How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- OWASP ZAP is free and open source under Apache 2.0, with a YAML automation framework and GitHub Actions integration, making it the best free starting point for automated scanning.
- Burp Suite Professional remains the standard for hands-on manual testing, at $499 per user per year, with the BApp Store extensions and Repeater workflow that ZAP cannot match.
- Automated scanners find common flaws fast, but they miss logic flaws and multi-step issues that manual testing catches, so mature teams use both.
- StackHawk, Bright Security, and Beagle Security suit teams that want scanning inside CI pipelines without a large enterprise platform.
- Invicti and Acunetix suit enterprises that need proof-based scanning and lower false positives across many web targets, while Nikto and Nuclei cover free, fast checks.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Burp Suite Professional | Manual penetration testing | $499 per user per year | No |
 Invicti | Enterprise proof-based scanning | See website | No |
 Acunetix | Deep automated web scanning | See website | No |
 StackHawk | Developer-first CI scanning | $10 per user per month | No |
 Bright Security | Developer-led DAST in pipelines | See website | No |
 Beagle Security | Managed web and API testing | $99 per month | No |
 Nikto | Quick open source checks | Free | Yes |
 Nuclei | Fast template-based CVE checks | Free | Yes |
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The best OWASP ZAP alternatives
Starting price$499 per user per year
Free planNo
Burp Suite Professional is the industry standard for manual penetration testing. Its proxy interception, Repeater workflow for replaying and modifying requests, and Intruder for fuzzing give a tester control that ZAP's equivalents cannot match, and the BApp Store's 300 plus extensions cover everything from JWT testing to API discovery. Collaborator enables out-of-band testing for blind SSRF, blind SQL injection, and blind XXE, where the server's callback to a unique Collaborator URL proves a vulnerability even when no response is visible.
Pricing is $499 per user per year in current listings, with some older comparisons showing $449, and the DAST edition licenses separately per scan target plus seats, with Burp AI tokens as an add-on. Pick Burp when manual testing flexibility is the priority. Pick ZAP when budget is the constraint or when CI-driven scans matter more than manual proxy work.
What we like- Industry standard for manual testing
- BApp Store with 300 plus extensions
- Repeater and Intruder workflows
- Collaborator for out-of-band testing
- Polished UI with wider vulnerability coverage than ZAP's default configuration
Watch out for- $499 per user per year, with some older listings at $449
- Active scanning and advanced features require the paid edition
- CI integration runs through a REST API and scripts rather than a native pipeline action
#2Invicti
Best for: Enterprise proof-based scanning4.5/5 on
G2 (72 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit invicti.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Invicti suits enterprises that need proof-based scanning across many web targets. Its scanner confirms exploitable vulnerabilities rather than merely reporting possible ones, which lowers false positives and reduces the triage burden on security teams. Complex authentication handling and JavaScript-heavy crawling cover modern single-page applications that simpler scanners miss.
Invicti is not designed for manual testing, so a pentest team will still need Burp Suite alongside it. Pricing is quote-only and generally starts in the thousands per year. For an enterprise that wants automated scanning it can trust without heavy manual triage, Invicti is the proof-based leader.
What we like- Proof-based scanning that confirms exploitable vulnerabilities and lowers false positives
- Handles complex authentication and JavaScript-heavy sites
- Polished CI integration designed for DevOps
Watch out for- Quote-only and generally starting in the thousands per year
- Not designed for manual testing
- Enterprise orientation means smaller teams pay for breadth
#3Acunetix
Best for: Deep automated web scanning4.1/5 on
G2 (105 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit acunetix.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Acunetix, now part of Invicti, covers deep automated web scanning for enterprises with many targets. Its crawler and scanner handle complex sites, and proof-based verification on many findings reduces false positives in the same way Invicti's does. A free trial lets teams evaluate scan depth before committing.
Pricing is quote-only, and the platform is enterprise-focused, so small teams may find it heavy. Manual testing features are thinner than Burp Suite's, so it pairs with Burp rather than replacing it. For an enterprise that wants deep automated coverage with trial-before-buy, Acunetix is a strong Invicti-family option.
What we like- Deep automated web scanning with broad vulnerability coverage
- Proof-based verification on many findings
- Free trial available
- Suits enterprises with many targets
Watch out for- Quote-only pricing
- Enterprise focus
- Manual testing features are thinner than Burp Suite's
#4StackHawk
Best for: Developer-first CI scanning4.6/5 on
G2 (68 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit stackhawk.com
Starting price$10 per user per month
Free planNo
StackHawk suits cloud-native teams that want scanning inside CI pipelines without a large enterprise platform. Its developer-first design puts DAST findings where developers already work, with API scanning built for modern pipelines and authentication handling for staging environments. Entry pricing at $10 per user per month keeps small teams affordable.
Scan depth is thinner than Invicti's or Acunetix's for complex enterprise targets, and the content library is smaller than Burp's or ZAP's. For a development team that wants security gates in every pull request without enterprise overhead, StackHawk is the pipeline-native pick.
What we like- Developer-first DAST built for CI pipelines
- API scanning for modern applications
- $10 per user per month entry keeps small teams affordable
- Free trial available
Watch out for- Scan depth is thinner than Invicti or Acunetix for complex enterprise targets
- Newer platform with a smaller content library than Burp or ZAP
#5Bright Security
Best for: Developer-led DAST in pipelines4.7/5 on
G2 (29 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit brightsec.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Bright Security suits developer-led teams that want DAST in pipelines with minimal security-team overhead. Its AI-powered configuration reduces the setup burden that makes DAST adoption stall, and its API and web coverage spans the modern application stack. A free trial covers evaluation.
