AppSec
What are SaaS vulnerability scanners?
SaaS (Software as a Service) vulnerability scanners are cloud-based tools that organizations can use to assess and identify vulnerabilities within their SaaS applications and APIs.
These scanners are hosted and managed by third-party vendors, eliminating the need for organizations to install and maintain the scanning software on their own infrastructure.
Utilizing SaaS vulnerability scanners constitutes a straightforward yet essential security measure, benefiting every organization to stay ahead of the latest vulnerabilities.
Organizations tend to opt for multiple vulnerability scanners to ensure comprehensive coverage of all assets, thereby obtaining a holistic view.
SaaS vulnerability scanners comparison chart
The SaaS vulnerability scanners comparison chart provides a quick comparison of each vendor’s starting price, free trial details and key features to help you make an informed decision.
| Software | Starting price | Free trial | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beagle Security | $99/month (billed annually) | 5 days | AI penetration testing, REST API & GraphQL testing, Business logic recording, Compliance reports, Tech stack based contextual reporting, CI/CD integration |
| ZAP | Free | Not applicable | Active & passive scan, Add-on plugins, Different authentication methods |
| Intruder.io | $157/month per application (billed annually) | 14-day free trial of the Pro plan | Smart recon, Cloud integrations |
| Acunetix | Contact Acunetix | Unavailable | Discovery, Predictive risk scoring, CI/CD & issue tracker integrations |
| Detectify | $89/month per scan profile (billed annually) | 14 days | Authenticated testing, Export reports |
| Probely | $98/month per target (billed annually) | 14 days | Scanning profiles, Compliance reports |
| StackHawk | $42/month per code contributor (billed annually) | 14 days | Findings triage, Summary report |
The 7 best SaaS vulnerability scanners in 2024
Now let’s look at the best SaaS vulnerability scanners in 2024 along with a detailed overview, features and starting price details.
Beagle Security
ZAP
Intruder.io
Acunetix
Detectify
Probely
StackHawk
1. Beagle Security
Beagle Security is an automated penetration testing platform that identifies vulnerabilities in your web applications & APIs and guides you to fix them with practical insights.
With an AI core, Beagle Security overcomes the limitations that SaaS vulnerability scanners pose. It can authenticate complex login processes like 2FA, magic link and business logic, ensuring a precise and consistent examination of critical functionalities within the application.
You can receive contextual reports by providing the tech stack information of an application, including variables such as programming language, database, framework, etc.
This allows for tailored recommendations that developers can act on easily. This is further enhanced with proof of exploitation and detailed timeline of the vulnerability findings.
With Beagle Security, you can also meet your penetration testing requirements for compliance such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS cultivating trust with customers and partners while minimizing the risk of penalties or damage to reputation.
Key features of Beagle Security
Coverage beyond OWASP Top 10 & CWE Top 25
Tailored LLM based recommendations to address security issues
Asset discovery
Security test complex web apps with login
Compliance reports - GDPR, HIPAA & PCI DSS
OWASP report for ISO & SOC 2 compliance
Test scheduling
DevSecOps integrations
Role-based access controls
SSO
Beagle Security pricing
Beagle Security pricing plans start at $99/month, billed annually. A 5-day free trial is available.
You can also check out an interactive demo of the Beagle Security platform or book a Beagle Security demo.
2. ZAP
ZAP is an open-source web application security scanner designed to help developers find security vulnerabilities in their web applications. ZAP acts as a proxy server between the user’s browser and the web application, allowing users to intercept and modify HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses.
They can crawl through the web application, automatically following links and identifying pages to test. ZAP monitors traffic passively and alerts users about potential vulnerabilities without actively sending requests to the application.
ZAP supports various authentication methods and can handle authenticated sessions. The downside of ZAP is that it takes time to set up, comes with a learning curve and doesn’t support advanced login mechanisms.
ZAP generates detailed reports of security vulnerabilities found during the testing process, including descriptions of the issues, recommendations for remediation, and evidence of exploitability.
Key features of ZAP
Active and passive vulnerability scans
Different authentication methods
API integrations
Add-ons
Scan policy
ZAP pricing
ZAP is a free and open-source tool.
