STATIC APPLICATION SECURITY TESTING

SAST Sizing Calculator & Vendor Comparison 2025

Calculate static application security testing costs. Compare 10 leading SAST platforms with Q3 2025 pricing based on developers, scan frequency, and application complexity.

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Q3
2025 Pricing

What is SAST and Why Sizing Matters

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes source code, bytecode, or binaries to identify security vulnerabilities before runtime. SAST tools scan for SQL injection, XSS, buffer overflows, hardcoded secrets, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities during development or in CI/CD pipelines, enabling "shift-left" security.

🔬 Why SAST Sizing is Critical

Under-licensing blocks developers from scanning code—unscanned applications ship with vulnerabilities. Over-licensing wastes $40K-150K annually. Our calculator helps you size based on active developers, scan frequency, and application complexity, not total engineering headcount.

💰 Pricing Models Explained

SAST vendors charge per developer ($100-300/dev/month) or per application ($500-2000/app/month) or per lines of code scanned. We normalize to developer pricing for comparison. Enterprise pricing includes unlimited scans, language support, and CI/CD integrations.

📊 Real Production Data

Our sizing comes from 200+ enterprise SAST deployments. We account for false positive rates (30-50% initially), developer scan adoption (40-60% without enforcement), and CI/CD integration overhead (2-5 minutes added to build times).

Key Factors in SAST Sizing

  • Developer Count: License active developers who commit code, not entire engineering org. Typical: 50-70% of engineering staff actively develop. Include contractors and offshore teams. Typical ratio: 1 SAST license per 1-2 active developers.
  • Scan Frequency: Weekly scans ($100-150/dev/month) vs. Daily scans ($150-200/dev/month) vs. Continuous scanning on every commit ($200-300/dev/month). CI/CD integration requires continuous scanning.
  • Language Support: Single language (Java, C#, Python) vs. Multi-language environments. Each additional language adds complexity. JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust require specialized analyzers. License costs increase 20-40% for 5+ languages.
  • Application Complexity: Simple web apps (100K-500K lines of code) vs. Complex enterprise apps (1M-5M+ lines). Complex apps with microservices, APIs, and third-party libraries generate 3-5x more findings and require more tuning.
  • False Positive Tuning: Initial SAST scans report 50-200 findings per 100K lines of code, with 30-50% false positives. Budget 2-3 months of security engineer time (40-80 hours) to tune rules and reduce noise. Ongoing maintenance: 10-20 hours/month.

Common SAST Sizing Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake #1: Licensing all engineers instead of active developers. Only 50-70% of engineering headcount actively commit code. A 200-engineer team may only need 100-140 SAST licenses.

❌ Mistake #2: Not budgeting for false positive tuning. Out-of-box SAST produces 30-50% false positives. Without tuning, developers ignore findings. Budget 80-160 hours for initial tuning, 10-20 hours/month ongoing.

❌ Mistake #3: Expecting 100% developer adoption without CI/CD enforcement. Voluntary SAST adoption is 40-60%. Mandate scans in CI/CD pipelines (fail builds on high/critical findings) to achieve 90-95% coverage.

❌ Mistake #4: Ignoring scan performance impact. SAST adds 2-15 minutes to build times depending on codebase size and scan depth. Slow scans kill developer productivity. Test scan performance before enterprise rollout.

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