Comparison

BFG Repo-Cleaner vs Semgrep

On the evidence we track, Semgrep leads this comparison with a composite score of 63/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

BFG Repo-Cleaner full profile →Semgrep full profile →

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BFG Repo-Cleaner29

★Semgrep63

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	BFG Repo-Cleaner	SemgrepLeader
vioscaleAI score	29 / 100medium · 63%	63 / 100medium · 70%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	low
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$15
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✗
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	20
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	2.8	-
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=homebrew&package_name=bfg&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=semgrep&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	60	375
Github starsadoption.github_stars	12,201	17,059
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	-	5,048,057
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	0	86
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	118	7
Historyrelease.history	10 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	GPL-3.0	LGPL-2.1
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Scala	C
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	-	Available worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	5 items	8 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

BFG Repo-Cleaner29 / 100medium · 63%

Semgrep63 / 100medium · 70%

Pricing

Free tier

BFG Repo-Cleaner✓

Semgrep✓

Model

BFG Repo-Cleaneropen_source

Semgrepfreemium

Price level

BFG Repo-Cleanerfree

Semgreplow

Starting price

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep$15

Transparent

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep✗

Integrations

Count

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep20

Security

Disclosure policy

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep✓

Gdpr

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep✓

Scorecard

BFG Repo-Cleaner2.8

Semgrep–

Soc2

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep✓

Vulnerabilities

BFG Repo-CleanerCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=homebrew&package_name=bfg&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

SemgrepCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=semgrep&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

BFG Repo-Cleaner60

Semgrep375

Github stars

BFG Repo-Cleaner12,201

Semgrep17,059

Package downloads weekly

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

Semgrep5,048,057

Activity

Commits last 30d

BFG Repo-Cleaner0

Semgrep86

Release

Cadence days

BFG Repo-Cleaner118

Semgrep7

History

BFG Repo-Cleaner10 items

Semgrep20 items

License

Spdx

BFG Repo-CleanerGPL-3.0

SemgrepLGPL-2.1

Language

Primary

BFG Repo-CleanerScala

SemgrepC

Market

Availability

BFG Repo-Cleaner–

SemgrepAvailable worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US

Content

Faq

BFG Repo-Cleaner5 items

Semgrep8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for secrets scanning. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Secrets Scanning
Capability	BFG Repo-Cleaner	Semgrep
Capabilities
Deployment model	Local CLI only	Hybrid
Git repository historical scanning	✓	✓
Pre commit developer hooks	-	✓
Active token validation engine	-	✓
High entropy regex detection	-	✓
Slack teams jira scanning	-	✓
Automated key revocation apis	-	✗
Custom regex rules support	-	✓
Ci cd pipeline build blocking	-	✓
Compliance audit reporting	-	✓
SOC2 type ii	-	✗
ISO 27001	-	✗
Pricing model	Open source	Per developer seat

Capabilities

Deployment model

BFG Repo-CleanerLocal CLI only

SemgrepHybrid

Git repository historical scanning

BFG Repo-Cleaner✓

Semgrep✓

Pre commit developer hooks

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

Active token validation engine

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

High entropy regex detection

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

Slack teams jira scanning

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

Automated key revocation apis

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✗

Custom regex rules support

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

Ci cd pipeline build blocking

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

Compliance audit reporting

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✓

SOC2 type ii

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✗

ISO 27001

BFG Repo-Cleaner-

Semgrep✗

Pricing model

BFG Repo-CleanerOpen source

SemgrepPer developer seat

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

BFG Repo-Cleaner

A Scala-based utility that removes large or problematic files from Git repository history more efficiently than the standard git-filter-branch command.

Independently observed

Semgrep

Leader

A comprehensive application security platform combining SAST, SCA, and secrets detection with AI-assisted remediation guidance. Integrates into developer workflows and CI/CD pipelines to catch vulnerabilities before code is deployed.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

BFG Repo-Cleaner

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-10-15verify ↗

Semgrep

Leader

from $15/contributor/moSubscriptionFree tier

Free tier available. Teams start at $30/contributor/mo. Enterprise custom pricing with volume discounts.

Free EditionFree
- Cross-file analysis with Pro rules
- AI-powered detection, triage, and remediation
- Code scanning
- Supply Chain scanning
- 60 AI credits
- +2 more
Teams$30/contributor/mo (Code or Supply Chain) or $15/contributor/mo (Secrets)
- One-click CI/CD deploy using Semgrep infrastructure
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Award-winning support
- Pro Engine with 35+ supported languages
- Cross-function Taint Analysis
- +14 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- Everything in Teams, plus:
- Support for on-prem source code management
- Support for custom CI/CD integrations
- Optional deployment in dedicated infrastructure
- Unlimited repositories and contributors
- +6 more

as of 2026-08-24verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	BFG Repo-Cleaner	Semgrep
WebPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
HybridDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

BFG Repo-Cleaner✗

Semgrep✓

CLI

BFG Repo-Cleaner✓

Semgrep✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

BFG Repo-Cleaner✗

Semgrep✓

Self-hosted

BFG Repo-Cleaner✓

Semgrep✓

Hybrid

BFG Repo-Cleaner✗

Semgrep✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

BFG Repo-Cleaner

Not documented yet.

Semgrep

Leader

28 total

GitHub
GitLab
Bitbucket
Jenkins
CircleCI
Azure
Buildkite
HackerOne
Slack
Email
Webhooks
VS Code
IntelliJ
Jira
Wiz
Palo Alto Networks Cortex
REST API
Cursor
Replit
Codacy
OpenID Connect
SAML
GitHub OAuth
GitLab OAuth
+4 more

Independently observed

Still deciding?

BFG Repo-Cleaner or Semgrep: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.