25 Best SAST Tools (2026)

What is SAST?

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools are solutions that scan your application source code or binary and find vulnerabilities. This is called white-box testing.

Developers can use these tools within their IDEs or integrate them into CI/CD pipelines to catch issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows before code ships to production.

The first SAST tools emerged in 2002, and the category has changed a lot since then.

With the average cost of a data breach hitting $4.88 million in 2024 (IBM), catching vulnerabilities before they ship is no longer optional.

Because SAST tools have full access to the source code, they can scan every line and point you to the exact file and line number where a vulnerability exists.

That makes fixing things fast.

Unlike DAST tools that test running applications from the outside, SAST works at the code level and does not need a deployed environment.

The trade-off is that SAST cannot detect runtime or configuration issues.

That is why many teams run it alongside DAST or IAST for fuller coverage.

How SAST Works

The scanning process begins by creating a common format (AST) regardless of the code language.

Then the tool applies a rule engine with language-specific, relevant, and custom rules.

Beyond that, SAST tools use several deeper analysis techniques.

Knowing what they are helps you tell apart a lightweight linter from a deep-analysis engine.

1

Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) Parsing

The tool parses your source code into an AST — a common format regardless of language — enabling faster and language-agnostic vulnerability detection.

2

Rule Engine

Applies language-specific, framework-relevant, and custom rules to identify security issues. Tools like Semgrep make it easy to write your own rules.

3

Semantic Analysis

SAST tools will look for the usage of insecure code and can even detect indirect calls that simple pattern matching would miss.

4

Structural Analysis

Checks for language-specific secure coding violations and detects improper access modifiers, dead code, insecure multithreading, and memory leaks.

5

Control Flow Analysis

Validates the order of operations by checking sequence patterns. It can identify dangerous sequences, resource leaks, race conditions, and improper initialization.

6

Data Flow Analysis

The most powerful technique. It tracks data flow from taint sources (attacker-controlled inputs) to vulnerable sinks (exploitable code), detecting injection flaws, buffer overflows, and format-string attacks. Enterprise tools like Coverity and Fortify perform deep inter-procedural data flow analysis across entire codebases.

7

Configuration Analysis

Checks the application's configuration files (XML, Web.config, .properties, YAML) and finds known security misconfigurations that code-only scanning would miss.

Not every tool does all seven.

Open-source tools like Bandit mostly stick to rule engines and pattern matching.

Enterprise tools like Checkmarx, Coverity, and Fortify layer all seven techniques together, which is a big part of why they cost what they cost.

Quick Comparison

All 24 SAST tools side by side, grouped by license type.

For full reviews, see each tool’s page on our mega comparison.

SAST vs DAST vs IAST

SAST is one of three main approaches to application security testing.

Here is how they differ.

No single method catches everything.

In practice, teams run SAST in CI for fast feedback and DAST against staging for runtime issues.

Some also add IAST during QA for deeper coverage.

SAST in Your CI/CD Pipeline

Integrating SAST tools into automated DevOps workflows makes it much faster to deliver secure software.

Running a scan manually is fine for a one-off audit, but the real payoff comes when every pull request gets scanned automatically before it merges.

Here is how most teams set it up:

1. Pre-commit hooks — Run lightweight scans (like Semgrep or Bandit) locally before code is pushed.
2. Pull request scanning — Run full SAST analysis on every PR using GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins. Most tools post findings as PR comments.
3. Quality gates — Block merges when critical or high-severity vulnerabilities show up. SonarQube and Checkmarx are good at this.
4. Baseline management — Track existing findings separately from new ones so developers only see fresh, actionable alerts.

AI-Powered SAST in 2026

A lot of SAST vendors now market “AI-powered” features, but there is an important distinction worth understanding.

AI-assisted SAST tools still use traditional rule-based engines for detection. They layer AI on top for triage, prioritization, and auto-fix suggestions. Snyk Code, Checkmarx One, and GitHub CodeQL work this way.

Agentic SAST is different. Tools like Mend SAST plug directly into AI code editors (Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot) and scan code before you even commit. The idea is simple: if AI is writing your code, AI should also be checking it.

This matters because AI-generated code introduces vulnerabilities at the same rate as human-written code, sometimes higher.

GitHub’s own research found that Copilot suggestions contained security issues in roughly 40% of cases when generating security-sensitive code.

When evaluating tools in 2026, two questions are worth asking: does the tool actually use AI in its detection engine, or just in the UI?

And does it scan AI-generated code before it hits your repo?

How to Choose a SAST Tool

Picking the right SAST tool depends on your language stack, your budget, and how much noise you are willing to tolerate.

Here is what I would look at:

1. Language support — Does it cover your languages and frameworks? A tool that does not understand your framework will miss vulnerabilities or drown you in false positives. Brakeman is great for Rails but it is Rails-only.
2. CI/CD integration — How easily does it plug into your pipeline? Look for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps support. Snyk Code and GitHub CodeQL are both straightforward to set up.
3. False positive rate — Commercial tools tend to be quieter out of the box. But tools like Semgrep let you write precise custom rules that cut down false positives just as well.
4. Budget — Open-source options (Bandit, Brakeman, Semgrep CE, SonarQube CE) are solid starting points. Enterprise tools add reporting, compliance dashboards, and dedicated support.
5. Developer experience — IDE integration, clear fix guidance, and fast scan times keep developers from ignoring findings. Snyk Code does well here with real-time IDE feedback.

SAST Best Practices

Having a SAST tool is one thing.

Getting developers to actually use it is another.

Here is what works in practice:

1. Start with a baseline scan, then go incremental — Run a full scan once, triage the existing findings, then switch to incremental scanning on every PR. Nobody fixes 2,000 findings on day one.
2. Own your rules — Default rule sets catch common issues, but your codebase has patterns that generic rules miss. Write custom rules for your internal frameworks and APIs. Semgrep and CodeQL make this straightforward.
3. Set severity thresholds that match your risk — Block merges on critical and high findings. Warn on medium. Ignore informational noise. Adjust these thresholds over time as your team gets comfortable.
4. Make findings visible where developers work — PR comments beat email reports. IDE warnings beat PR comments. The closer a finding is to the developer’s cursor, the faster it gets fixed.
5. Combine with DAST and SCA — SAST finds code-level flaws. DAST catches runtime and config issues. SCA covers your dependencies. Used together, they give you real coverage instead of partial visibility.
6. Track fix rates, not just finding counts — A tool that finds 500 issues nobody fixes is worse than one that finds 50 issues that all get resolved. Measure mean time to remediate, not volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore Other Categories

SAST covers one aspect of application security. Browse other categories in our complete tools directory.

Written by

Suphi Cankurt

Suphi Cankurt is an application security enthusiast based in Helsinki, Finland. He reviews and compares 129 AppSec tools across 10 categories on AppSec Santa. Learn more.