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APIs · head to head

Formance vs Semgrep

Formance logo

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Semgrep logo

Semgrep

Cybersecurity

Open-source static analysis tool for finding security bugs and enforcing code standards.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.; Semgrep free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
  • They diverge on capability: Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Semgrep covers Static code scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Formance and Semgrep actually diverge.

Attributes where Formance and Semgrep differ
AttributeFormanceSemgrep
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, APIweb, api, linux, mac, windows
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Formance

  • Double-entry ledger
  • Numscript transaction DSL
  • Multi-currency
  • Payments connectivity
  • Reconciliation
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Cloud offering
  • API and SDKs

Only in Semgrep

  • Static code scanning
  • Supply chain scanning
  • Secrets detection
  • Cross-file analysis
  • AI-powered triage and remediation
  • CI/CD integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Formance

  • A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot Semgrep
  • A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot Semgrep
  • A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot Semgrep
  • A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot Semgrep

Semgrep

  • Scanning code for security vulnerabilities in CI/CDnot Formance
  • Detecting vulnerable open-source dependenciesnot Formance
  • Finding hardcoded secrets before code shipsnot Formance
  • Enforcing custom code standards with rule setsnot Formance
  • Prioritizing findings with AI-assisted triagenot Formance

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Formance

  • Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
  • Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
  • The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

Semgrep

  • Free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
  • Secrets scanning is priced as a separate module ($15/contributor) from Code and Supply Chain.
  • Self-managed repositories and custom CI/CD require the Enterprise tier.
  • AI credits are limited per tier and additional usage requires upgrading.

Pricing, plan by plan

Formance

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licensed core ledger
    • Numscript transaction DSL
    • Multi-currency tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Managed or private deployment
    • Payments connectivity and reconciliation
    • Support with response commitments

Semgrep

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 contributors
    • Code and Supply Chain scanning
    • 60 AI credits total
  • Teams$30/month
    • Code, Supply Chain, or Secrets scanning per contributor
    • Pro rules
    • AI-powered triage and remediation
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • On-prem support
    • Custom CI/CD
    • 50 AI credits per developer/month

Which should you pick?

Choose Formance if

  • You need double-entry ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
  • You also want numscript transaction dsl.
Formance review

Choose Semgrep if

  • You need static code scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
  • You also want supply chain scanning.
Semgrep review

Questions people ask

Is Formance or Semgrep better?
Neither clearly leads. Formance starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Formance or Semgrep?
Formance starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.
Does Formance or Semgrep run on more platforms?
Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
Can I use Formance for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Formance best used for?
Formance is most often used for a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable, a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit, a payments team that wants one normalised model across several psps so reconciliation is not written separately for each, a company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappears. Of those, a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable and a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit are not what Semgrep is typically brought in for.
What can Formance do that Semgrep cannot?
Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

Semgrep: What does Semgrep cost?

The Free edition covers up to 10 contributors; Teams starts at $30/contributor/month for Code scanning (Supply Chain also $30, Secrets $15); Enterprise is custom-priced.

Source
Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

Semgrep: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free edition supports up to 10 contributors and 10 repositories with Code and Supply Chain scanning plus 60 AI credits total.

Source
Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

Semgrep: How is usage metered?

Pricing is per contributor, defined as someone who made at least one commit to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days.

Source
Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

Semgrep: Is there special pricing for startups?

Yes, Semgrep offers special startup pricing upon request for early-stage companies.

Source
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