Software composition analysis
Asked as “software composition analysis tool”, and as “open source dependency vulnerability scanner”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. 43 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
01The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant
Show the eight products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative50%
Key
01Trivy40%
Trivy40%02Snyk Open Source16%
Snyk Open Source16%03Mend.io14%
Mend.io14%04OWASP Dependency-Check14%
OWASP Dependency-Check14%05OWASP Dependency-Track2%
OWASP Dependency-Track2%06Endor Labs0%
Endor Labs0%07Black Duck0%
Black Duck0%08Sonatype Lifecycle0%
Sonatype Lifecycle0%09FOSSA0%
FOSSA0%10Grype0%
Grype0%11OSV-Scanner0%
OSV-Scanner0%12JFrog Xray0%
JFrog Xray0%13GitHub Advanced Security0%
GitHub Advanced Security0%02What they warned about
Zero of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.1 Fast, Mistral Small, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
OWASP Dependency-Check38%
12 of 32 labels negative · 7 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“You should actively **avoid** using the traditional OWASP Dependency-Check” Qwen 3.7 Flash, paraphrase prompt
Snyk Open Source15%
7 of 47 labels negative · 7 of 12 models
“The industry heavyweight with top-tier developer UX, strong remediation suggestions, and a wide ecosystem, though it can be highly expensive.” Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt
Black Duck18%
6 of 34 labels negative · 5 of 12 models
“like older versions of Black Duck or Sonatype Nexus IQ) can be slow to install, heavy on resources, or difficult to configure at scale” Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt
Mend.io15%
5 of 34 labels negative · 5 of 12 models
“reachability) works well for Java/JavaScript but poorly for Python, Go... Internal benchmarks claim "+46% better" remediation but lack external validation.” Kimi K2, negative prompt
03What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.
Sites the answers cite
63 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 799 links across 175 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.
vendor site · Endor Labs41 answers · 71 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Guideflow25 answers · 25 citations · 8 models
24 answers · 25 citations · 8 models
24 answers · 24 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Safeguard22 answers · 52 citations · 7 models
21 answers · 37 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Aikido21 answers · 23 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Cycode17 answers · 17 citations · 8 models
17 answers · 17 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Expert Insights17 answers · 17 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Sonatype15 answers · 28 citations · 8 models
vendor site · Mend14 answers · 18 citations · 10 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
40 answers · 10 models
27 answers · 9 models
24 answers · 8 models
23 answers · 9 models
21 answers · 8 models
17 answers · 9 models
17 answers · 7 models
15 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 6 models
13 answers · 7 models
04How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ModelDirect“What is the best software composition analysis tool for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which open source dependency vulnerability scanner would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top software composition analysis tools and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best software composition analysis tool for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating a software composition analysis tool. What should we look at?”Negative“Which software composition analysis tools should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5no first choiceOWASP Dependency-CheckChangedno first choiceOSS Review Toolkit, OWASP Dependency-Checkno first choiceagainst: GitHub Advanced Security, JFrog Xray
Two alternatives
OWASP Dependency-Track, TrivyTwo alternatives
DeepSCA, Snyk Open SourceGPT-5.4 miniMend.io, Snyk Open SourceOWASP Dependency-CheckChangedSnyk Open SourceDependabot + Dependency Reviewagainst: Mend.io, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycleno first choicenothing named
Three alternatives
Black Duck, GitHub Advanced Security, Sonatype LifecycleThree alternatives
Grype, OWASP Dependency-Track, TrivyFive alternatives
Black Duck, GitHub Advanced Security / dependency review, Mend.io, Sonatype Lifecycle, TrivyOne alternative
OWASP Dependency-CheckGemini 3.5 FlashAikido SecurityTrivyChangedagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckSnyk Open SourceGitHub Dependabot, Trivyagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckAikido Security, Cycodeagainst: Snyk Open Sourceagainst: OWASP Dependency-Check
Three alternatives
Mend.io, Semgrep Supply Chain, Snyk Open SourceTwo alternatives
GitHub Dependabot, OSV-ScannerFour alternatives
Black Duck, Endor Labs, Socket, Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
Aikido Security, FOSSA, Grype + Syft, Snyk Open SourceFour alternatives
