CBMC vs Qodana

CBMC is a bounded model checker for C and C++ programs, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It checks memory safety, including array bounds and pointer use, along with several forms of undefined behavior and user-specified assertions. Its language range includes C89, C99, most of C11 and C17, and extensions from GCC, Clang, and Visual Studio. CBMC verifies by unwinding program loops and passing the resulting equation to a decision procedure. It can check C and C++ I/O equivalence with languages such as Verilog, and generate test cases for branch, decision, path, and MC/DC coverage. Listed language features include arrays, dynamic memory, nondeterminism, assumptions, assertions, and selected C++ features such as classes, templates, and STL containers. A MiniSat-based bit-vector solver is included; Boolector, CVC5, and Z3 are supported but must be installed separately. CBMC is free at free under a BSD 4-clause license. The Windows and macOS distributions are command-line tools without a GUI.

Qodana analyzes code from the IDE through CI to find code smells, duplication, complexity, vulnerabilities, and license issues. Its baselines mark findings as new, unchanged, or resolved, and quality gates can block CI/CD pipelines based on issue counts, severity, coverage, or vulnerable and license-incompatible dependencies. Taint analysis identifies risks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, command injection, and path traversal. Qodana supports most JetBrains IDEs, along with VS Code, Visual Studio, and Cursor. Listed CI integrations include GitHub Actions, GitLab, TeamCity, Jenkins, and Azure Pipelines; Docker images can run in CI/CD pipelines. Self-Hosted runs within an organization’s infrastructure with Docker or Kubernetes deployment options. The Community plan is free and includes one team and 30 days of detailed history. Ultimate costs $5.00 per active contributor per month billed annually at $60.00; Ultimate Plus costs $15.00 per active contributor per month billed annually at $180.00. Licensing uses active contributors over the past 90 days, with a minimum of three.