# Static application security testing for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "SAST tool" and as "static code security scanner", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/static-application-security-testing/2026-09/enterprise

This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 17, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/developer/static-application-security-testing/enterprise/index.md

**Standing:** Checkmarx One leads with 54% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 48 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Checkmarx One](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/checkmarx-one/index.md) | 54% | 17% | 63 |
| 2 | [Veracode Static Analysis](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/veracode-static-analysis/index.md) | 15% | 20% | 54 |
| 3 | [SonarQube](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sonarqube/index.md) | 10% | 29% | 48 |
| 4 | [Snyk Code](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/snyk-code/index.md) | 8% | 6% | 32 |
| 5 | [Semgrep AppSec Platform](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/semgrep-appsec-platform/index.md) | 2% | 17% | 46 |
| 6 | [OpenText Fortify](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/opentext-fortify/index.md) | 2% | 27% | 51 |
| 7 | [GitHub Advanced Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/github-advanced-security/index.md) | 2% | 12% | 17 |
| 11 | [Black Duck Coverity](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/black-duck-coverity/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 17 |
| 12 | [CodeQL](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/codeql/index.md) | 0% | 18% | 11 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 40 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: Checkmarx One, OpenText Fortify, Veracode Static Analysis; alternatives Cycode, Mend SAST
- GPT-5.4 mini: Checkmarx One, Veracode Static Analysis; alternatives GitHub Advanced Security, OpenText Fortify, Snyk Code
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Checkmarx One, Veracode Static Analysis; alternatives GitHub Advanced Security, Semgrep AppSec Platform, Snyk Code
- Perplexity Sonar: Checkmarx One; alternatives GitHub Advanced Security, OpenText Fortify, Semgrep AppSec Platform, Veracode Static Analysis
- Grok 4.20: Checkmarx One; alternatives OpenText Fortify, Snyk Code, Veracode Static Analysis
- Mistral Small: Checkmarx One; alternatives GitLab SAST, OpenText Fortify, SonarQube
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Checkmarx One; alternatives OpenText Fortify, Semgrep AppSec Platform, Snyk Code, SonarQube
- Llama 4 Maverick: Checkmarx One
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Checkmarx One, Veracode Static Analysis; alternatives Black Duck Coverity, Snyk Code
- Kimi K2: Checkmarx One; alternatives Snyk Code, Veracode Static Analysis
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Checkmarx One; alternatives Semgrep AppSec Platform, Snyk Code, Veracode Static Analysis
- MiniMax M2.5: Checkmarx One, Veracode Static Analysis

## Sources the answers cite

67 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- augmentcode.com: 53 answers, 70 citations
- appsecsanta.com: 41 answers, 57 citations
- zeropath.com: 36 answers, 37 citations
- aikido.dev: 35 answers, 39 citations
- corgea.com: 34 answers, 37 citations
- checkmarx.com: 33 answers, 45 citations
- pixee.ai: 33 answers, 39 citations
- cycode.com: 31 answers, 35 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://augmentcode.com/tools/enterprise-sast-tools-large-teams-field-guide (50 answers)
- https://zeropath.com/blog/best-sast-tools (35 answers)
- https://appsecsanta.com/sast-tools/enterprise-sast-tools (34 answers)
- https://aikido.dev/blog/top-enterprise-sast-tools (29 answers)
- https://corgea.com/learn/best-sast-tools (28 answers)
- https://pixee.ai/blog/best-sast-tools-2026 (28 answers)
- https://cycode.com/blog/top-13-enterprise-sast-tools-for-2026 (26 answers)
- https://ox.security/blog/static-application-security-sast-tools (17 answers)
- https://checkmarx.com/learn/sast/open-source-vs-premium-sast-tools (16 answers)
- https://appsecsanta.com/sast-tools (11 answers)

## Warned against

- OpenText Fortify: 14 of 51 labels negative. "Verdict: Avoid unless you have a large dedicated AppSec team, a multi-week rollout plan, and compliance mandates that force its reporting format." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- SonarQube: 14 of 48 labels negative. "Why cautious/avoid: High operational overhead for large orgs—requires significant tuning to reduce noise" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Veracode Static Analysis: 11 of 54 labels negative. "Avoid for mixed-language, dynamic-language, or microservices-heavy environments where you need source-level evidence and fast feedback." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- Checkmarx One: 11 of 63 labels negative. "Avoid for Predictability ... Tools like Checkmarx, Veracode, and Fortify offer powerful enterprise features but lack transparent pricing at scale." (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt)

## Record

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