Black Duck, Endor Labs, GitHub Advanced Security, Mend.ioPerplexity SonarMend.ioTrivyChangedno first choiceTrivyagainst: GitHub Advanced Security + Dependabot, Snyk Open Sourceno first choiceagainst: OWASP Dependency-Check, Retire.js, Safety, bundler-audit
Four alternatives
Black Duck, Endor Labs, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype LifecycleOne alternative
OWASP Dependency-CheckOne alternative
Semgrep Supply ChainGrok 4.1 FastSnyk Open SourceTrivyChangedSonatype LifecycleTrivyagainst: Grype, OWASP Dependency-Check, Semgrep, SocketSnyk Open Sourceagainst: Black Duck, Mend.io, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle, Trivy
Five alternatives
Aikido Security, Black Duck, Mend.io, SOOS, Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
Grype, OSV-Scanner, OWASP Dependency-Check, OWASP Dependency-TrackTwo alternatives
Black Duck, Snyk Open SourceTwo alternatives
GitHub Dependabot, Snyk Open SourceFour alternatives
Black Duck, Endor Labs, Mend.io, Sonatype LifecycleMistral SmallMend.ioOWASP Dependency-CheckChangedEndor Labsagainst: SonarQubeOWASP Dependency-Track, Trivyno first choiceagainst: Black Duck, Sonatype Lifecycle
Two alternatives
OX Security, Sonatype LifecycleTwo alternatives
Grype, TrivyNine alternatives
Black Duck, Cycode, FOSSA, GitLab Dependency Scanning, Mend.io, Semgrep Supply Chain, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle, Wiz CodeTwo alternatives
Snyk Open Source, SocketDeepSeek V4 FlashSnyk Open SourceTrivyChangedagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckSnyk Open Sourceagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckSnyk Open Source, Trivyagainst: OWASP Dependency-Checkno first choiceagainst: Black Duck, Mend.io, OWASP Dependency-Check, Retire.js, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle, Tenable Legacy Container Security's SCA feature
Two alternatives
Mend.io, Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
GitHub Dependabot, Grype, OSV-Scanner, OWASP Dependency-TrackEight alternatives
Black Duck, Endor Labs, Grype, JFrog Xray, Socket, Sonatype Lifecycle, Syft, TrivyThree alternatives
FOSSA, OWASP Dependency-Track, SocketLlama 4 MaverickMend.iono first choiceChangedno first choiceTrivyno first choicenothing named
One alternative
Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
OWASP Dependency-Check, Semgrep, Snyk Open Source, SocketQwen 3.7 FlashMend.ioagainst: Sonatype LifecycleTrivyChangedagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckSnyk Open SourceOWASP Dependency-Check, Trivyagainst: Black Duck, Mend.iono first choiceagainst: Black Duck, Sonatype Lifecycle
Two alternatives
Renovate, Snyk Open SourceOne alternative
OSV-ScannerFour alternatives
Black Duck, GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) / Dependabot, Mend.io, Sonatype LifecycleThree alternatives
FOSSA, SOOS, Snyk Open SourceThree alternatives
JFrog, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype LifecycleKimi K2Snyk Open SourceTrivyChangedagainst: OWASP Dependency-CheckSnyk Open SourceTrivyno first choiceagainst: Black Duck, Mend.io, Snyk Open Source
Two alternatives
Mend.io, Sonatype LifecycleOne alternative
Grype + SyftSix alternatives
Black Duck, FOSSA, GitHub Advanced Security, JFrog Xray, Mend.io, Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
Grype, OSV-Scanner, OWASP Dependency-Check, SyftGLM 4.7 FlashXMend.ioOWASP Dependency-CheckChangedSnyk Open Sourceagainst: GitHub Advanced SecurityTrivyno first choiceagainst: OWASP Dependency-Check, Snyk Open Source
Three alternatives
Black Duck, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype LifecycleFour alternatives
Grype, OSV-Scanner, Syft, TrivySix alternatives
Aikido Security, Black Duck, Endor Labs, Mend.io, OWASP Dependency-Check, Sonatype LifecycleTwo alternatives
GitHub Dependabot, OWASP Dependency-CheckMiniMax M2.5Snyk Open SourceTrivyChangedEndor Labs, Snyk Open SourceTrivyno first choicenothing named
Three alternatives
Black Duck, GitLab Dependency Scanning, Mend.ioThree alternatives
Grype, OSV-Scanner, OWASP Dependency-CheckSix alternatives
Black Duck, Checkmarx SCA, FOSSA, Mend.io, Semgrep Supply Chain, Sonatype LifecycleThree alternatives
Black Duck, OWASP Dependency-Track, Snyk Open SourceBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
05The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 14:08 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 14:02 | yes | 5 | 10 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 10:23 | yes | 22 | 27 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 09:59 | yes | 20 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 12:20 | yes | 35 | 17 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 13:13 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 13:45 | yes | 17 | 20 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 14:04 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 13:07 | yes | 24 | 89 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 13:45 | yes | 9 | 29 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 11:25 | yes | 29 | 79 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 13:36 | no | 0 | 45 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 