FossID Workbench vs SW360
FossID Workbench
fossid.comSW360
eclipse.devSide by side
| Figure | FossID Workbench | SW360 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Open Source License Compliance Software | 8.2 (#6) | 7.4 (#23) |
| Deployment | FossID describes cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployment options, including an offline air-gapped option. | The recommended SW360 v20 deployment uses containers compatible with Docker or Podman and includes the frontend, Keycloak, CouchDB, and Spring Boot backend. |
| Founded | 2016 | 2016 |
| Purpose | FossID Workbench is a software composition analysis tool for identifying third-party components, licenses, and vulnerabilities in codebases. | SW360 is a software catalogue and repository for collecting, organizing, and sharing information about software components used in an organization. |
| SBOMs | Workbench supports creating, importing, consolidating, and exporting SBOMs in SPDX and CycloneDX formats. | The user guide lists Software Bill of Materials management as a use case. |
Plans
In their own words
FossID Workbench
FossID Workbench is a software composition analysis tool for identifying and governing third-party software in codebases. It analyzes direct and transitive dependencies, scans unmanaged source code across programming languages, and detects embedded open-source snippets, including modified code. ID Assist proposes component identifications, while License Extractor extracts file-level license text. Vulnerable Snippet Finder locates code blocks linked to CVEs, with VEX data adding exploitability context. Workbench creates, imports, consolidates, and exports software bills of materials with component, license, vulnerability, and usage information in SPDX or CycloneDX formats. Policy Management can enforce license, security, and usage rules across projects. GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket imports are supported, alongside CI/CD scanning, gating, pull-request notifications, and API workflows. Deployment options include cloud, hybrid, on-premises, and offline air-gapped setups. It supports many ecosystems, including JavaScript, Java/Kotlin, Python, Rust, Go, C/C++, .NET, and others. Pricing is available on request.
SW360
SW360 is an open-source catalogue and repository for organizing software component information across an organization. It records components, releases, and projects, manages license information and obligations, and supports workflows that produce license-related documents. Software Bill of Materials management is listed as a use case, with SPDX RDF/XML and CycloneDX import formats. SW360 also collects vulnerability information and matches it with components in its component service. A REST API exposes its functions, with documented HTTP Basic, API token, OAuth2, and Keycloak authentication options. The recommended version 20 deployment uses Docker- or Podman-compatible containers for the frontend, Keycloak, CouchDB, and Spring Boot backend. SW360 can trigger FOSSology clearing and import its reports, while FOSSology performs license scanning. SW360 itself does not scan licenses or source code. The project is free, licensed under EPL-2.0, and designed for self-managed deployment. Version 20.1.0 is listed as dated July 29, 2026.