Top Vulnerability Scanning Tools for Modern DevSecOps Teams

Although many engineering teams use GitHub to collaborate, it is not always possible to implement GitHub’s Advanced Security as an ideal solution. This can be due to the price of Advanced Security, the level of "noise" in the platform, the fact that Advanced Security only works within the GitHub platform, or if you simply want a broader range of protection for your team.

In either case, there are other very good alternative options available that are easier to use, offer greater flexibility, and provide a much clearer developer experience than GitHub Advanced Security.

Stronger Protection Options

Below are three powerful alternatives to GitHub, which can be seamlessly integrated into your existing setup and provide a much cleaner, faster, and more developer-centric security workflow. In addition to making day-to-day activities easier for developers, these tools will offer better visibility, improved performance, and an overall more efficient experience than the typical security workflows that exist today.

1. Aikido:One Platform, Total Security

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Aikido.dev is now one of the best vulnerability scanning tools as it has an easy-to-use interface, a rapid integration process, and provides all-in-one protection of your code, cloud services, dependencies, secret data, and containerized applications.

Aikido.dev is focused on clarity, ease-of-use, and wide-coverage automation, thus making security available to development teams regardless of team size.

Key Points

Unified Security Coverage

  • SAST scanning: detects code-level vulnerabilities with precise, developer-ready insights
  • SCA dependency checks: uncovers risky libraries and outdated packages across your ecosystem
  • IaC misconfigurations: highlights unsafe infrastructure settings before deployment
  • Container scanning: identifies image flaws and security gaps in build or runtime containers
  • Secrets detection: prevents leaked credentials by scanning repos and commits continuously

Low Noise, High Accuracy

  • Reduced false positives: filters out irrelevant alerts to keep developers focused
  • Exploitability scoring: evaluates which issues pose real, actionable risk
  • Smart prioritization: organizes findings so teams know exactly what to fix first

Developer-Centric Workflow

  • Clear fix guidance: gives step-by-step explanations for resolving vulnerabilities
  • Suggested patches: offers practical, ready-to-apply remediation options
  • PR annotations: displays issues directly in pull requests for immediate action
  • Auto-remediation flows: removes repetitive tasks and speeds up secure delivery

Fast, Simple Onboarding

  • One-click GitHub connection: instantly links your repos for full visibility
  • Auto-repo discovery: scans every repository without configuration hassle
  • No agents or heavy setup: removes maintenance overhead for teams of any size

Continuous, Real-Time Monitoring

  • Ongoing repo scanning: keeps security checks active as code evolves
  • Vulnerability tracking: monitors changes, severity, and exploitability over time
  • Dependency alerts: notify you when libraries become risky or require updates

Aikido.dev’s approach makes it ideal for teams looking for strong security without heavy enterprise overhead. The platform is a perfect choice for startups and scaling organizations.

2. Cycode

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Cycode provides full lifecycle supply chain protection through visibility of all components in your pipeline (code, pipelines, secret management & identity). Cycode is perfect for those wanting GHAS-level capability but more control and governance in their CI/CD.

Key Points

Supply Chain Security

  • Repo protection: safeguards code repositories
  • Pipeline monitoring: tracks workflow activity
  • Build integrity checks: verify trusted builds

Pipeline Governance

  • Workflow policies: enforce secure standards
  • Risky action blocking: prevents unsafe steps
  • CI/CD rule controls: manage pipeline behavior

Identity & Access

  • Permission mapping: visualizes user access
  • Misconfiguration alerts: flags unsafe setups
  • Behavior anomalies: detects unusual activity

Threat Detection

  • Unusual commits: identify suspicious changes
  • Suspicious pipeline actions: catches risky executions
  • Credential misuse signals: warns of compromised access

Cycode protects the entire software supply chain by protecting source code, pipelines, user identity, and workflow through a single platform with governance.

3. Jit.io

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Jit enables a "security as code" approach, allowing teams to incorporate security controls progressively and automate much of the configuration process. Jit is a lightweight, modular system that provides security to developers who desire it to be fully integrated into their development workflow.

Key Points

Security-as-Code

  • Auto-generated controls: consistent, versioned setups
  • Config-as-code model: easy to manage
  • Security embedded workflows: built into development

Modular Adoption

  • Enable needed tools: no unnecessary extras
  • Lightweight configuration: simple to maintain
  • Incremental rollout: grow security gradually

Developer Experience

  • Clear issue explanations: easy to understand
  • Fast feedback loops: early problem detection
  • In-workflow guidance: intuitive for engineers

Tool Orchestration

  • Semgrep rules: strong code scanning
  • Trivy scanning: container and IaC checks
  • Bandit checks: Python security analysis

Jit offers a developer-friendly, lightweight, and modular security-as-code tool that allows teams to automate the most important controls and integrate protection directly into their DevOps workflow.

4. SonarCloud

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SonarCloud offers an array of services as a cloud-based application for Code Quality and Security.

SonarCloud provides Developers with the tools to identify problems at the earliest stages of development and provide the means to continuously produce high-quality and dependable code during all stages of the development process.

Key Points

Code Quality & Security

  • Vulnerability detection: Flags security issues across every commit.
  • Bug & smell scanning: Identifies logic errors and risky patterns.
  • Multi-language rules: 30+ languages with tuned, specific checks.

CI/CD Integration

  • Pipeline scanning: Automatic checks on every build.
  • PR annotations: Inline comments with issues and fixes.
  • Quality Gates: Blocks unsafe or low-quality merges instantly.

Developer Experience

  • Clear fix guidance: Simple explanations with code examples.
  • Fast feedback loops: Results shown directly inside GitHub PRs.
  • Project-wide dashboards: Visibility into trends and hotspots.

SonarCloud provides teams the ability to continually produce high-quality code while allowing them to keep developing quickly.

Final Words

Which one of these GitHub Advanced Security alternative options is best for you will depend on the ones that enable developers to work fast, work in sync, and securely.

The alternatives mentioned above are all intended to improve workflows, enhance protection, and thus allow developers to deliver their code in a secure manner while avoiding any workflow slowdowns.

Now it's time to move beyond upgrading your security platform to incorporate solutions that meet the real needs of your developers. The next steps would include improving your workflows, enabling your teams to have the confidence to produce safer software every day.