10:52 | yes | 17 | 9 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 10:48 | yes | 3 | 7 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 13:59 | yes | 11 | 22 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 13:46 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 11:44 | yes | 28 | 14 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 11:51 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 13:06 | yes | 9 | 18 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 11:21 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 12:50 | yes | 5 | 31 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 12:26 | yes | 12 | 41 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 11:33 | yes | 10 | 93 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 11:35 | yes | 9 | 59 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 12:47 | yes | 10 | 7 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 13:52 | yes | 9 | 14 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 11:02 | yes | 19 | 31 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 11:24 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 12:55 | yes | 27 | 17 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 14:14 | yes | 5 | 9 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-09-17 13:08 | yes | 22 | 51 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 12:15 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 13:31 | no | 0 | 43 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 12:54 | yes | 12 | 46 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 09:41 | yes | 24 | 119 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 12:42 | yes | 5 | 11 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 11:08 | yes | 9 | 7 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 13:04 | yes | 2 | 4 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 13:07 | yes | 9 | 24 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 12:43 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 12:23 | yes | 32 | 17 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 11:59 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 11:08 | yes | 8 | 12 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 10:45 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 12:51 | yes | 9 | 23 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 12:28 | yes | 9 | 23 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 12:31 | yes | 21 | 63 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 10:41 | yes | 14 | 36 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 14:08 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 11:23 | no | 0 | 7 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 13:41 | yes | 7 | 256 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 14:05 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 10:39 | yes | 13 | 13 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 13:39 | no | 0 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 13:58 | yes | 18 | 24 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 13:50 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 10:12 | no | 0 | 47 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 10:42 | yes | 10 | 27 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 10:48 | yes | 15 | 90 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 14:09 | no | 0 | 14 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 10:12 | yes | 17 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 14:00 | yes | 6 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 13:19 | yes | 25 | 23 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 11:08 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 11:39 | yes | 36 | 18 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 10:23 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 09:38 | yes | 29 | 21 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 12:25 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 10:18 | yes | 5 | 25 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 10:10 | yes | 24 | 45 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 09:25 | yes | 26 | 111 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 13:13 | no | 0 | 14 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
Category-scoped readings
Aikido read as Aikido Security
GitLab read as GitLab Dependency Scanning
GitLab (Dependency Scanning) read as GitLab Dependency Scanning
GitLab Ultimate read as GitLab Dependency Scanning
Mend read as Mend.io
Mend (formerly WhiteSource) read as Mend.io
Snyk read as Snyk Open Source
Snyk (Free Tier) read as Snyk Open Source
Snyk (commercial) read as Snyk Open Source
Snyk Free Tier read as Snyk Open Source
Snyk Team read as Snyk Open Source
Sonatype read as Sonatype Lifecycle
Sonatype (Lifecycle & Nexus) read as Sonatype Lifecycle
Sonatype (Nexus Intelligence) read as Sonatype Lifecycle
Unresolved, counted raw
CDXgen
DeepSCA
Dependabot + Dependency Review
FossID
GitHub Advanced Security / dependency review
Plexicus
Tenable Legacy Container Security's SCA feature
Wiz Code
npm audit / pip‑audit
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.