Acunetix vs Contrast Security Protect comparison

Invicti and Contrast Security are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. Invicti is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.4, while Contrast Security is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.0. Invicti holds a 2.6% mindshare in AS, compared to Contrast Security’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Contrast Security users who would recommend it.

Acunetix

Read 33 Acunetix reviews

5,943 Views
2,853 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Contrast Security Protect

Read 3 Contrast Security Protect reviews

746 Views
716 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Acunetix

Contrast Security Protect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Acunetix and Contrast Security Protect compete in application security testing. While Acunetix is known for usability and pricing, Contrast Security Protect wins favor for advanced security features.

Features: Acunetix is valued for its comprehensive vulnerability scanning, automation abilities, and detailed reporting tools. Contrast Security Protect is noted for runtime application self-protection, dynamic analysis, and real-time threat detection.

Room for Improvement: Acunetix can enhance integration with development workflows, reporting details, and speed in processing. Contrast Security Protect could improve usability, reduce performance impact, and streamline its feature complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Acunetix is praised for its straightforward setup and responsive support. Contrast Security Protect requires more deployment time due to its complexity but offers comprehensive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Acunetix is competitively priced, attractive to small and medium businesses, offering a solid ROI. Contrast Security Protect has a higher initial cost but suggests greater ROI for large enterprises due to its extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed Acunetix vs. Contrast Security Protect Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. Contrast Security Protect

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Acunetix

Ranking in Application Security Tools

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (12th), Vulnerability Management (21st), DevSecOps (6th)

Contrast Security Protect

Ranking in Application Security Tools

30th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Acunetix is 2.6%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Contrast Security Protect is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Acunetix	2.6%
Contrast Security Protect	0.7%
Other	96.7%

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

KashifJamil

CEO at Xcelliti

Has enabled teams to improve security testing with smooth integration and high accuracy

Acunetix has a very good ratio of fewer false positives, so users don't need to retest everything. Acunetix operates smoothly with no interruptions required, and it performs at 100% efficiency without issues in scanning anything. The solution is excellent at detecting SQL injection and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. Acunetix integrates with every type of tool, including CI/CD tools, offering 100% integration in DevOps environments. The main benefit of Acunetix is that at the first level, users can address security issues related to penetration testing, allowing them to expose vulnerabilities and ensure all required testing is completed with very few false positives.

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Akshay Waghmare

Manager at Deloitte

A stable DevSecOps product that gives fewer false positives

We use the product for DevSecOps. The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives. Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration. I have been using the product for a year. Contrast Security Protect is stable. The solution is scalable. My company has ten…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I find it to be one of the most comprehensive tools, with support for manual intervention."

"Their technical support has been very active. If I have an issue, I can reach out to them and get an answer pretty quick."

"Picks up weaknesses in our app setups."

"It generates automated reports."

"For us, the most valuable aspect of the solution is the log-sequence feature."

"We are able to create a report which shows the PCI DSS scoring and share it with the application teams. Then, they can correlate and see exactly what they need to fix, and why."

"The automated approach to these repetitive discovery attempts would take days to do manually and therefore it helps reduce the time needed to do an assessment."

"The tool's most valuable feature is performance."

More Acunetix pros

"The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives."

"The solution has excellent real-time capabilities."

"Protect provides us with more in-depth visibility into ongoing attacks."

Cons

"The cost can be reduced as management has noted it to be on the higher side."

"It should be easier to recreate something manually, with the manual tool, because Acunetix is an automatic tool. If it finds something, it should be easier to manually replicate it. Sometimes you don't get the raw data from the input and output, so that could be improved."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing."

"I had some issues with the JSON parameters where it found some strange vulnerabilities, but it didn't alert the person using it or me about these vulnerabilities, e.g., an error for SQL injection."

"The only problem that they have is the price. It is a bit expensive, and you cannot change the number of applications for the whole year."

"Acunetix needs to be dynamic with JavaScript code, unlike Netsparker which can scan complex agents."

"The solution can be improved by adding the ability to scan subdomains automatically, and by providing reports that can be exported to external databases to share with other solutions."

"There was an issue related to updates from the internet."

More Acunetix cons

"There's room for improvement in the initial setup."

"Protect's reporting GUI is very basic. To get all statuses from the APIs, we needed to write our own KPI dashboard to provide reports."

"Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we looked at all other vendors and what they were asking for, to provide a third of what Acunetix was capable of doing, it was an easy decision... But now that it's coming to a cost where it's line with market value, it becomes more of a competition... Acunetix is raising the cost of licensing. It's 3.5 times what we were initially quoted."

"When compared with other products, the pricing is a little bit high. But it gives value for the price. It serves the purpose and is worthwhile for the price we pay."

"The cost is based on two types of licenses, ConsultLite, and ConsultPlus, as well as the number of domains that are scanned."

"Implementing Acunetix needs a medium or larger business agency, because you need some money to get Acunetix. It is costly, but if you care about your agency's security, then maybe it's a cost that might help you in the future."

"I would say that Acunetix is expensive because there are products on the market with similar features that are equally or better-priced."

"The pricing is a little high, and moreover, it's kind of domain-based."

"All things considered, I think it has a good price/value ratio."

"The price is exceptionally high."

More Acunetix pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

26%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	14

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

The tool's most valuable feature is scan configurations. We use it for external physical applications. The scanning time depends on the application's code.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

Most of the customers who use Acunetix are looking for security testing. The primary use case is performing penetration testing. The main use cases include vulnerability scanning, security testing,...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

Acunetix supports multi-user environments effectively. Acunetix is targeted for small to mid-size teams in a DevSecOps environment, making it the best choice for small and mid-size companies, offer...

See all answers

What do you like most about Contrast Security Protect?

The product gives a few false positives. We get 99 percent true positives.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Contrast Security Protect?

Contrast Security Protect needs to improve integration.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Contrast Security Protect?

We use the product for DevSecOps.

See all answers

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Compared 10% of the time

HCL AppScan vs Acunetix

Compared 8% of the time

Invicti vs Acunetix

Compared 8% of the time

Tenable.io Web Application Scanning vs Acunetix

Compared 5% of the time

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SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs Contrast Security Protect

Compared 33% of the time

Mend.io vs Contrast Security Protect

Compared 25% of the time

OpenText Core Application Security vs Contrast Security Protect

Compared 24% of the time

More Contrast Security Protect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix

September 2025

Download Acunetix product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

August 2025

Download Contrast Security Protect product report

Also Known As

AcuSensor

Contrast Protect

Overview

Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner is an automated web application security testing tool that audits your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Cross site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities.

Invicti

Contrast Security is the world’s leading provider of security technology that enables software applications to protect themselves against cyberattacks, heralding the new era of self-protecting software. Contrast's patented deep security instrumentation is the breakthrough technology that enables highly accurate assessment and always-on protection of an entire application portfolio, without disruptive scanning or expensive security experts. Only Contrast has sensors that work actively inside applications to uncover vulnerabilities, prevent data breaches, and secure the entire enterprise from development, to operations, to production.

Contrast Security

Sample Customers

Joomla!, Digicure, Team Random, Credit Suisse, Samsung, Air New Zealand

Williams-Sonoma, Autodesk, HUAWEI, Chromeriver, RingCentral, Demandware.

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. Contrast Security Protect

September 2025

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