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Developer Tools · head to head

Sweep vs Syft

Sweep logo

Sweep

Developer Tools

AI coding assistant for JetBrains IDEs

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Syft logo

Syft

Cybersecurity

Generates a software bill of materials from images, filesystems and archives

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Sweep limited to JetBrains IDEs only, not available for VS Code or other editors; Syft lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • They diverge on capability: Sweep covers Autocomplete, Syft covers Multi-format output.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sweep and Syft actually diverge.

Attributes where Sweep and Syft differ
AttributeSweepSyft
Pricing modelFreemium with paid tiersOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsJetBrains IDEsmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2023Unknown

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 Sweep

  • Autocomplete
  • AI Agent
  • Full codebase indexing
  • Code review functionality
  • Multi-IDE support
  • GitHub integration

Only in Syft

  • Multi-format output
  • Broad ecosystem coverage
  • Binary classifiers
  • In-toto attestations
  • Library and CLI
  • Pairs with Grype

What people use each for

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

Sweep

  • Accelerating code completion for JetBrains developersnot Syft
  • Automating refactoring tasks across codebasesnot Syft
  • Handling bug fixes with full repository contextnot Syft
  • Code review and quality assurancenot Syft

Syft

  • Producing a bill of materials for a customer or regulator that requires onenot Sweep
  • Feeding an inventory into a vulnerability scanner rather than scanning images directlynot Sweep
  • Recording what shipped in a build so a future disclosure can be answered quicklynot Sweep
  • Public sector work where an SBOM is a contractual deliverablenot Sweep

Where each one falls short

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

Sweep

  • Limited to JetBrains IDEs only, not available for VS Code or other editors
  • Free tier limited to 1,000 autocompletes per month
  • API credit consumption varies by feature usage
  • Performance dependent on codebase size and indexing quality

Syft

  • Lockfile parsing can drop packages silently. An open issue filed in August 2026 reports the yarn v1 cataloguer returning 118 of 745 packages with no error raised, which means a complete bill of materials and an 84 percent incomplete one look identical to the caller.
  • Fidelity varies sharply by ecosystem. Conan for C and C++, Haskell and Terraform get cataloguer support with no licence data, no dependency relationships and no file ownership, so a C and C++ shop gets the least from it.
  • Binary classification yields no licence or dependency metadata, and vendored or statically linked code is exactly where supply chain risk hides, so the blind spot and the risk overlap.
  • Incorrect CPE values and CPE collisions are recorded as open issues, and since Grype matches on CPE and PURL, an inventory error becomes a false negative in the security report downstream.
  • An inventory is not a risk assessment. Even a perfect bill of materials says a vulnerable version is present, never that the vulnerable function is called, and the triage burden lands entirely on the reader.

Pricing, plan by plan

Sweep

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 autocompletes
    • 5 USD API credits included
    • All JetBrains IDEs supported
  • Pro$20/month
    • Unlimited autocomplete
    • Higher API credit allocation
    • Priority support
  • Ultra$60/month
    • Unlimited autocomplete
    • Maximum API credit allocation
    • Extended context window

Syft

Free
  • SyftFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • No usage limits
    • Community support
  • Anchore Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Policy enforcement and reporting
    • Federal and commercial tiers
    • Pricing not published, quoted on request

Which should you pick?

Choose Sweep if

  • You need autocomplete.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on JetBrains IDEs.
  • You also want ai agent.
Sweep review

Choose Syft if

  • You need multi-format output.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want broad ecosystem coverage.
Syft review

Questions people ask

Is Sweep or Syft better?
Neither clearly leads. Sweep starts at Free and Syft at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sweep or Syft?
Sweep starts at Free and Syft at Free.
Does Sweep or Syft run on more platforms?
Sweep runs on JetBrains IDEs. Syft runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Sweep for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Sweep best used for?
Sweep is most often used for accelerating code completion for jetbrains developers, automating refactoring tasks across codebases, handling bug fixes with full repository context, code review and quality assurance. Of those, accelerating code completion for jetbrains developers and automating refactoring tasks across codebases are not what Syft is typically brought in for.
What can Sweep do that Syft cannot?
Sweep covers Autocomplete, AI Agent, Full codebase indexing, Code review functionality. Syft covers Multi-format output, Broad ecosystem coverage, Binary classifiers, In-toto attestations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Sweep: What programming languages does Sweep support?

Sweep works with all programming languages supported by JetBrains IDEs, including Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, Kotlin, C++, and many others.

Source
Syft: Does Syft find vulnerabilities?

No. It produces an inventory. Grype, from the same company, matches that inventory against vulnerability feeds. They are separate tools and the distinction is frequently lost.

Sweep: Does Sweep retain my code data?

No. Sweep is SOC 2 Type II certified with zero data retention. Code is processed for suggestions but not stored.

Source
Syft: Does anything in the Anchore stack do reachability analysis?

No. Neither Syft, Grype nor the commercial Anchore platform performs call graph or reachability analysis, so none of them tells you whether a vulnerable code path is actually invoked.

Sweep: Can I cancel my Sweep subscription anytime?

Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings with no long-term commitments or cancellation fees.

Source
Syft: Is it a CNCF or OpenSSF project?

No. It is single-vendor open source owned by Anchore, with no foundation governance. That is a different licence risk profile from Sigstore.

Syft: What does Anchore Enterprise cost?

Not published. The pricing page is contact-sales only, with named but unpriced commercial and federal tiers.

Syft: How do I know my SBOM is complete?

You largely cannot, which is the honest answer. Silent partial parsing is a known open defect, so a bill of materials used for compliance should be spot-checked against a known dependency list.

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