Short answer: a dev shop wins modernization work in three moves. First it finds companies still running the old stack, then it scopes the codebase faster and more credibly than the incumbent vendor can, and finally it delivers the migration at a predictable cost. In 2026 the tools split the same way:
- Finding buyers: technology-install data (BuiltWith) and review marketplaces (Clutch).
- Scoping: codebase-context and assessment tools (CodeAlive, Sourcegraph, CAST Highlight, SonarQube).
- Delivering: AI-assisted refactoring (GitHub Copilot, Moderne, vFunction).
The scoping step wins or loses most deals, because that's where the buyer decides whether you understand their system.
| Tool | Job in the deal | Best for | Price (as listed, Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeAlive | Understand the client's codebase fast | Large, multi-repo legacy code with AI agents | See codealive.ai |
| Sourcegraph | Code search across every repo | Big estates, cross-repo changes | Enterprise, from $16K/yr |
| CAST Highlight | Portfolio assessment from source | Triage of many apps before a bid | $6.8K per app; 14-day trial |
| SonarQube | Debt and security baseline | A cheap first scan to quote from | Cloud free to 50k LOC; Team from $34/mo |
| vFunction | Monolith → services, Java/.NET | Architecture-led modernization | Quote, per application |
| GitHub Copilot | Do the migration work | Every engineer on the project | Business $19/seat/mo |
| Moderne (OpenRewrite) | Automated mass refactoring | Framework upgrades across many repos | Enterprise ("typical" $250K) |
| BuiltWith | Find companies on the old stack | Building target lists | From $295/mo |
1 · Scope it faster than anyone else: CodeAlive
The moment a prospect shares read access to a 1M-line codebase, the clock starts. Whoever explains the system back to them first, with its call paths, its dependencies and the module nobody wants to touch, usually wins the deal. CodeAlive is a context engine built for exactly that size of codebase:
- It indexes the code into semantic search plus a relationship graph of files, symbols, calls, dependencies and tests.
- It serves that graph over MCP and an API, so Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and other agents work with the whole system rather than the open file.
- It connects to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps and Gitea, and refreshes the index on every push.
For a services company the payoff is in the pre-sale: an architecture walk-through and a risk list in days rather than weeks. The same index then cuts onboarding time for every engineer you add once the deal closes.
The discovery phase is your sales pitch. Arrive at the second call already knowing their codebase better than their newest hire does.
2 · Search the whole estate: Sourcegraph
Sourcegraph is the long-standing choice for code search and navigation across thousands of repositories. Its Batch Changes feature applies one change across all of them. It's enterprise-only, starting at $16K a year with a minimum annual contract, so dev shops usually meet it inside a client that already pays for it, not as their own line item.
3 · Put numbers on the portfolio: CAST Highlight
When a buyer has dozens of applications and asks "where do we even start?", CAST Highlight answers from source code. It scores health, technical debt and cloud readiness per app. Pricing is public: $6.8K per application, or $44K a year for up to 25 apps, with a 14-day free trial. That's steep for one deal, but it's the kind of report a CIO forwards to their CFO.
4 · A baseline scan you can quote from: SonarQube
For a single application, a SonarQube scan gives you defensible debt and security numbers to price against. SonarQube Cloud is free up to 50k lines of private code, and Team starts at $34 a month. Price scales with lines of code, so check the size before you promise a free audit.
5 · Do the migration: GitHub Copilot, Moderne and vFunction
- GitHub Copilot (Business $19 per seat per month) is now table stakes for the actual refactoring.
- Moderne, the company behind OpenRewrite, automates the same upgrade across thousands of repos. Its "typical" commercial deal is around $250K, so it's for clients with very large estates.
- vFunction focuses on breaking Java and .NET monoliths into services, priced per application on quote.
Name the delivery tools in your proposal. "We'll use automated refactoring for the framework upgrade" is a cost argument buyers understand.
6 · Find the companies still on the old stack: BuiltWith and Clutch
None of the tools above finds you a buyer. BuiltWith (from $295 a month) lists companies by the technology their websites run, which is a useful proxy for "still on an end-of-life framework". Note that it sees only web-facing technology, not internal systems. Clutch is where many modernization buyers shortlist vendors, and verified reviews matter more there than the listing itself.
The gap between a target list and a booked call is outreach. That's the part we run for software companies at Invental Partners. We research which accounts actually carry the legacy risk, then reach the people who own it with cold email and LinkedIn. See how outbound works for dev companies and our software development lead generation playbook.
How to choose
- One-app deals: SonarQube plus CodeAlive for scoping, and Copilot for delivery.
- Portfolio deals: add CAST Highlight for the assessment report. Expect the client to bring Sourcegraph or Moderne licences.
- No pipeline yet: BuiltWith for the list, then outbound to the people who own the risk.