The best SCA tools list every open source package your software uses, flag known vulnerabilities and risky licences, and help developers fix them before release. Newer tools also catch malicious packages and produce SBOMs that customers and regulators ask for. Eleven options follow in no particular order.
Most modern apps are mostly other people's code. That's a gift until a library you've never heard of turns out to be vulnerable, or its licence clashes with how you sell your product.
The eleven tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own website, read this week. If you also scan your own code, my piece on AI-driven static analysis covers that half.
SCA tools compared
I checked the free plan column on each tool's own website, as of Oct 2026. Yes means the site names a free plan, a free version, a free edition or an open source edition. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it, so check the vendor's page before you sign up.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Duck SCA | Software composition analysis | Licence compliance at enterprise scale | Not stated |
| Endor Labs | Agentic application security | AI coding workflows | Yes |
| FOSSA | Software supply chain control | Open source licence compliance | Trial only |
| JFrog Xray | Enterprise grade SCA | Existing JFrog platform users | Not stated |
| Mend SCA | Software composition analysis | Managing dependency risk at scale | Not stated |
| OSS Review Toolkit | CLI compliance toolchain | Automating licence checks in CI | Not stated |
| OWASP Dependency-Check | Open source SCA tool suite | A free first dependency scan | Yes |
| Semgrep Supply Chain | Dependency scanning | Dependency alerts next to code scanning | Not stated |
| Snyk Open Source | Open source security management | Developers fixing issues in the IDE | Not stated |
| Socket | Supply chain attack protection | Blocking malicious packages early | Not stated |
| Sonatype Lifecycle | SCA for open source security | Policy across the whole lifecycle | Not stated |
Eleven SCA tools worth a look
Black Duck SCA
Best for: Enterprises who want early detection of open source vulnerabilities and licence conflicts, with policies enforced automatically.
Endor Labs
Best for: Teams using AI coding agents who want open source dependency scanning and malicious package checks, with a free-forever option.
FOSSA
Best for: Legal and engineering teams who want automated open source licence compliance, SBOMs and policy enforcement, with a free trial.
JFrog Xray
Best for: Organisations already using JFrog who want to detect, prioritise and fix open source risks across their binaries.
Mend SCA
Best for: AppSec teams who want to manage open source components and dependency risk, with a free vulnerability database to search.
OSS Review Toolkit
Best for: Open source compliance teams who want a suite of command line tools to automate software compliance checks.
OWASP Dependency-Check
Best for: Developers who want a free OWASP tool that identifies project dependencies and checks them for publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.
Semgrep Supply Chain
Best for: Teams who want software composition analysis plus open source malware protection from the same vendor as their code scanning.
Snyk Open Source
Best for: Developers who want to find, prioritise and fix open source vulnerabilities right inside their IDEs and pipelines.
Socket
Best for: Development teams who want to block zero-day supply chain attacks and malicious packages before they reach the codebase.
Sonatype Lifecycle
Best for: Enterprises who want open source policy enforcement and SBOM management across the whole software lifecycle, not just at build time.
Which tool to try first
- A free first scan: OWASP Dependency-Check.
- Fixing issues in the IDE: Snyk Open Source or Semgrep Supply Chain.
- Blocking malicious packages: Socket or Endor Labs.
- Licence compliance and SBOMs: FOSSA or OSS Review Toolkit.
- Enterprise policy across the lifecycle: Sonatype Lifecycle or Black Duck SCA.
- JFrog platform users: JFrog Xray.
- Large AppSec programmes: Mend SCA.
Your SBOM is the ingredient list
CISA describes a software bill of materials as a nested inventory, a list of ingredients that make up software components, and calls it a key building block in software security and software supply chain risk management.
Customers, auditors and regulators increasingly ask for that list. Pick an SCA tool that can produce SBOMs in standard formats and read the ones your suppliers send you.
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Vulnerabilities, licences or malware?
Classic SCA checks dependencies against databases of known vulnerabilities and licences. It's the baseline every team with open source code needs.
Newer tools also look for malicious packages, such as typosquats and hijacked updates, that have no known vulnerability yet. If your developers install packages freely, that extra layer is worth it.
Don't ignore noise either. A tool that flags every vulnerable package, whether or not your code ever calls it, will bury the real problems. Ask how each vendor helps you prioritise, and you'll save your developers hours of chasing issues that can't hurt you.
Once you know what's inside, our round-up of SBOM tools compares tools that turn that list into a software bill of materials.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Which languages and package managers do we use?
- Can it block risky packages before install?
- Does it check licences as well as vulnerabilities?
- Can it produce and import SBOMs?
- Does it show whether vulnerable code is reachable?
- Where do developers see the findings?
If your software ships in containers, this guide to container security tools compares tools that scan the images themselves.
Signs you need an SCA tool
- Nobody knows your dependency list. Generate an SBOM.
- Customers ask security questionnaires. Have reports ready.
- Developers add packages freely. Screen new installs.
- Licences have never been checked. Run a licence scan.
Do you make SCA or software supply chain security tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on SCA tools
Run a free scan on your main repository today. The first report usually shows a handful of serious issues and a long tail of noise, and that tells you which features you need to filter it.
Then put findings where developers already work, in pull requests or the IDE, or they won't get fixed. My AI prompts for code review help with the review step around it.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SCA tool?
SCA, or software composition analysis, finds the open source packages in your software and flags known vulnerabilities and licence risks.
What is an SBOM?
CISA describes an SBOM as a nested inventory, a list of ingredients that make up software components.
Is there a free SCA tool?
Yes. OWASP runs a free open source tool suite, and some vendors offer free options.
Is SCA the same as SAST?
No. SAST analyses your own code, while SCA analyses the third-party packages your code depends on.
Can SCA catch malicious packages?
Some newer tools do, by checking package behaviour rather than only known vulnerabilities.
Do I need licence checks?
If you ship or distribute software, yes, because some open source licences set conditions on how you share your code.
