Software composition analysis (SCA) finds known vulnerabilities, risky licenses and supply-chain problems in the open-source packages your project depends on. You do not need a paid platform to do it: several free tools do the core job well. Which one fits depends on where you want to run it and what else it has to cover. This guide compares them honestly, including where DepWarden is not the best choice.
| Tool | Best for | How you run it |
|---|---|---|
| DepWarden | A quick scan with no account or install, results ranked by real-world exploitability, SBOM and VEX export | Browser, CLI, GitHub Action, connected repo scans |
| OSV-Scanner (Google) | Scanning lockfiles, SBOMs, source directories and container images from a terminal | Open-source CLI (Apache-2.0) |
| OWASP Dependency-Check | Java-centric builds that already use Maven, Gradle, Ant, SBT or Jenkins | Open-source CLI and build-tool plugins |
| Trivy (Aqua Security) | One tool for container images, filesystems, IaC, secrets, licenses and dependencies | Open-source CLI (Apache-2.0) |
| Grype (Anchore) | Container images, filesystems and SBOMs, paired with Syft to generate the SBOM | Open-source CLI (Apache-2.0) |
| Dependabot (GitHub) | Repositories hosted on GitHub: alerts plus automatic update pull requests | Built into GitHub |
| npm audit, pip-audit, cargo audit | A single ecosystem, inside the workflow you already have | Built in, or maintained by the ecosystem |
Maintained by Google under the Apache-2.0 license, it uses the OSV.dev database and scans source directories with package files, lockfiles and container images. It has an experimental guided-remediation command for npm and Maven. Choose it when you want a lean command-line scanner in CI.
An open-source tool built around the National Vulnerability Database. It runs from the command line and as a plugin for Maven, Gradle, Ant, SBT and Jenkins. Its documentation marks some analyzers as experimental, with a higher chance of false positives and false negatives, so read the analyzer list before relying on a language. Choose it when it is already wired into a Java build. See an online OWASP Dependency-Check alternative if you would rather not maintain it.
Maintained by Aqua Security under Apache-2.0. It scans container images, filesystems, remote git repositories, virtual machine images and Kubernetes clusters, and detects vulnerabilities, infrastructure-as-code misconfigurations, secrets and licenses, and it can generate an SBOM. Choose it when the thing you are scanning is a container or a cluster rather than a manifest.
Developed by Anchore under Apache-2.0. It scans container images, filesystems and SBOMs, works with SBOMs generated by Syft, uses EPSS, KEV and a risk score to prioritise, and supports OpenVEX to filter results. Choose it when you already generate SBOMs with Syft.
Built into GitHub, it needs the dependency graph, checks the repository's default branch, and raises an alert when a new advisory reaches the GitHub Advisory Database or when your dependency graph changes. Only advisories reviewed by GitHub trigger alerts. It works on GitHub-hosted repositories only, and it pairs well with any of the scanners above because it also opens update pull requests.
Each is tied to one ecosystem and is excellent for a quick local check. None gives you a cross-ecosystem view or an SBOM. See DepWarden as an npm audit alternative, a pip-audit alternative and a cargo-audit alternative.
The free tools complement each other more than they compete. A common setup is Dependabot for update pull requests, one scanner as the pull-request gate, and a second opinion before a release. SCA only covers the code you import: for the code you write, add static analysis, and see SAST vs SCA for how the two fit together.
Snyk, Mend, Black Duck and JFrog Xray are paid platforms; some offer free tiers or trials with limits. See how DepWarden compares in DepWarden vs Snyk, vs Mend and vs Black Duck.
There is no single best one. For a fast, no-install answer with exploitability ranking, use a browser scanner such as DepWarden. For container images use Trivy or Grype. For a build that is already on Maven or Jenkins, Dependency-Check is the established choice. The table above maps each tool to the job it does best.
It is a good first check for npm projects, but it only covers npm. If you also ship Python, Java, Go or other ecosystems, or you need a bill of materials, license checks or typosquat detection, you need something broader.
Some do. DepWarden categorises licenses with SPDX identifiers and flags copyleft and unknown licenses; Trivy lists license detection among its capabilities. Check each tool's documentation for the license types it recognises.
DepWarden receives only the dependency manifest text you paste or drop in, never your source code, and works in a private, session-isolated workspace you can clear at any time. Command-line tools keep everything on your machine, which is the right choice for air-gapped work.
Paste a lockfile or scan a repo with the free software composition analysis tool, or read how the free vulnerability scanner works.