifecycle/index.md) | 30% | 9% | 46 |
| 2 | [Black Duck](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/black-duck/index.md) | 17% | 16% | 49 |
| 3 | [OWASP Dependency-Track](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/owasp-dependency-track/index.md) | 17% | 15% | 20 |
| 4 | [Mend.io – Mend SCA](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/mend-io-mend-sca/index.md) | 7% | 16% | 49 |
| 5 | [Snyk Open Source](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/snyk-open-source/index.md) | 7% | 31% | 55 |
| 6 | [Trivy](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/trivy/index.md) | 6% | 17% | 18 |
| 8 | [JFrog Xray](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/jfrog-xray/index.md) | 2% | 14% | 22 |
| 9 | [Aikido Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/aikido-security/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 10 |
| 12 | [GitHub Advanced Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/github-advanced-security/index.md) | 2% | 40% | 10 |
| 13 | [OWASP Dependency-Check](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/owasp-dependency-check/index.md) | 2% | 52% | 21 |
| 14 | [Endor Labs](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/endor-labs/index.md) | 0% | 4% | 23 |
| 15 | [Checkmarx SCA](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/checkmarx-sca/index.md) | 0% | 15% | 26 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 67 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Black Duck; alternatives Checkmarx One, Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Nexus IQ
- GPT-5.4 mini: Black Duck; alternatives Checkmarx SCA, Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source, Veracode SCA
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Snyk Open Source; alternatives Aikido Security, Black Duck, Endor Labs, Mend.io – Mend SCA
- Perplexity Sonar: Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, Endor Labs, Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source
- Grok 4.20: Black Duck, Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives GitHub Advanced Security, JFrog, Snyk Open Source
- Mistral Small: Mend.io – Mend SCA, Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Snyk Open Source
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, JFrog Xray
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, Snyk Open Source
- Kimi K2: Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, Snyk Open Source
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, JFrog Xray, Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source
- MiniMax M2.5: Black Duck, Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Checkmarx CxSCA, Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source
- GPT-6 Luna: Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Black Duck, Snyk Open Source
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Black Duck, Sonatype Lifecycle; alternatives Mend.io – Mend SCA, Snyk Open Source

## Sources the answers cite

79 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- sonatype.com: 35 answers, 59 citations
- mend.io: 27 answers, 42 citations
- safeguard.sh: 25 answers, 33 citations
- securityboulevard.com: 25 answers, 27 citations
- github.com: 24 answers, 38 citations
- linuxfoundation.org: 24 answers, 36 citations
- checkmarx.com: 24 answers, 33 citations
- g2.com: 21 answers, 28 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://sonatype.com/compare/best-sca-tools (28 answers)
- https://res.cloudinary.com/snyk/image/upload/v1731508416/website-pdfs/The-Forrester-Wave-Software-Composition-Analysis-Software-Q4-2024.pdf (21 answers)
- https://linuxfoundation.org/hubfs/Reports/An-Open-Guide-To-Evaluating-Software-Composition-Analysis-Tools_V2.pdf?hsLang=en (20 answers)
- https://raven.io/blog/best-software-composition-analysis-tools (20 answers)
- https://mend.io/blog/best-software-composition-analysis-sca-tools-top-solutions (18 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/software-composition-analysis/enterprise (15 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/software-composition-analysis-tools (15 answers)
- https://securityboulevard.com/2026/01/best-software-composition-analysis-for-enterprise-top-8-in-2026 (15 answers)
- https://upwind.io/glossary/10-best-software-composition-analysis-tools-for-sca (14 answers)
- https://checkmarx.com/learn/sca/sca-tools-key-capabilities-11-tools-to-watch-in-2026 (13 answers)

## Warned against

- Snyk Open Source: 17 of 55 labels negative. "What to Avoid - Per-developer tools (Snyk, Mend, Sonatype): Costs can surprise you" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt)
- OWASP Dependency-Check: 11 of 21 labels negative. "Why avoid or be cautious: High noise from CPE ... shouldn't rely on it alone due to scalability and accuracy gaps" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Black Duck: 8 of 49 labels negative. "Dumb" Static SCA Tools (e.g., Older versions of Black Duck... Why Avoid: ... will generate "noise" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)
- Mend.io – Mend SCA: 8 of 49 labels negative. "What to Avoid - Per-developer tools (Snyk, Mend, Sonatype): Costs can surprise you" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Black Duck (23%) to Sonatype Lifecycle (30%). Margin 13 points, beyond the floor.

- OWASP Dependency-Track: 5% to 17%, +12. Cleared the floor by 1 point · rank 6 → 3 of 67.
- Sonatype Lifecycle: 21% to 30%, +9. Inside the floor by 2 points · rank 2 → 1 of 67.
- Mend.io – Mend SCA: 14% to 7%, −7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 3 → 4 of 67.
- Black Duck: 23% to 17%, −6. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 1 → 2 of 67.
- Trivy: 9% to 6%, −3. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 4 → 6 of 67.
- Snyk Open Source: 5% to 7%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 of 67, unchanged.
- JFrog Xray: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 7 → 8 of 67.
- Aikido Security: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 8 → 9 of 67.
- GitHub Advanced Security: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 10 → 12 of 67.
- OWASP Dependency-Check: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 11 → 13 of 67.
- Endor Labs: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 14 of 67, unchanged.
- Checkmarx SCA: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 15 of 67, unchanged.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.