Gitleaks vs AquilaX: 2026 Comparison
Gitleaks is a free static application security testing tool. AquilaX is a commercial static application security testing tool by AquilaX. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best static application security testing fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Development teams and startups with tight budgets should use Gitleaks because it catches hardcoded secrets in git repos before they reach production, and the 23,000-plus GitHub stars mean you're getting battle-tested detection rules maintained by a real community. It runs free and requires no infrastructure, so you can wire it into CI/CD in an afternoon. Skip this if your organization needs centralized secret management across multiple repositories and environments; Gitleaks finds leaks but doesn't rotate or remediate them.
AppSec teams in mid-market and enterprise organizations need AquilaX if your developers are scattered across multiple CI/CD pipelines and you're tired of bolting together five different scanners. The platform consolidates SAST, SCA, and container scanning in one gate, which cuts both tool sprawl and the false positive fatigue that kills adoption; hybrid deployment means you aren't forced into cloud-only architecture. Skip this if your organization has already standardized on a single dominant scanner with deep integrations into your specific pipeline, or if you need advanced DAST capabilities, since AquilaX's strength is earlier in the development cycle.
