The best software bill of materials (SBOM) tools in 2026 fall into three groups: open source generators that produce the inventory, a management platform that stores and monitors it, and a commercial platform that adds reachability to cut alert noise. The right pick depends on your languages, your scale, and whether you need raw inventory or risk reduction on top of it.
We assessed each tool on the same dimensions: ecosystem coverage, dependency-resolution accuracy, integration options, enrichment, noise reduction, and scale. If you need a primer on the artifact itself, start with our guide to what an SBOM is. For the wider category, see software supply chain security.
What to look for in an SBOM tool
A generator that lists half your dependencies hands you false confidence. Six criteria separate enterprise-ready SBOM tools from basic scanners.
- Language and ecosystem coverage. Most production codebases are polyglot. A tool that covers your stack across every language and package manager beats one that covers two well and the rest not at all.
- Dependency-resolution accuracy. The tool needs to capture transitive and phantom (shadow) dependencies, not just the packages in your manifest. Basic generators can miss up to 40% of dependencies in complex builds, and they stumble on binary-only components.
- Integration flexibility. Look for CLI, API, IDE, and native CI/CD support, so SBOM generation runs inside your pipeline instead of beside it.
- Enrichment. Raw component lists carry little value on their own. The tool should attach vulnerability data, license metadata, and component provenance.
- Noise reduction. Pure CVE matching floods teams with findings. Function-level reachability analysis determines whether your application calls the vulnerable code at all, which is the difference between thousands of alerts and the handful that matter.
- Scalability and performance. The tool has to handle monorepos and thousands of dependencies without falling over.
The best SBOM tools in 2026
Syft (Anchore)
Syft is the most popular open source SBOM generator, with more than 6,000 GitHub stars. Its CLI-first design supports 30 or more package ecosystems and exports to both SPDX and CycloneDX. It is lightweight, fast, and pairs with Grype for vulnerability scanning.
The trade-off: no reachability analysis, and its manifest parsing can miss shadow dependencies. Best for teams that want simple, scriptable SBOM generation in their CI/CD pipelines.
CycloneDX Generator (cdxgen)
cdxgen is the official OWASP tool for the CycloneDX format. It covers Java, JavaScript, Python, C++, and more, offers an API server mode, and produces native CycloneDX output. Its language coverage is the broadest in this list, and the OWASP community maintains it.
The trade-offs: CycloneDX-only output (no SPDX), and it runs slower than Syft on large codebases. Best for organizations standardizing on CycloneDX or needing wide language support.
Microsoft SBOM Tool
Microsoft built this generator for complex build systems. It handles multiple package managers (npm, pip, NuGet, Go) and produces SPDX 2.2 output. It is battle-tested on Windows and Azure codebases, with strong .NET ecosystem support.
The trade-offs: SPDX-only output, Windows-centric defaults, and more configuration than the alternatives. Best for enterprises in the Microsoft ecosystem or with complex multi-language builds.
OWASP Dependency-Track
Dependency-Track is a full SBOM management platform, not just a generator. It centralizes SBOM storage, runs continuous vulnerability monitoring, and includes a policy engine for compliance. It delivers complete lifecycle management, a robust API, and component-risk tracking over time.
The trade-offs: heavier deployment (it requires a database), and it focuses on management rather than generation. Best for organizations that need SBOM governance and continuous monitoring beyond one-time generation.
Endor Labs SBOM Hub
Endor Labs SBOM Hub combines SBOM generation with continuous monitoring and reachability analysis in one platform. It imports any SBOM format, enriches each component with function-level reachability to cut 95% of noise, keeps versioned history, and runs API-first automation. It removes the false positives other tools leave behind and integrates with existing CI/CD without a rip-and-replace.
The trade-off: commercial-only, with no open source version. Best for enterprises with complex supply chains that need both compliance and real risk reduction.
Generation vs management vs monitoring
Most teams shop for an "SBOM tool" when they actually need three capabilities, and few tools cover all three.
