DepWarden

Overview

DepWarden is a dependency-risk scanner for developers and teams that want security checks to feed into remediation, build gates, and software-bill-of-materials work. Its combination of SCA, SAST, and compliance outputs makes it broader than a manifest-only checker, though organizations with strict assurance or regional hosting rules should look carefully at its limits.

Key features

DepWarden checks dependency manifests against vulnerability, exploitability, supply-chain, package-health, and license data. It ranks findings using CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS, fix availability, and dependency depth, then supplies copyable upgrade commands. That gives developers a clearer route from finding to fix; however, the product does not offer reachability analysis, so it cannot establish whether a vulnerable dependency is actually reachable from the code.

Beyond SCA, DepWarden scans source code in 15 languages and infrastructure-as-code formats using more than 300 rules. It accepts CycloneDX and SPDX SBOMs and can produce an SBOM, OpenVEX document, and NOTICE license file. These capabilities suit teams that want security and compliance tasks in one workflow, while the Team plan is the first listed tier that includes SAST and VEX.

Manifest, lockfile, and SBOM support spans npm, PyPI, Maven, Gradle, Go, RubyGems, Cargo, NuGet, Composer, Dart, and Swift. Pull request scans and connections to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps branches bring checks closer to development work; scheduled email reports are also supported. DepWarden says it does not retain repository tokens beyond a scan. Build options include Maven, npm/yarn/pnpm, and GitHub Actions plugins, with the npm CLI also usable in GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI, and Azure Pipelines.

For anonymous scans, the service uses a session-isolated workspace and says it does not receive or store source code or compiled binaries. Hosted service data stays in OCI's Mumbai region, with no EU or US residency option. The security controls include TLS with HSTS, salted password hashing, optional TOTP, role-based access control, append-only audit logs, and SCIM 2.0 for organization deployments. But DepWarden has no SOC 2, ISO 27001, or equivalent third-party attestation, and has not commissioned an independent penetration test. Its hosted service is single-region, without a published self-serve uptime SLA or public status page. Those are meaningful constraints for organizations with formal vendor assurance or availability requirements.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing and provides report-only scans without an account or API key, with an HTML report. It cannot fail a build, so it is suited to evaluation or visibility rather than enforcing a CI gate. A free trial is also offered.

Developer costs $19 a month, billed at $19 / month ($190 / year). It covers one engineer and adds all report formats, build gating, and fix paths. It is the practical entry point for an individual who needs CI enforcement; the free tier gives up both gating and richer report formats.

Team costs $99 a month, billed at $99 / month ($990 / year). It is aimed at a squad and adds SAST, scheduled delivery, VEX, and IP-restricted keys. Business costs $399 a month, billed at $399 / month ($3,990 / year), for an organization needing high volume, branded reports, and long retention. Enterprise has custom pricing and contract terms, with self-hosted or air-gapped deployment for organizations that need those options.

Platforms

DepWarden supports API, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted use, with hybrid deployment options. Its hosted service runs in Mumbai, while Enterprise offers self-hosted or air-gapped deployment. Support hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00–18:00 IST; the operating address is in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, India.

Who it's for

Individual developers, open-source maintainers, security engineers, CI gate owners, and compliance teams are the clearest fit. Developer works for a single engineer seeking actionable findings and build gating; teams that need SAST, VEX, or scheduled delivery have a stronger case for Team. Organizations requiring EU or US hosted residency, independent security attestation, or a published uptime commitment should consider another approach or evaluate Enterprise deployment terms carefully.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Risk ranking combines exploitability signals, fix availability, and dependency depth, with upgrade commands that help turn results into remediation.
• Pros: Broad ecosystem coverage, repository integrations, and multiple CI options make it adaptable to varied development workflows.
• Pros: SBOM, OpenVEX, and NOTICE outputs support compliance work alongside SCA and SAST.
• Cons: No reachability analysis means findings cannot be narrowed by whether a vulnerable dependency is used in reachable code.
• Cons: Hosted data is restricted to Mumbai, and the service lacks third-party attestation and an independent penetration test.
• Cons: Single-region hosting, no self-serve uptime SLA, and no public status page may be unsuitable for availability-sensitive teams.

Alternatives

For a broader category comparison, browse Software Composition Analysis Software. Choose Sonatype Nexus Repository if repository management and CI/CD integration are the priority; its free Community Edition includes full ecosystem support and an option for an external PostgreSQL database. Docker Desktop is a different fit for users seeking a container-development environment and Docker tooling, with a free Personal plan.

Endor Labs offers a free, account-free developer tier for local scans through its AURI MCP server, but that tier has no UI, policies, or scan history. For a free open-source scanner, consider Retire.js; for a Docker-container or Linux-server option without stated usage limits, consider ScanCode.io.

Snyk Open Source may suit teams comparing a free SCA tier capped at five projects with a paid Team plan. Socket is worth considering for teams whose needs align with its Team plan's per-developer pricing, five-developer minimum, and monthly scan and API quotas. Accessibility Test Framework for Android is a free Android accessibility-testing tool rather than a dependency-security product.

Verdict

DepWarden is a strong fit for developers and security teams that want dependency triage, build gating, SAST, and SBOM-related outputs across common ecosystems. Its actionable prioritization and workflow coverage are compelling reasons to choose it; the lack of reachability analysis and the hosted service's residency, assurance, and availability limitations are the reasons to look elsewhere. For organizations that can accept those trade-offs—or use self-hosted deployment where appropriate—it offers a practical route to connect dependency checks with remediation and compliance work.