We performed a comparison between Owasp Zap and Portswigger Burp Suite Professional based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison of Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Owasp Zap seems to be a superior solution. All other things being more or less equal, our reviewers found the full version of Portswigger Burp Suite Professional to be rather expensive to purchase. Additionally, some users of Portswigger Burp Suite Professional are not so impressed by the technical support and documentation that it offers. Finally, one user of Portswigger Burp Suite Professional implied that it would be a better product if it had a HUD like Owasp Zap.
"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 interface is easy to use."
"The stability of the solution is very good."
"It has evolved over the years and recently in the last year they have added, HUD (Heads Up Display)."
"Simple to use, good user interface."
"It updates repositories and libraries quickly."
"The solution is scalable."
"Automatic scanning is a valuable feature and very easy to use."
"I have found this solution has more plugins than other competitors which is a benefit. You are able to attach different plugins to the security scan to add features. For example, you can check to see if there are any payment systems that exist on a server, or username and password brute force analysis."
"The feature that we have found most valuable is that it comes with pre-set configurations. They have a set of predefined options where you can pick one and start scanning. We also have the option of creating our own configurations, like how often do the applications need to be scanned."
"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."
"With the Extender Tab, if you know how to code then you can create a plugin and add it to Burp."
"PortSwigger Burp Suite does not hamper the node of the server, and it does not shut down the server if it is running."
"In my area of expertise, I feel like it has almost everything I could possibly require at this moment."
"The solution has a pretty simple setup."
"The extension that it provides with the community version for the skills mapping is excellent."
"The solution is unable to customize reports."
"Zap could improve by providing better reports for security and recommendations for the vulnerabilities."
"It would be ideal if I could try some pre-built deployment scenarios so that I don't have to worry about whether the configuration sector team is doing it right or wrong. That would be very helpful."
"Too many false positives; test reports could be improved."
"Reporting format has no output, is cluttered and very long."
"The documentation needs to be improved because I had to learn everything from watching YouTube videos."
"It would be a great improvement if they could include a marketplace to add extra features to the tool."
"The forced browse has been incorporated into the program and it is resource-intensive."
"The pricing of the solution is quite high."
"The use of system memory is an area that can be improved because it uses a lot."
"PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional can improve by having more features in the free version for beginners to try."
"A lot of our interns find it difficult to get used to PortSwigger Burp's environment."
"We'd like to have more integration potential across all versions of the product."
"If we're running a huge number of scans regularly, it slows down the tool."
"The reporting needs to be improved; it is very bad."
"Currently, the scanning is only available in the full version of Burp, and not in the Community version."
More PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional Pricing and Cost Advice →
OWASP Zap is ranked 6th in Application Security Testing (AST) with 10 reviews while PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is ranked 3rd in Application Security Testing (AST) with 20 reviews. OWASP Zap is rated 7.0, while PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of OWASP Zap writes "Great at reporting vulnerabilities, helps with security, and reveals development threats well". On the other hand, the top reviewer of PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional writes "Best for manual penetration testing, a great user interface, and offers good scanning capabilities". OWASP Zap is most compared with Veracode, Acunetix, Qualys Web Application Scanning, Fortify WebInspect and Invicti, whereas PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional is most compared with Fortify WebInspect, Acunetix, Veracode, HCL AppScan and Qualys Web Application Scanning. See our OWASP Zap vs. PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional report.
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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.
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.
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 spider feature, and provide updates.
One big difference between the two, though, is price. OWASP Zap is free, but Burp Suite Pro requires a paid subscription (currently $399 per year). OWASP Zap is maintained by volunteers whereas Burp Suite Pro is a commercial product maintained and sold by PortSwigger, which makes me feel more confident in it. In addition, OWASP Zap provides little documentation, which may be why some people prefer Burp Suite Pro (which offers extensive documentation). Moreover, Burp Suite Pro includes more coverage than OWASP Zap. But it is also worth noting that OWASP Zap has more false positives than Burp Suite Pro.
I like Burp Suite Pro’s interface a lot more than OWASP Zap’s. Another big plus for me with Burp is its Comparer tab,which allows for easier change detection. OWASP Zap does not include this feature without extensions and a ZAP plugin is required. Another thing about OWASP Zap I dislike is that the ability to search for text in the request or server response is difficult, while Burp Suite Pro makes it easier and more accessible.
Conclusion:
In my opinion, Burp Suite Pro is better than OWASP Zap because of its features, which I feel make it a better choice for security professionals. Both OWASP Zap and Burp Suite Pro have good sets of capabilities. However, Burp Suite Pro excels in the specific capabilities I need in more ways that OWASP Zap does.