Tool profile
Socket: cost, fit and limits
Socket is a software composition analysis tool that scans open source dependencies for supply chain risk, blocks malicious packages and applies AI-powered risk analysis, priced per dev seat from a free plan to a custom enterprise tier.
What to know first
Socket charges per dev seat, meaning a developer who committed to a scanned repository in the past 90 days, and keeps repositories and dashboard users unlimited on every plan. Free costs $0, Team $25 and Business $50 per seat per month, with Enterprise on a custom quote. The pricing page was the only page that could be read, so maker, headquarters and data practices are not confirmed here.
Socket at a glance
| Maker | Not stated on the pages read, Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $0 per dev seat per month (Free plan) |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Software Composition Analysis Tools in 2026, rank 10 of 10 |
| Website | socket.dev |
Who Socket is best for
Small teams guarding against malicious packages
The Free plan blocks malicious dependencies automatically and runs AI-powered risk analysis across 70-plus risk types, with 1 dev seat and 1,000 scans a month.
Teams that triage by reachability
Team adds precomputed reachability analysis, which shows whether a flagged dependency is reachable in code, so alerts on unused code can be ranked lower.
Organizations that need SBOMs and SSO
Business adds SBOM import, export and generation, SSO and SAML, ticketing, Vanta and SIEM integrations and historical analytics, from 20 dev seats.
Socket plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 per dev seat per month | 1 dev seat, 1,000 scans a month, 500 API requests, 10,000 dependencies tracked, 14-day scan retention, IDE plugins and basic support. |
| Team | $25 per dev seat per month | From 5 dev seats, 5,000 scans a month, 2,500 API requests, 1,000,000 dependencies tracked, 30-day retention, reachability analysis and Slack alerts. |
| Business | $50 per dev seat per month | From 20 dev seats, unlimited scans, 10,000 API requests, 90-day retention, SBOM tools, GitHub Actions and AI model scanning, SSO and SAML. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom seats, unlimited API quota, 365-day retention, function-level reachability, SCIM, audit log, SAST for 15-plus languages and secrets detection. |
Checked November 2026.
What Socket does
- Malicious package blocking
- Socket detects 70-plus risk types in open source dependencies and auto-blocks malicious ones. This is included on the Free plan, so even a one-developer project gets the protection.
- AI-powered risk analysis
- The pricing page names AI-powered risk analysis and priority scoring on every plan, including Free. It does not describe the models used or how scores are calculated.
- Reachability analysis
- Team and above include precomputed reachability analysis. Enterprise upgrades this to function-level reachability, which narrows alerts to dependencies whose vulnerable code is actually called by the application.
- SBOM and AI model scanning
- Business adds SBOM import, export and generation, GitHub Actions scanning and AI model scanning, which suits teams answering customer or regulator requests for a bill of materials.
- Remediation and code scanning
- Enterprise lists one-click patch apply, automatic patch pull requests, SAST across 15-plus languages and secrets detection with 800-plus detectors, widening the scope beyond dependency checks.
How Socket handles your data
The Socket home, privacy and trust pages returned a bot challenge during this check, so its data policy, hosting region, certifications and any use of customer code for model training were not read. The pricing page does state scan retention by plan: 14 days on Free, 30 days on Team, 90 days on Business and 365 days on Enterprise. Buyers scanning private repositories should request the privacy policy, subprocessor list and security reports directly from the vendor.
Where Socket falls short in practice
- Scan and API quotas on lower plans. Free caps scans at 1,000 a month and API requests at 500, and Team caps scans at 5,000. A busy monorepo with frequent pull requests can reach those limits before the Business plan applies.
- Seat minimums raise the entry price. Team starts at 5 dev seats and Business at 20, so the real entry cost above the free plan is 5 times $25 per month, or $125 at monthly rates.
- Key controls sit on Enterprise. SCIM provisioning, audit log, function-level reachability, self-hosted repositories and the uptime SLA are Enterprise features, so regulated teams will not get them on the Business plan.
Works with
Alternatives to Socket
Socket: common questions
What counts as a dev seat at Socket?
A dev seat is a developer who made a commit to a repository scanned by Socket in the past 90 days. Billing is per dev seat, while repositories and dashboard users are unlimited on every plan. Count active committers across scanned repositories to estimate your bill.
Is AI included on the free Socket plan?
Yes. The pricing page lists AI-powered risk analysis and priority scoring on every plan, Free included, alongside 70-plus risk types and auto-blocking of malicious dependencies. AI model scanning is separate and sits on the Business plan. The page does not name the models behind the analysis.
Which Socket plan includes reachability analysis?
Precomputed reachability analysis starts on Team at $25 per dev seat per month. Function-level reachability is listed on Enterprise only. Reachability shows whether a flagged dependency is reachable in your code, which helps you ignore alerts that cannot be triggered.
Can Socket scan GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps?
The pricing page lists GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps and self-hosted repositories under Enterprise, and GitHub Actions scanning under Business. If your code lives outside GitHub, confirm which plan covers your repository host before you start a trial or sign a contract.
How long does Socket keep scan results?
Scan retention is 14 days on Free, 30 days on Team, 90 days on Business and 365 days on Enterprise, according to the pricing page. Teams that need a longer audit history have to choose Enterprise or export results on their own schedule.