OWASP Zap vs PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional comparison

OWASP Zap vs. PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional

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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

OWASP Zap

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

15th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

PortSwigger Burp Suite Prof...

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (11th), Fuzz Testing Tools (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of OWASP Zap is 3.1%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is 2.7%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional	2.7%
OWASP Zap	3.1%
Other	94.2%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Nithin-K

Technical Analyst at Hexaware Technologies Limited

Open source testing tool empowers manual activities and has room to improve integration and reporting features

The improvement that has to be done for APIs focuses on manual activities where the feature exists, but it is not at the same level as what Burp Suite does with intercepting and tools such as Postman, so it needs improvement. There are limitations with authentication levels, particularly with form-based and cookie-based authentication. However, overall, we are satisfied with OWASP Zap as there are no major issues, and improving the scan engine could be beneficial. When comparing OWASP Zap and Burp Suite, the main difference besides pricing is that OWASP Zap has limitations with reporting levels and UI, which affects its reporting capabilities, whereas Burp Suite is already advancing with new AI features and scanning capabilities that OWASP Zap seems to be lacking.

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Moti Huberman

Penetration Tester & Information Security Expert at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

Dedicated browser and repeater have improved my proxy testing and manual vulnerability checks

I'm hoping perhaps for something to make it easier, such as to define things where if a message or a response is such and such, automatically make a request that is such and such. Perhaps something like this because otherwise, nowadays we have to do it manually. Perhaps they can automate it a bit more. Perhaps they could add some automation to things, to see what we do manually, which it has the tools to do manually, and perhaps enable with a click of a button to do things automatically. I'm not too sure which, but I'm sure they can from a product management point of view, do things that we need to do two, three, or four steps manually regarding specific testing. For instance, we want to check something specific if it's this or if it's that. Perhaps to define it once and have it more automatic, perhaps.

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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

"OWASP is definitely in the top three as a tool that we would probably recommend to our team, as a frequent users' tool, however, I don't believe we have any kind of a formal relationship with the company."

"The ZAP scan and code crawler are valuable features."

"The vulnerabilities that it finds, because the primary goal is to secure applications and websites."

"Simple to use, good user interface."

"This solution has improved my organization because it has made us feel safer doing frequent deployments for web applications."

"The OWASP's tool is free of cost, which gives it a great advantage, especially for smaller companies to make use of the tool and at the same time give a comprehensive report with great confidence to the client for helping them in their go-live decision."

"The HUD is a good feature that provides on-site testing and saves a lot of time."

"The solution is scalable."

More OWASP Zap pros

"The solution is quite helpful for session management and configuration."

"Their flagship feature would be the active scanner, which carries out an automated look up of any web vulnerabilities reflecting over to one of the main compliance standards, like OWASP, and provides an accurate security audit for their web applications."

"I find the attack model quite amazing, where I can write my scripts and load my scripts as well, which helps quite a bit. All the active scanning that it can do is also quite a lot helpful. It speeds up our vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. Right now, I am enjoying its in-browser, which also helps quite a bit. I'm always confused about setting up some proxy, but it really is the big solution we all want."

"If you compare it to more expensive tools like WebInspect or IBM AppScan, you'll realize that, at a very low cost, Burp Suite can provide good results."

"The solution has a pretty simple setup."

"You can scan any number of applications and it updates its database."

"The most valuable feature is the application security. It also has a reasonable price."

"This solution has helped our company in many ways."

More PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional pros

Cons

"For scalability, I would rate OWASP Zap between four to five out of ten."

"There's very little documentation that comes with OWASP Zap."

"The forced browse has been incorporated into the program and it is resource-intensive."

"Deployment is somewhat complicated."

"It's possibly just a limitation of the product itself but sometimes it won't scan a particular website so you have to manually go in and make some configuration changes."

"I'd also like to see an improvement in test reports because we get too many false positives."

"Zap could improve by providing better reports for security and recommendations for the vulnerabilities."

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

More OWASP Zap cons

"One area for improvement is the integrated browser, Chromium. Single Sign-On (SSO) methods like Microsoft authentication login sometimes fail and show errors. As a workaround, I have to use a different browser, such as Firefox, to log in and make Burp work."

"The one feature that I would like to see in Burp is active scanning of REST based web services."

"The Auto Scanning features should be updated more frequently and should include the latest attack vectors."

"PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional can improve by having more features in the free version for beginners to try."

"There is not much automation in the tool."

