# Trivy vs Snyk Open Source: which do AI models recommend for SCA, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Software composition analysis. Zero of fourteen models named Trivy first on the direct prompt; seven named Snyk Open Source. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/developer/software-composition-analysis/trivy-vs-snyk-open-source/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trivy | 31% | #1 of 17 | 11% | 27 | 13 of 14 |
| Snyk Open Source | 16% | #2 of 17 | 16% | 55 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GPT-5.4 mini: snyk open source first (first choices: Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: FOSSA, OWASP Dependency-Check, OWASP Dependency-Track)
- Grok 4.20: snyk open source first (first choices: Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: Mend.io, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: snyk open source first (first choices: Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: Mend.io, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- Kimi K2: snyk open source first (first choices: Mend.io, Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: GitHub Advanced Security, GitHub Dependabot, Sonatype Lifecycle, Trivy)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: snyk open source first (first choices: GitHub Advanced Security, Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: Black Duck, Endor Labs, FOSSA, Mend.io, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- MiniMax M2.5: snyk open source first (first choices: Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle) (alternatives: Black Duck, FOSSA, GitHub Advanced Security)
- GPT-6 Luna: snyk open source first (first choices: Snyk Open Source) (alternatives: GitHub's built-in supply-chain tools, Mend.io, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Mend.io) (alternatives: Black Duck, Endor Labs, FOSSA, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Aikido Security) (alternatives: Endor Labs, Mend.io, Snyk Open Source)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Mend.io) (alternatives: Black Duck, Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Mend.io) (alternatives: GitHub Advanced Security, Snyk Open Source)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Mend.io) (alternatives: Snyk Open Source, Sonatype Lifecycle)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Mend.io) (alternatives: GitHub Advanced Security, Insignary Clarity)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Mend.io)

## What the models said about Trivy

- "free options like Trivy being the best zero-budget choice but typically requiring more tuning than commercial offerings" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Trivy disclosed a 2026 compromise involving a malicious release and GitHub Action tags, so pin and verify the tooling" (GPT-6 Luna, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "I'd recommend Trivy (from Aqua Security) as the top open-source dependency vulnerability scanner for a mid-sized B2B company." (Grok 4.20, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Snyk Open Source

- "enterprise buyers often cite "unpredictable ballooning costs"... some procurement models recommend avoiding it if strict cost-prediction budgets are required" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Snyk is proprietary software. A mid-sized B2B company might prefer Trivy or Dependency-Check to avoid vendor lock-in and licensing costs" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "limited policy flexibility, poor data quality for complex remediations, high false positives in transitives, and costs spike" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Choose Snyk if you want a seamless developer experience with early vulnerability detection and integrated security scanning." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Choose Snyk if you have a budget and want the best developer-first integration and workflow tools." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Start with Snyk for most mid-market B2B due to its balance, high adoption, and dev-centric design" (Grok 4.20, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.