GitHub CodeQL vs PVS-Studio

GitHub CodeQL9.0Visit PVS-Studio8.2Visit

Higher score GitHub CodeQL #3 in SAST Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit GitHub CodeQL

vs

PVS-Studio #9 in SAST Tools 8.2/10 Pricing on request · 7-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit PVS-Studio

• GitHub CodeQL fits best

  GitHub-centric development teams

• PVS-Studio fits best

  C/C++ and multi-language quality teams

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Side by side

Feature	GitHub CodeQL 9.0/10 Visit ↗	PVS-Studio 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.2
Ranking	#3 in SAST Tools	#9 in SAST Tools
Best for	GitHub-centric development teams	C/C++ and multi-language quality teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$30/user/mo	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	7 days
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs	Email, Docs
Integrations	4 integrations	20 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features GitHub CodeQL 5/5 · PVS-Studio 4/5
Pull request scans	✓	✓
IDE support	✓	✓
CI/CD integration	✓	✓
Custom security rules	✓	✓
Automated fixes	✓ (best)	—
Specs
Analysis targets	source code	source code
Languages supported	11	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Semantic queries detect vulnerabilities and coding errors. Pull-request, GitHub Actions, and external CI scanning. Custom queries and SARIF support for tailored analysis.	Supports seven languages across Windows, macOS, and Linux Combines security, safety, and coding-standard diagnostics Integrates with major IDEs, build systems, and CI/CD tools
Cons	Private-repository scanning requires paid GitHub Code Security. Paid pricing is based on unique active committers. The feature set is centered on source-code analysis.	No free plan is offered Pricing requires contacting the vendor Users cannot create their own analyzer rules
Our verdict	GitHub CodeQL is a semantic static-analysis engine for finding security vulnerabilities, coding errors, and other issues in source code. It represents code as data and queries that representation, giving development and security teams a… Read the review →	PVS-Studio is a static analyzer for development teams that want source-code checks for defects, potential vulnerabilities, coding-standard violations, and optimization issues. It supports C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Go on… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• GitHub CodeQL — where it wins

  • Semantic queries detect vulnerabilities and coding errors.
  • Pull-request, GitHub Actions, and external CI scanning.
  • Custom queries and SARIF support for tailored analysis.

  Where it doesn't

  • Private-repository scanning requires paid GitHub Code Security.
  • Paid pricing is based on unique active committers.
  • The feature set is centered on source-code analysis.

• PVS-Studio — where it wins

  • Supports seven languages across Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Combines security, safety, and coding-standard diagnostics
  • Integrates with major IDEs, build systems, and CI/CD tools

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is offered
  • Pricing requires contacting the vendor
  • Users cannot create their own analyzer rules

• GitHub CodeQL9.0/10 · Free plan

  Deep SAST for GitHub workflows, with free public-repository scanning.

  Visit GitHub CodeQLFull verdict →
• PVS-Studio8.2/10 · Pricing on request · 7-day trial

  A broad SAST platform for C/C++ teams that also supports five other languages.

  Visit PVS-StudioFull verdict →