"I would like to see the return of the spider mechanism instead of the crawling feature. Burp Suite's earlier version 1.7 had an excellent spider option, and it would be beneficial if Burp incorporated those features into the current version. The crawling techniques used in the current version are not as efficient as those used in earlier versions."

"You can have many false positives in Burp Suite. It depends on the scale of the penetration testing."

"I would like to see a more optimized solution, as it currently uses a lot of CPU power and memory."

More PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"We have used the freeware version. I believe Zap only has freeware."

"This solution is open source and free."

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

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

"The solution’s pricing is high."

"The tool is open-source."

"As Zap is free and open-source, with tons of features similar to those of commercial solutions, I would definitely recommend trying it out."

More OWASP Zap pricing and cost advice

"The pricing of the solution is cost-effective and is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses."

"It's a lower priced tool that we can rely on with good standard mechanisms."

"This solution requires a license. It is expensive but you receive a lot of functionality for the price."

"PortSwigger is reasonably-priced. It's fair."

"We have one license. The price is very nominal."

"There is no setup cost and the cost of licensing is affordable."

"They should reduce the license cost a little bit. It is $400 per user, and it would be better if they could reduce the licensing fee."

"We are using the community version, which is free."

More PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

reviewer1487928

Subdirector de Seguridad Informática e Infraestructura at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Nov 17, 2021

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 quality security vulnerabilities. Both are very comparable in terms of intercepting features, fuzzing capabilities, and encoder and decoders. Both OWASP Zap and PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro have a spide...

2 out of 3 answers

Avinash-Kumar

MCE at CGI

Mar 15, 2021

First things first both are having their own merits, however in my personal experience ZAP can replace your burpsuite for sure considering the License. Also as the latest ZAP versions are covering more advanced techniques and spidering patterns with lots of options in it, it is worth considering ZAP. However remember that burpsuite from latest versions with inbuilt chromium and it's emerging plugin support (Installable jars) you can use burp to the fullest and you can keep it as a swiss knife for your web and app pentesting. Couple of extensions in burp pro are interesting especially the race condition one. I always prefer using Burp and at instances I go with ZAP.

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reviewer1526550

Lead Security Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

Mar 17, 2021

Yes OWASP ZAP is a good option as it's an open source so always preferred but Burp Suite Pro will give you more options, its one of the best tool to have for pentesters so defo worth it.

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See all 3 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

University

Manufacturing Company

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	35

Questions from the Community

Is OWASP Zap better than PortSwigger Burp Suite Pro?

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.

What needs improvement with OWASP Zap?

What do you like most about PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional?

The solution helped us discover vulnerabilities in our applications.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional?

The cost of PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is reasonable at approximately $500 per year per user.

What needs improvement with PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional?

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Product Reports

OWASP Zap

Download OWASP Zap product report

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional

Download PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional product report

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional report

Also Known As

No data available

Burp

Overview

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

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is a vital tool for cybersecurity experts, valued for features like Intruder and Repeater, and offering strong automation for effective vulnerability detection and web security.

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional aids organizations in conducting comprehensive application security testing. With functions like scanning, proxy setup, and numerous plugins, it provides essential support for vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Despite needing improvements in reporting, false positive reduction, and scanning speed, it remains adaptable for different security operations through its automation, extensive community support, and regular updates. Licensing and pricing flexibility are considerations, alongside API security enhancements and documentation improvements. Widely used for intercepting and scanning web applications pre-launch, it supports compliance testing while offering tools for request replaying, traffic manipulation, and brute forcing.

What are the key features of PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional?

Intruder: Automates attacks to test web application vulnerabilities.
Repeater: Lets users send modified requests to observe responses.
Extender: Supports additional functionalities through plugins.
API Support: Offers capabilities for automated workflows and integrations.
Vulnerability Scanner: Efficiently detects application security flaws.

What benefits should users consider?

Affordable Pricing: Offers value through cost-effective plans.
Community Support: Access a robust network for troubleshooting and advice.
Automation Capabilities: Streamlines security testing processes.
Regular Updates: Continuous improvements and feature developments.

In industries like finance and healthcare, PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is implemented to enhance application security frameworks. It provides critical insights for regulatory compliance and risk management. The tool's adaptability supports organizations in routinely identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, ensuring robust protection against potential threats and facilitating secure application launches.

PortSwigger

Sample Customers

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

Google, Amazon, NASA, FedEx, P&G, Salesforce

OWASP Zap vs. PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional