Overview

FOSSA scans dependencies across more than 30 languages and supports policies for license, security, and quality standards at the organization level. Those policies can block builds, making the platform more relevant to teams enforcing release requirements than to users who only need an occasional inventory.

Teams can scan through the CLI or CI/CD, analyze containers, detect snippets, or use Quick Import from code hosts. Enterprise customers can also upload binaries and SBOMs. Quick Import skips the build and produces less complete results than a CLI scan, so it is a weaker choice for decisions that depend on a fuller dependency picture.

Key features

FOSSA generates, imports, exports, and manages SBOMs, with reachability analysis and pull request scanning supporting ongoing review. Its integrations include Jira, GitHub, Slack, Bitbucket, GitLab, APIs, and OIDC providers. That mix can connect scanning and policy workflows to tools already used for source control and collaboration.

The documented on-premises deployment runs in customer infrastructure using Kubernetes and Helm, giving organizations a self-managed option. The Trust Center lists SOC 2 compliance, encryption, and penetration testing controls. Free includes basic email support; Business adds priority support.

Pricing

FOSSA has a freemium model, with a Free plan and paid pricing from $20/mo (annual). The Free plan is billed Free forever and includes five projects, 10 contributing developers, one release group, five dependency levels for scans, one quality check, and five imported SBOMs. It is a practical entry point for a small evaluation, but the project and import ceilings—and limited scan depth and checks—can constrain ongoing use.

Business is listed at 2020710.00 USD per year, billed annually. It includes 10 projects / SBOM imports, 10 contributing developers, one release group, unlimited dependency levels, and the full suite of quality checks. Its expanded checks and scan depth suit teams with more demanding policy needs, but the 10-project/import and developer caps remain important when estimating fit.

Enterprise has custom pricing and includes unlimited projects, a custom developer count, unlimited release groups and dependency levels, enterprise SLAs, and custom retention policies. It is the plan for organizations that need scale or negotiated service and retention terms; the supplied plan details do not state a trial length or renewal terms.

Platforms

FOSSA supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web platforms. The self-hosted deployment uses Kubernetes and Helm, while CLI and CI/CD scanning make it relevant to development workflows as well as browser-based use.

Who it's for

FOSSA fits teams that need dependency, license, and security checks tied to build policy, especially where SBOM work is part of compliance. Developers can integrate scans into delivery, while security teams and legal counsel can use shared standards and SBOM workflows. Small teams can start on Free, but should weigh its quotas against their project footprint; a standalone scanner user may not need the broader policy and management layer.

Pros and cons

Pro: Build-blocking license, security, and quality policies make standards enforceable in delivery rather than merely visible in reports.
Pro: SBOM generation and management, reachability analysis, and pull request scanning support both inventory and ongoing review.
Pro: CLI, CI/CD, container, snippet, and upload options accommodate different scanning workflows.
Con: Quick Import is less complete than CLI scanning because it does not run the build.
Con: Free caps projects, contributing developers, scan depth, checks, and imported SBOMs, limiting it as a long-term option for growing teams.
Con: Business retains caps on projects/imports, developers, and release groups despite expanding scan depth and quality checks.

Alternatives

For a focused license-compliance shortlist, compare Open Source License Compliance Software; for inventory and lifecycle work, see SBOM Management Software. Teams evaluating broader composition analysis can review Software Composition Analysis Software, while those focused on dependency workflows can consult Dependency Management Software.

Double Open Compliance is a freemium alternative with API, self-hosted, and web platforms. REUSE Tool is free, works offline, and needs no registration, which may suit users wanting a standalone tool. ScanCode Toolkit is a free code-scanning tool available across Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted environments. SW360 is free, open source under EPL-2.0, and self-managed. ClearlyDefined is free and makes its data available for everyone to see and use. FOSSLight Hub is free under AGPL-3.0 and documents self-hosted installation. FOSSology is a free open-source license compliance toolkit and system. OSSKB is free of charge, but its service is best-effort and transaction frequency may be limited.

Verdict

Choose FOSSA if your team needs dependency and license analysis tied to enforceable policies and managed SBOM workflows across development. Its central advantage is combining those controls with multiple scan paths and deployment options. Look elsewhere if you need only a lightweight scan, or if Free’s caps and Business’s project and developer limits do not match your scale.

	FOSSA	LicenseRec
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$168392.50/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web	Linux, self-hosted, Web
Free plan	Yes	—
Policy enforcement	—	advisory
Deployment options	—	both
Source scan methods	—	repository

FOSSA vs LicenseRec

FOSSA

LicenseRec