Codacy vs SonarQube: Which is Better?
A detailed comparison of Codacy and SonarQube to help you choose the right code quality tool for your team.
Quick Answer
Choose Codacy If...
- You want quick, easy setup
- You prefer cloud-hosted solutions
- You're a small to medium team
- You need simple PR feedback
Choose SonarQube If...
- You need deep code analysis
- You require self-hosting
- You have infrastructure resources
- You're a large enterprise
Overview
Codacy
Codacy is a cloud-first automated code review platform. It's designed for modern development workflows with easy setup and excellent GitHub/GitLab integration.
SonarQube
SonarQube is the industry-standard code quality platform. It offers deep analysis with extensive language support and is designed for self-hosted enterprise deployments.
Feature Comparison
| Category | Codacy | SonarQube | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup & Ease of Use | 5/5 | 3/5 | Codacy: 5-min setup. SonarQube: Complex self-hosting. |
| Code Quality Analysis | 4/5 | 5/5 | SonarQube has deeper analysis and more metrics. |
| Security Scanning | 3/5 | 4/5 | SonarQube has more security rules but both limited. |
| Language Support | 4/5 | 5/5 | SonarQube supports 30+ languages vs Codacy 40+. |
| CI/CD Integration | 5/5 | 4/5 | Codacy better for cloud-native workflows. |
| Pricing Value | 4/5 | 3/5 | SonarQube enterprise is very expensive. |
| Dashboard/UI | 5/5 | 4/5 | Codacy has cleaner, more modern UI. |
| Self-Hosting | 3/5 | 5/5 | SonarQube designed for self-hosting. |
Pricing Comparison
Codacy Pricing
- Free: Open source, up to 4 users
- Pro: $15/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Transparent, per-user pricing
SonarQube Pricing
- Community: Free (limited features)
- Developer: ~$150/year (per LOC)
- Enterprise: $20,000+/year
- Data Center: $100,000+/year
Complex, enterprise-focused pricing
Pros & Cons
Codacy
Pros
- 5-minute setup
- Clean, modern UI
- Excellent PR integration
- Free for open source
- Simple pricing
Cons
- Less deep analysis
- Fewer security rules
- Limited enterprise features
SonarQube
Pros
- Deep code analysis
- 30+ languages
- Strong quality gates
- Self-hosted control
- Large community
Cons
- Complex setup
- Expensive enterprise
- Requires maintenance
What Both Tools Miss
Both Codacy and SonarQube focus on code quality and basic security. Neither provides:
No scanning of AWS, GCP, Azure misconfigurations
No visibility into production threats
No image vulnerability scanning
No SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS automation
Consider TigerGate for Complete Coverage
TigerGate provides code quality analysis plus cloud security, container scanning, runtime protection, and compliance automation in one unified platform.
Conclusion
Choose Codacy if you want a modern, easy-to-use code quality tool with minimal setup. It's ideal for small to medium teams using cloud-native workflows.
Choose SonarQube if you need deep code analysis, self-hosting capabilities, and extensive language support. It's better for larger teams with infrastructure resources.
Consider TigerGate if you need both code quality AND cloud/runtime security in one platform, without managing multiple tools.