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WP HealthKit

Semgrep vs WP HealthKit

WP HealthKit runs Semgrep. It also runs 29 other things.

SemgrepWP HealthKit
What it doesCustomisable static analysis engine for 30+ languagesWordPress-specific audit: Semgrep as one of 42 deterministic scanners, plus 4 AI engines
Who it's forSecurity engineers and DevSecOps teams wanting custom rulesWordPress plugin developers wanting an out-of-the-box expert audit
How it worksPattern matching with custom rule YAML filesSemgrep + PHPCS + PHPStan + Wordfence CVEs + secret detection + AI — no config needed
Price rangeFree (open source) – enterpriseFree – £499/mo

What Semgrep does well

  • Extremely fast — scans large codebases in seconds
  • Highly customisable: write your own rules in YAML
  • Supports 30+ languages for multi-language monorepos
  • Large community rule registry (Semgrep Registry)
  • Free and open source with strong CI/CD integration
  • Semgrep Pro adds cross-function taint analysis

What WP HealthKit does differently

  • WP HealthKit runs Semgrep internally as one of 42 deterministic scanners — you get Semgrep's pattern matching without writing a single rule
  • On top of Semgrep, you get: PHPCS WordPress-Extra ruleset, PHPStan Level 5, Wordfence CVE cross-reference, secret detection, PHP 8.x compatibility, WooCommerce compatibility, plugin conflict detection, dependency auditing, hook wiring analysis, i18n readiness, database schema audit, WPScan, and Psalm
  • Four AI engines (security, quality, accessibility, theme) that understand WordPress's security model natively — something Semgrep rules alone cannot replicate
  • Zero configuration: upload a ZIP, get a professional PDF report with severity scoring and code fix suggestions
  • Built-in Autofix: deterministic patchers and AI-generated patches for issues outside deterministic rules
  • Companion plugin for continuous site monitoring — auto re-audit when plugins update

Where they overlap

Semgrep is a component inside WP HealthKit. If you use WP HealthKit, you are already getting Semgrep's pattern matching — plus significantly more.

When to use both

  • If you are a security engineer who wants to write custom WordPress-specific Semgrep rules for your CI pipeline, run both: custom Semgrep rules in CI on every commit, WP HealthKit for comprehensive pre-release audits
  • If you are a WordPress developer who does not want to maintain Semgrep rules, use WP HealthKit — Semgrep is already included

Decision framework

If you need...Use...
Custom security rules across a multi-language monorepoSemgrep
Out-of-the-box WordPress plugin security auditWP HealthKit
Security engineering team with rule-writing capacitySemgrep
Developer who wants expert results without configurationWP HealthKit
Custom rules in CI plus comprehensive pre-release auditUse both

Semgrep pricing

Free (open source), Semgrep Pro/Team pricing on request

WP HealthKit pricing

Free (2 audits/mo), £4.99 single, £29/mo Pro, £149/mo Agency, £499/mo Enterprise

Run a free audit on your plugin

See what WP HealthKit finds in your code — 2 free tokens, no credit card required.

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Semgrep vs WP HealthKit | WP HealthKit