Side-by-side comparison against SonarQube, ESLint, Snyk, CodeScene and DeepSource. Same features. Radically different economics.
| Feature | Thuban | SonarQube | ESLint | Snyk | CodeScene | DeepSource |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Hallucination DetectionAI-specific | ||||||
| Phantom Import DetectionAI-specific | 10 languages | JS/TS only via plugin | Python only | |||
| Ghost Code / Dead Code DetectionCode Quality | Exports, functions, classes | Basic unused code | Unused vars only | Hotspot analysis | ||
| Hardcoded Secret ScanningSecurity | 69 patterns | Community rules | ||||
| Tech Debt Cost CalculatorBusiness | GBP/USD output | Time-based only | Risk-based | |||
| AI Slop Index / AI Quality ScoreAI-specific | 0-100 score | |||||
| Mother Code DNADocumentation | Auto-validated metadata | |||||
| Copy-Paste DetectionCode Quality | ||||||
| Dependency Vulnerability ScanningSecurity | Manifest analysis | Industry leader | ||||
| SQL Injection DetectionSecurity | JS, Python, Go, Rust, PHP | |||||
| Codebase Health PassportBusiness | Single-page report | Risk heatmap | ||||
| CI/CD IntegrationDevOps | GitHub Actions, SARIF | |||||
| MCP Server (AI Agent Integration)AI-specific | ||||||
| Runs 100% LocallyPrivacy | No code leaves your machine | Self-host or cloud | Cloud-only scanning | Cloud analysis | Cloud analysis | |
| Zero DependenciesArchitecture | Pure Node.js | Java + DB required | Plugin ecosystem | Cloud service | Cloud service | Cloud service |
| Languages SupportedCoverage | 10 | 30+ | 1 JS/TS only | 10+ | 15+ | 12 |
What you actually pay for a team of 10 developers per month
SonarQube is the industry standard for static analysis. It's been around since 2007 and supports 30+ languages. But it was built for a world where humans wrote all the code.
Choose SonarQube if you need 30+ language coverage and have DevOps capacity to maintain the infrastructure. Choose Thuban if your codebase uses AI-generated code, you want AI-specific detection, or you want the same depth without the infrastructure overhead and per-seat pricing.
ESLint is a linter, not a scanner. It checks your code matches a style guide and catches basic errors. Thuban and ESLint solve fundamentally different problems — and work best together.
Don't choose between them — use both. ESLint handles style and syntax in real-time. Thuban catches the deeper problems ESLint was never designed for: AI hallucinations, phantom imports, hardcoded secrets, and tech debt that linters can't see. Run ESLint on save, run Thuban before every merge.
Snyk is the market leader in dependency vulnerability scanning. It's excellent at what it does — finding known CVEs in your supply chain. Thuban focuses on what's inside your code, not your dependencies.
Snyk wins on dependency/container scanning — it's the best in the world at that. Thuban wins on first-party code quality, AI hallucinations, and privacy (nothing leaves your machine). If your threat model includes supply chain attacks, use Snyk. If it includes AI-generated code quality, use Thuban. Best answer: use both.
CodeScene uses behavioural code analysis — looking at how code evolves over time via git history. Thuban analyses what's in the code right now.
CodeScene excels at understanding how your team works with code over time. Thuban excels at understanding what's wrong with the code right now — especially AI-generated issues. They're complementary tools: CodeScene for process, Thuban for content.
DeepSource offers automated code review with strong autofix capabilities. It's cloud-based, well-priced, and catches many common issues. But it wasn't built for the AI generation era.
DeepSource is a solid, affordable code review tool. Thuban goes deeper on AI-specific issues and keeps everything local. If autofix is your priority, DeepSource has an edge. If AI code quality and privacy are your priority, Thuban wins.
Thuban isn't trying to replace every tool on this list. ESLint is free and fast — keep it. Snyk is the best at dependency scanning — keep it. But none of these tools were built for a world where 80% of new code is AI-generated. Phantom imports, hallucinated APIs, dead code that looks alive — that's the gap Thuban fills. And at $9/month for Pro or $49 for a team of 50, the question isn't whether you can afford Thuban. It's whether you can afford not to run it.
Read more: What AI Code Scanners Catch That Linters Can't · Why Thuban is Priced to Win
One command. Full report. No code leaves your machine.
npx thuban scan .