Home / IT & software development / Codacy vs SonarQube
Codacy vs SonarQube
Both are professional tools for IT & software development. Codacy has a lower monthly price and an EU-based provider; SonarQube has a stronger GDPR profile.
CodacyCodacy (Lisbon, PT)GDPR: GoodDeveloper free (IDE plugin) · free trial
Stronger on 2 by 3 points with a clear margin
SonarQubeSonarSource Sarl (Switzerland - EU equivalent)GDPR: StrongSonarQube Cloud Free: free up to 50,000 lines of code · free trial
Stronger on 1 by 3 points with a clear margin
The key differences
- SonarQube has the stronger GDPR profile: Strong, against Good for Codacy.
- Codacy is cheaper: $18 per month, against $34 for SonarQube.
- Codacy is based in the EU, SonarQube outside the EU.
| Criterion | Codacy | SonarQube |
|---|---|---|
| GDPR profileOur summary of what the provider itself publishes about your data. For a professional tool: whether the data is stored in the EU, whether there is a certification or GDPR guarantee, and whether the provider is based in the Netherlands or the EU. For a general model: EU hosting, no training on your data and self-hosting. From Strong to Unknown; Caution only for a model with a documented problem. How we measure | Good | Strong |
| Price | Developer free (IDE plugin) | SonarQube Cloud Free: free up to 50,000 lines of code |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Origin | EU | Outside EU |
| Runs on | Not public | Claude, ChatGPT |
Choose Codacy if…
- you care about the monthly price
- you want a provider in the EU
- you are looking for: an AI reviewer with fix proposals per PR
Choose SonarQube if…
- GDPR and confidentiality weigh heavily
- you are looking for: static code analysis for many languages
- you are looking for: quality gates in the CI/CD pipeline
Features of Codacy
- AI reviewer with fix proposals per PR
- AI guardrails for coding agents and IDE
- SAST, secrets and IaC security
- SCA with daily CVE scans
- Automating test coverage
- SBOM and audit reports
- Integration with Jira and Slack
- Setting AI coding policies centrally
Features of SonarQube
- Static code analysis for many languages
- Quality Gates in the CI/CD pipeline
- SAST with taint analysis and secrets detection
- Scanning of Infrastructure as Code
- Detection of bugs, duplications and code smells
- AI CodeFix for fix suggestions
- SonarQube for IDE with real-time feedback
- Integration with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better: Codacy or SonarQube?
- Codacy has a lower monthly price and an EU-based provider; SonarQube has a stronger GDPR profile. What matters more to you decides the choice; the table sets everything side by side.
- Which is cheaper: Codacy or SonarQube?
- Codacy: Developer free (IDE plugin); Team $18 per developer/month billed annually or $21 monthly (up to 30 developers); Business on request. SonarQube: SonarQube Cloud Free: free up to 50,000 lines of code; Team from $34/month (14 day free trial); Enterprise on request; Server (self-hosted) on request; Community Build free (self-hosted).
- Which is safer for your data: Codacy or SonarQube?
- SonarQube has the stronger GDPR profile (Strong versus Good). The profile summarises what the provider publishes; always sign a data processing agreement. See the GDPR check for IT & software development.
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