Generation produces the inventory. Syft, cdxgen, and the Microsoft SBOM Tool live here. They turn a build or a manifest into a component list. This is the easy part, and the open source options solve it well.
Management keeps that inventory usable across the organization. As SBOM count grows, sprawl follows: hundreds of files across teams, formats that do not match, and versions that drift out of date the moment a dependency updates. A central SBOM repository standardizes formats, controls access for customer and vendor sharing, and tracks versions as software evolves. Dependency-Track and SBOM Hub serve this layer.
Monitoring turns the inventory into ongoing risk signal. A component that was clean last quarter can carry a critical CVE today. Monitoring correlates each SBOM with live vulnerability intelligence and, in the case of SBOM Hub, layers reachability on top so engineers chase the findings an attacker can reach rather than every CVE in the tree. SBOM automation in CI/CD ties the three together, so every deployment produces a current, monitored SBOM with no manual step.
How to choose for your stack
Match the tool to your environment and your maturity, not to a feature checklist.
- Polyglot codebase or monorepo: prioritize coverage. cdxgen offers the widest language support; Syft covers a broad set with less overhead.
- Microsoft or .NET shop: the Microsoft SBOM Tool fits the build systems you already run.
- Standardizing on CycloneDX: cdxgen gives you native output and OWASP backing.
- You need governance and continuous monitoring: Dependency-Track adds a management and policy layer on top of whatever generator you use.
- You need compliance plus noise reduction at scale: SBOM Hub combines generation, management, and reachability so compliance and risk reduction run on one system of record.
The honest path for most teams: start with an open source generator for basic compliance, then move toward a commercial platform as you scale into risk-based vulnerability management. An SBOM is a starting point, not a finish line. It earns its value only when you enrich it with exploitability context and wire it into remediation.
FAQ
What are SBOM tools? SBOM tools generate, manage, or monitor a software bill of materials: the machine-readable inventory of every component, version, license, and dependency in an application.
Generation tools (Syft, cdxgen, the Microsoft SBOM Tool) produce the inventory. Management tools (OWASP Dependency-Track) store and govern it. Platforms like Endor Labs SBOM Hub combine generation and management with reachability analysis to flag which vulnerabilities an attacker can exploit.
What is the best open source SBOM tool? Syft is the most widely adopted open source SBOM generator, with more than 6,000 GitHub stars, broad ecosystem coverage, and output in both SPDX and CycloneDX. cdxgen is the strongest open source choice for teams standardizing on CycloneDX or needing the widest language coverage. OWASP Dependency-Track is the leading open source option for SBOM management and monitoring rather than generation.
What is the difference between SCA and an SBOM? SCA (Software Composition Analysis) is the process that identifies open source components and their vulnerabilities.
An SBOM is the output artifact, the inventory itself. SCA tools often generate SBOMs as part of their pipeline, but you can also generate an SBOM on its own. Think of SCA as the scanner and the SBOM as the report it produces.
What are the most common SBOM formats? The two dominant formats are SPDX (governed by the Linux Foundation, ISO/IEC 5962:2021 certified, license-compliance roots) and CycloneDX (governed by OWASP, security-first, with native VEX support). Most tools support one or both. A third standard, SWID tags, exists for software asset management but sees little SBOM use.
Can SBOM tools scan containers? Yes.
Container-focused scanners generate SBOMs from compiled images, which catches components that manifests never declare, such as vendored or statically linked libraries. Syft handles container images alongside source. Pair container analysis with build-time generation for the most complete inventory.
See how Endor Labs turns SBOMs from compliance checkboxes into actionable security intelligence. Endor Labs enriches any SBOM format with reachability analysis, cutting noise by 95% while keeping full audit trails. Explore the platform or book a demo.
What's next?
When you're ready to take the next step in securing your software supply chain, here are 3 ways Endor Labs can help: