Acunetix vs OWASP Zap comparison

Invicti and OWASP are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. Invicti is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.3, while OWASP is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. Invicti holds a 3.5% mindshare in SAST, compared to OWASP’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of OWASP users who would recommend it.

Acunetix

Read 33 Acunetix reviews

4,230 Views
1,142 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

OWASP Zap

Read 41 OWASP Zap reviews

9,575 Views
514 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Acunetix

OWASP Zap

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Acunetix and OWASP ZAP compete in the web application security testing category. Acunetix appears to have an edge due to its advanced features and user-friendly interface.

Features: Acunetix offers advanced features such as the Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) module, robust scan scheduling capabilities, and detailed reporting. It provides ease of parameterizing attacks and generating PCI DSS compliance reports. OWASP ZAP provides open-source accessibility, making it cost-effective for users. It offers automated scanning, spidering, and comprehensive testing for vulnerabilities. Its strong community-driven development ensures continuous updates and enhancements.

Room for Improvement: Acunetix could improve its pricing model and manage license complexity, while enhancing interactive security testing and reducing false positives. OWASP ZAP needs better documentation, integration with more threat intelligence sources, and enhancements in reporting and vulnerability coverage. Users of both tools seek lower false positives.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Acunetix and OWASP ZAP can be deployed on-premises, with Acunetix also available as a hybrid cloud option. Acunetix provides 24/7 support, although some users experience delayed responses. OWASP ZAP relies largely on community support due to its open-source nature, with official support often being ticket-based.

Pricing and ROI: Acunetix follows a high pricing model, with recent increases causing user concern despite a good ROI in security improvement. OWASP ZAP is free, eliminating financial barriers and making it popular among cost-sensitive users although its direct financial ROI is less evident.

To learn more, read our detailed Acunetix vs. OWASP Zap Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. OWASP Zap

June 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 Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (16th), Vulnerability Management (22nd), DevSecOps (6th)

OWASP Zap

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

11th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Acunetix is 3.5%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OWASP Zap is 4.7%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

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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Amit Beniwal

Project Manager at Al Hassan LLC

Simplifies vulnerability discovery and has high quality support

There are areas for improvement with OWASP Zap, particularly in the alignment of vulnerabilities concerning CVSS scores. Sometimes, a vulnerability initially categorized as high severity may be reduced to medium or low over time after security patches are applied. This alignment with the present severity score and CVSS score could be improved.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It can operate both as a standalone and it can be integrated with other applications, which makes it a very versatile solution to have."

"The most important feature is that it's a web-based graphical user interface. That is a great addition. Also, the ability to schedule scans is great."

"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."

"We use the solution for the scanning of vulnerabilities like SQL injections."

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

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

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

"The product is really easy to use."

More Acunetix pros

"The solution is good at reporting the vulnerabilities of the application."

"They offer free access to some other tools."

"OWASP is quite matured in identifying the vulnerabilities."

"It can be used effectively for internal auditing."

"Two features are valuable. The first one is that the scan gets completed really quickly, and the second one is that even though it searches in a limited scope, what it does in that limited scope is very good. When you use Zap for testing, you're only using it for specific aspects or you're only looking for certain things. It works very well in that limited scope."

"The solution is scalable."

"The application scanning feature is the most valuable feature."

"The stability of the solution is very good."

More OWASP Zap pros

Cons

"Acunetix needs to improve its cost."

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

"The solution is generally stable, however, there might be room for improvement regarding glitches or bugs."

"You can't actually change your password after you've set it unless you go back into the administration account and you change it there. Thus, if you're locked out and don't remember your password, that's a thing."

"We have had issues during upgrades where their scans worked on some apps better with previous versions. Then, we had to work with their tech support, who were great, to get it fixed for the next version."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing."

"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."

"The vulnerability identification speed should be improved."

More Acunetix cons

"OWASP Zap needs to extend to mobile application testing."

"There isn't too much information about it online."

"The automated vulnerability assessments that the application performs needs to be simplified as well as diversified."

"The documentation needs to be improved because I had to learn everything from watching YouTube videos."

"Deployment is somewhat complicated."

"OWASP should work on reducing false positives by using AI and ML algorithms."

"It would be a great improvement if they could include a marketplace to add extra features to the tool."

"The documentation is lacking and out-of-date, it really needs more love."

More OWASP Zap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is exceptionally high."

"The solution is expensive."

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

"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 costs aren't very expensive. It costs around $3000 or $4000."

"It is a bit expensive. If you need to check five applications, you have to pay almost 14,000. It is an agreement for two years at 7,000 per year for only five applications. You cannot change the applications in the license. So, you are stuck with the same license for the five applications for one full year."

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

"Acunetix was around the same price as all the other vendors we looked at, nothing special."

More Acunetix pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source solution and can be used free of charge."

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"It is open source, and we can scan freely."

"This app is completely free and open source. So there is no question about any pricing."

"It's free. It's good for us because we don't know what the extent of our use will be yet. It's good to start with something free and easy to use."

"It is highly recommended as it is an open source tool."

"The tool is open-source."

"It's free and open, currently under the Apache 2 license. If ZAP does what you need it to do, selling a free solution is a very easy."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

I typically use Acunetix ( /products/acunetix-reviews ) to identify vulnerabilities for clients.

See all answers

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

I would recommend Acunetix to others. Overall, I rate this solution seven out of ten.

See all answers

Is OWASP Zap better than PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro?

OWASP Zap and PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro have many similar features. OWASP Zap has web application scanning available with basic security vulnerabilities while Burp Suite Pro has it available with ...

See all answers

What do you like most about OWASP Zap?

The best feature is the Zap HUD (Heads Up Display) because the customers can use the website normally. If we scan websites with automatic scanning, and the website has a web application firewall, i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OWASP Zap?

OWASP might be cost-effective, however, people prefer to use the free edition available as open source.

See all answers

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 20% of the time

Checkmarx One vs OWASP Zap

Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Veracode vs OWASP Zap

Compared 9% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs OWASP Zap

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix

June 2025

Download Acunetix product report

Buyer's Guide

OWASP Zap

May 2025

Download OWASP Zap product report

Also Known As

AcuSensor

No data available

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

OWASP Zap is a free and open-source web application security scanner.

The solution helps developers identify vulnerabilities in their web applications by actively scanning for common security issues.

With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Zap is a popular choice among developers for ensuring the security of their web applications.

OWASP

Sample Customers

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

1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Amazon 5. Facebook 6. Twitter 7. LinkedIn 8. Netflix 9. Adobe 10. PayPal 11. Salesforce 12. Cisco 13. Oracle 14. Intel 15. HP 16. Dell 17. VMware 18. Symantec 19. McAfee 20. Citrix 21. Red Hat 22. Juniper Networks 23. SAP 24. Accenture 25. Deloitte 26. Ernst & Young 27. PwC 28. KPMG 29. Capgemini 30. Infosys 31. Wipro 32. TCS

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. OWASP Zap

June 2025

Free Report: Acunetix vs. OWASP Zap

Find out what your peers are saying about Acunetix vs. OWASP Zap and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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