SonarQube vs Semgrep
These two scanners meter your bill on different things, and that single choice shapes everything else. SonarQube counts lines of code in private projects, so a swollen monorepo costs more even when the team stays the same size. Semgrep counts contributors, meaning anyone who committed to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days, and then asks you to pick one product from Code, Supply Chain or Secrets. SonarQube ships a quality gate across 40+ languages, while Semgrep is a security engine under LGPL-2.1 whose rules you can read and rewrite. Both offer a free tier, though each stops at a different wall.
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Choose SonarQube ifyou have a large or fast-growing set of repositories but a modest headcount, and you want quality gates and security checks in one dashboard. You are also happy to start on the free Cloud tier for private projects up to 50k lines, then decide later. Teams under 50 developers get a published entry price of $34 per month, which makes budgeting a short conversation.
Choose Semgrep ifyou have many developers working on a compact codebase, and you care more about writing and auditing detection rules than about code quality metrics. You also like the idea of running the open engine from the command line before anyone signs a contract. Because the bill follows contributors, a growing monorepo does not move your invoice by itself.
SonarQube and Semgrep side by side
| SonarQube | Semgrep | |
|---|---|---|
| Our static code analysis tool rank | #4 of 13 | #3 of 13 |
| Established in | Switzerland | United States |
| List price, 7 November 2026 | Cloud Team from $34 per month (monthly card billing, up to 100k lines); free Developers plan to 50k private lines; Server and Enterprise by quote | Billed per contributor: $30 per month for Code or Supply Chain, $15 for Secrets; free up to 10 contributors; Enterprise custom |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Self-hostable | Yes | — |
| Built for | Teams that want one quality gate across many languages and a free starting point | Security-minded teams that want rules they can read and change themselves |
| Not for | Teams that want pricing that follows developer headcount | Teams wanting a single dashboard for code quality metrics |
Both are reviewed in full in our static code analysis tool ranking: SonarQube and Semgrep.
Where they differ
SonarQube 4 · Semgrep 1 · open 1- 01
The 50k-line door versus the 10-contributor door
SonarQube Cloud's Developers plan is free forever for private projects up to 50k lines of code, with no card and no expiry. Semgrep's Free edition is free for up to 10 contributors and 10 private repositories, and it includes the Code and Supply Chain products. A solo developer with a big legacy codebase hits Sonar's wall first, because the meter counts lines. A twelve-person team with a tiny codebase hits Semgrep's wall first, because that meter counts people. Neither free tier is larger than the other, so which one suits you turns on whether you count lines or people, and this round is a tie.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
What a growing team pays on the paid plan
SonarQube Cloud Team starts at $34 per month, billed monthly by card, for up to 100k lines of code, and the page positions it for teams under 50 developers. Semgrep Teams starts at $30 per month per contributor for Code (SAST) or Supply Chain, while Secrets is $15 per contributor per month. At a handful of developers Sonar's flat entry price looks lighter, since five Semgrep contributors on one product already come to $150 monthly. Semgrep's per-seat pricing is easier to predict from your headcount alone, but the lower starting figure goes to SonarQube.
Edge: SonarQube
- 03
One product choice that Semgrep makes you repeat
On Semgrep Teams you pick one product from Code, Supply Chain and Secrets, with up to 500 private repositories, and each product is billed separately. A team wanting code scanning and secrets detection therefore pays two rates for the same contributors. SonarQube's paid editions instead bundle branch and pull request analysis, software composition analysis, infrastructure-as-code scanning and governance. One exception applies: the Advanced Security add-on on Enterprise needs its own subscription, and the pricing page shows no figure for it. Sonar still bundles more per purchase, which is why this round goes to SonarQube.
Edge: SonarQube
- 04
Running the engine without an account
Semgrep's Community Edition is licensed LGPL-2.1, covers 30+ languages, and by default does not upload code when you run it locally. You can install the command line tool, point it at a repository and read findings with no account. SonarQube's Community Build is LGPL-3.0 as well, but the repository says branch and pull request analysis sit in the commercial editions. For a team that wants to scan a pull request in CI for free, the Semgrep route reaches that goal with fewer paid steps, so Semgrep takes the round. The saving is real but narrow, since it covers scanning only.
Edge: Semgrep
- 05
Self-managed Server editions and their pricing
SonarQube Server comes in Developer, Enterprise and Data Center editions, priced per instance per year by lines of code, and the pricing page we read shows no figures for them. Semgrep's hosted platform runs CI/CD deploys on its own infrastructure, and Enterprise is custom-priced with unlimited contributors, SSO and scale features. The Semgrep pages we read describe no self-hosted platform edition you can buy. If you must host the analysis yourself, only SonarQube lists that as a purchasable edition, although you will have to ask sales what it costs, since the page lists no prices for Server editions at all.
Edge: SonarQube
- 06
Where each company says it sits
SonarSource Sarl is a Swiss company with a registered UID, governed by Swiss law with arbitration in Geneva, according to its cloud terms. Semgrep, Inc. lists 799 Market Street in San Francisco in its privacy notice, while no country of establishment for the company shows up in the pages we read. That about page also reports a $100 million Series D led by Menlo Ventures. The SonarSource about page gives no seat or owners, yet the terms settle the jurisdiction on their own, and Geneva arbitration is a detail a buyer can cite. For a buyer who prefers a Swiss counterparty, the answer is clear.
Edge: SonarQube
When neither fits
Coverity is a further static analyser in our category worth a look if neither pricing unit suits you. If your priority is a cheaper entry point with a pull-request-first workflow, Codacy is the other candidate worth a trial. Both sit in the same category page, so you can compare their listed pricing next to these two before booking any demo.
SonarQube or Semgrep: questions
3 answersDoes an open-source repository change what SonarQube charges?
Only LOCs from private projects count toward the meter, according to the pricing page. SonarQube for OSS is free for public OSI-licensed repositories.
OSS maintainers also receive free access to paid-tier features, and SonarQube for IDE is always free. Private projects are where the bill comes from.
What exactly makes someone a Semgrep contributor for billing?
A contributor is anyone who committed to a private repository scanned in the past 90 days. That means a developer who stops committing eventually drops off the count.
The Free edition covers up to 10 of them, and Teams adds a cap of 500 private repositories. Enterprise is listed with unlimited contributors.
Can both tools be tried before paying?
SonarQube Cloud gives you 14 days of trial without a card on file, and its pricing page adds that Server can be trialled free as well.
Semgrep's route is the free engine on the command line. A banner on its home page also says Semgrep Guardian is free for 30 days. Both let you read findings before signing anything.
Sources
Checked 7 November 2026- SonarQube plans and pricing: Team plan at $34 monthly for 100k lines, free Developers tier at 50k private lines, 14-day trial and Server editions priced per instance by lines of code.
- SonarQube repository on GitHub: LGPL-3.0 Community Build and the list of features reserved for commercial editions, plus the 40+ language count.
- SonarSource cloud terms: Swiss company status, Swiss governing law and arbitration in Geneva.
- Semgrep pricing: Free edition limits, Teams per-contributor rates, the 500 repository cap, the one-product rule and the 90-day contributor definition.
- Semgrep Community Edition repository: LGPL-2.1 licence, 30+ languages and no code upload by default for local runs.
- Semgrep about page: The $100 million Series D led by Menlo Ventures and no country named for the company.
- Semgrep privacy notice: Semgrep, Inc. San Francisco address.