Semgrep pricing is structured around three tiers: a free Community tier, a per-contributor Team plan, and a custom-quoted Enterprise plan, with cost scaling by the number of active contributors rather than by lines of code or scans. If you are evaluating Semgrep and trying to work out what it will actually cost, the per-contributor model is the detail that matters most, because your bill tracks your engineering headcount. This breakdown covers each tier and the cost factors that catch teams off guard. Pricing changes often, so confirm current numbers on Semgrep's official pricing page before you budget.
The three tiers at a glance
Semgrep splits into a free open-source and small-team offering, a paid Team plan, and Enterprise.
Community / free tier. Semgrep's open-source CLI engine is free and always has been; you can run it locally and in CI with community rules at no cost. On top of that, the hosted platform has historically been free for small teams, up to a contributor and private-repository limit (reported around ten contributors and ten private repositories), including the core scanning products. For an individual, an open-source project, or a small team, this tier does real work without a bill.
Team plan. This is the paid entry point, priced per contributor per month. Recent reporting puts it in the range of roughly $30 to $40 per contributor per month, bundling the main modules, Semgrep Code (SAST), Semgrep Supply Chain (SCA), and Semgrep Secrets, along with the AI assistant and the central dashboard. Note the reporting varies on whether modules are bundled or priced separately, which is precisely the kind of thing to confirm directly.
Enterprise plan. Custom-quoted, contact-sales pricing. This tier is where you get features larger organizations need, such as on-premise source-control integration, SSO, advanced administration, and negotiated volume terms.
What a "contributor" actually means
The single most important thing to understand about Semgrep pricing is the definition of a contributor, because that is the billing unit. A contributor is generally anyone who has committed code to a monitored repository within a recent window (commonly the last 30 days). It is not every employee, and it is not every seat; it is active committers to the repos Semgrep is scanning.
This has practical consequences. Onboarding more repositories can pull in more contributors and raise your bill even if your total headcount did not change. Conversely, a large company where only a subset of engineers touch monitored repos may pay less than a naive per-seat estimate suggests. Model your cost on active committers to the specific repos you plan to scan, not on total developer count.
Hidden and secondary cost factors
The headline per-contributor number is not the whole story. A few things affect real spend:
- Module bundling. Depending on the plan and how it is sold, SAST, SCA, and Secrets may be bundled or may stack. If they stack, the effective per-contributor cost is higher than the single-module figure. Clarify this in the quote.
- On-premise requirements. Self-hosted or on-prem source-control integration typically pushes you into Enterprise, which changes the pricing conversation entirely.
- Contributor churn. Because billing tracks recent committers, a spike in contributors during a busy release period can bump the invoice.
- Rule development time. Semgrep's strength is custom rules, but writing and maintaining them is engineering effort that does not appear on the invoice yet is a genuine cost of ownership.
How to evaluate whether it fits
Semgrep is a strong static analysis engine with a genuinely useful free tier, which is unusual in this space. For a small team or an open-source project, the free offering may be all you need. For a growing engineering org, the Team plan's per-contributor model is predictable as long as you have counted active committers correctly.
When you compare it against other tools, compare on total scope, not just the SAST line item. Semgrep covers SAST, SCA, and secrets; some competitors price those separately, and some bundle differently. If dependency scanning is your priority, weigh the SCA capability specifically. An SCA-focused platform such as Safeguard approaches dependency and supply chain risk as its core rather than as one module among several, which may or may not match what you need; our pricing page lays out that model for comparison. The broader point is to map each tool's tiers to the capabilities you will actually use.
A quick decision framework
Work through these questions before committing:
- How many active committers touch the repos you want to scan? That is your contributor count, and your cost basis.
- Do you need SAST only, or SCA and secrets too? Confirm whether those are bundled or stacked in the quote.
- Do you require on-premise or self-hosted deployment? If so, budget for Enterprise.
- Will you invest in custom rules, and who maintains them?
- Have you priced the alternatives on the same scope, so the comparison is apples to apples?
The Safeguard Academy has more general material on evaluating AppSec tooling without getting anchored on a single vendor's framing.
FAQ
Is Semgrep free?
Yes, in part. The open-source Semgrep CLI engine is free to run locally and in CI, and the hosted platform has historically offered a free tier for small teams up to a contributor and repository limit. Paid Team and Enterprise plans add scale, more products, and enterprise features.
How is Semgrep priced?
Per contributor per month, where a contributor is generally someone who has committed to a monitored repository recently (commonly within the last 30 days). The Team plan has been reported in the range of roughly $30 to $40 per contributor per month; Enterprise is custom-quoted.
What is the difference between the Team and Enterprise plans?
The Team plan is the standard paid, per-contributor tier covering the core scanning products. Enterprise is custom-priced and adds capabilities larger organizations need, such as on-premise source-control integration, SSO, advanced administration, and negotiated terms.
Why might my Semgrep bill be higher than expected?
Because it scales with active contributors, adding repositories can pull in more committers and raise cost even without new hires. Module stacking (SAST plus SCA plus Secrets) and on-premise requirements can also increase spend. Always confirm current numbers on Semgrep's official pricing page.