Pricing is quote-only, and the vendor is newer than Invicti or Acunetix, so long-term track record is thinner. For a team that wants developer-led scanning with AI-assisted setup, Bright is the modern pipeline option alongside StackHawk.
What we like- Developer-led DAST designed for pipelines
- AI-powered scan configuration
- API and web coverage
- Free trial available
Watch out for- Quote-only pricing
- Newer vendor with a smaller track record than Invicti or Acunetix
- Enterprise features are still maturing
Starting price$99 per month
Free planNo
Beagle Security suits teams that want managed web and API testing without a dedicated application security staff. Its platform runs scans, prioritizes findings, and guides remediation, which helps a small team act on results without a security specialist. Entry pricing at $99 a month is accessible, with a free trial for evaluation.
Depth trails Invicti and Acunetix for large estates, and the managed model gives less tester control than Burp Suite's manual workflows. For a small team that needs guided, managed testing rather than a tool to drive itself, Beagle Security is the accessible pick.
What we like- Managed web and API testing with guided remediation
- $99 a month entry is accessible
- Free trial available
- Suits teams without a dedicated AppSec staff
Watch out for- Depth trails Invicti and Acunetix for large estates
- Managed model means less tester control than Burp Suite
- Smaller ecosystem
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Nikto is the quick open source check. It scans a web server for known issues, dangerous files, misconfigurations, and outdated software versions, running from a simple command line with no license or setup cost. That makes it a useful first pass before a deeper scan, or a periodic hygiene check on a small estate.
There is no active exploitation or proof-based verification, so findings need manual review, and reporting polish trails commercial tools. Coverage is narrower than a full DAST scanner's. For a team that wants a free, fast sanity check alongside ZAP or Burp, Nikto is the no-cost companion.
What we like- Completely free and open source
- Fast checks for known issues, misconfigurations, and outdated software
- Simple command-line operation
Watch out for- No active exploitation or proof-based verification
- Output needs manual review
- No CI-native reporting polish
- Coverage is narrower than full DAST scanners
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Nuclei takes a template-first approach that wins on speed and CVE coverage. ProjectDiscovery's 11,000 plus community YAML templates run in seconds, so pointing Nuclei at a target tests every known vulnerability template in under a minute. That makes it the fastest surface-level check on this list, and it is free and open source.
Template checks miss logic flaws and complex multi-step issues, and noisy results need template curation. There is no manual proxy workflow, so it complements rather than replaces Burp Suite. The practical pattern is Nuclei first for fast surface coverage, then Burp Pro for harder authenticated and business-logic testing. For a team that wants fast CVE coverage at no cost, Nuclei is the speed pick.
What we like- Template-first approach with 11,000 plus community YAML templates
- Runs in seconds
- Best CVE coverage speed here
- Free and open source
Watch out for- Template-based checks miss logic flaws and complex multi-step issues
- Needs template curation for noisy results
- No manual proxy workflow
How we chose
We compared each tool against what OWASP ZAP actually offers: free automated scanning with active and passive scanners, a manual proxy, API import from OpenAPI and SOAP, and a YAML automation framework with Docker and GitHub Actions integration. Pricing figures come from vendor pages and published comparisons checked in 2026, and anything we could not confirm is written as "See website". We favored tools that serve US development and security teams, and we flagged where a tool is manual-first, pipeline-first, or enterprise-first, since that decides whether it replaces ZAP or complements it.
What to check before you pick
Price by target, user, or scan volume before you choose, because the same tool can be cheap for one team and expensive for another. Burp Suite prices per user, StackHawk prices per user, Beagle prices per month, and enterprise DAST prices per target or by quote. Then check four things on a trial: authentication handling for your login flows, since complex auth breaks many scanners; single-page application support, where Burp is good and ZAP is limited; false positive rates on your own applications, since ZAP is noisier than Invicti or Burp; and CI integration depth, since ZAP's YAML automation and GitHub Actions are free while Burp's DAST edition needs separate licensing. Run the same staging target through your top two choices and compare findings, false positives, and pipeline time before committing, since scanner quality varies by application stack more than any feature list suggests.
Frequently asked questions
Is OWASP ZAP really free?
Yes. OWASP ZAP is fully free and open source under Apache 2.0, with no paid edition. Commercial alternatives charge for manual testing depth, proof-based verification, or managed services.
Burp Suite or ZAP: which should I choose?
If you are a security professional doing manual testing, use Burp Suite Pro. If you are a developer integrating automated scanning into a pipeline or need a no-cost option, ZAP is the stronger choice.
Can automated scanners replace manual penetration testing?
No. Automated scanners find common flaws fast but miss logic flaws and multi-step issues that manual testing catches. Mature teams use both: automated scanning in CI plus periodic manual testing.
What is DAST?
DAST, dynamic application security testing, tests a running application from the outside, sending requests and observing responses for vulnerabilities. It differs from SAST, which analyzes source code without running it.
How do I add ZAP to a CI pipeline?
ZAP offers Docker images and official GitHub Actions, including an API scan action that takes a target URL and OpenAPI definition, fails the pipeline on high-severity findings, and uploads HTML reports as artifacts.
What is the cheapest ZAP alternative?
Nikto and Nuclei are both free and open source. Nikto covers quick server checks, while Nuclei covers fast template-based CVE checks across 11,000 plus templates.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://portswigger.net/burp
- https://www.invicti.com/
- https://www.acunetix.com/
- https://www.stackhawk.com/
- https://brightsec.com/
- https://beaglesecurity.com/
- https://github.com/sullo/nikto
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.