3. Intruder.io
Intruder utilizes open-source tools like OpenVAS, Tenable Nessus and Nuclei to deliver its vulnerability scanning. These tools provide a foundation for various aspects of Intruder’s operations, such as vulnerability identification and scanning.
The tool can scan both public-facing web applications and internal APIs to identify vulnerabilities.
Intruder integrates with CI/CD pipelines, allowing developers to automate security testing throughout the development process. Further Intruder.io discovers and addresses vulnerabilities in both authenticated and unauthenticated web applications and APIs.
The limitations of Intruder.io are that it does not have the capability to scan 2FA and magic link enabled logins, complex business logic and out of band vulnerabilities.
Key features of Intruder.io
Smart recon
Cloud integrations
Remediation scans
Intruder.io pricing
Intruder pricing plans start at $157/month per application, billed annually. A 14-day free trial for the Pro plan is available.
4. Acunetix
Acunetix is a web application security testing tool that examines your web applications for vulnerabilities using a combination of DAST and IAST scanning techniques. It integrates with the development process and helps in ensuring compliance.
Acunetix aids organizations in mitigating risk across various web applications by offering rapid scanning and reports.
Acunetix integrates with other security tools and platforms, facilitating seamless incorporation into existing workflows and processes.
According to user feedback across review platforms, some of the drawbacks of Acunetix include false-positive alerts at times and authentication problems with modern enterprise apps.
Key features of Acunetix
Discovery
Predictive risk scoring
CI/CD & issue tracker integrations
Acunetix pricing
Contact Acunetix. No free trial is available.
5. Detectify
Detectify offers automated security scanning and vulnerability assessment to help organizations protect their web applications.
It is based on 100% payload-based testing. Detectify conduct unlimited in-depth scanning against critical applications to thoroughly assess security posture and identify potential risks.
Detectify streamlines remediation efforts with seamless integrations into collaboration tools like Slack, issue tracking systems like Jira, and security information and event management (SIEM) solutions like Splunk.
A limitation of Detectify is that it does not have the capability for API security testing.
Key features of Detectify
CI/CD integration
Authenticated testing
Export reports
Detectify pricing
Detectify pricing plans starts from $ 89/month per scan profile, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.
6. Probely
Probely conducts automated scans to detect a wide range of vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more.
It integrates into CI/CD pipelines for full automation of web application and API security testing.
Probely generates comprehensive management reports showcasing compliance with industry standards ensuring transparency and adherence to regulatory standards.
A disadvantage of Probely is the target-based pricing that can be costly if you have a larger number of assets.
Key features of Probely
CI/CD integration
Scanning profiles
Compliance reports
Probely pricing
Probely pricing plans start at $98/month per target, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.
7. StackHawk
StackHawk is a DAST and API security assessment tool designed to operate seamlessly within CI/CD pipelines.
StackHawk is built on top of ZAP and incorporates OWASP Top 10 testing methodologies, allowing organizations to evaluate their applications against the most critical security risks outlined by OWASP.
StackHawk provides automated security testing for gRPC services, ensuring that organizations can detect and mitigate security vulnerabilities in their gRPC-based applications.
It integrates with popular issue tracking tools such as Jira and GitHub Issues, streamlining the remediation process by automatically creating tickets for identified vulnerabilities.
Key features of StackHawk
API & web security testing
Authorization and access control testing
Findings triage
StackHawk pricing
StackHawk pricing plans start from $42/month per code contributor. A 14-day free trial is available.
Which among these 7 best SaaS vulnerability scanners should you go for?
In conclusion, choosing the right SaaS vulnerability scanner in 2024 hinges on your organization’s unique requirements.
Each of the seven options we’ve explored offers distinct advantages and potential drawbacks. The optimal choice will depend on factors such as your company’s size, the specific nature of your applications, the maturity of your application security practices, and the degree of integration needed with your current workflows.
By carefully assessing these factors, you can select the best SaaS vulnerability scanner that aligns most with your organization’s goals and security needs, ensuring robust protection for your applications.
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Written by
Neda Ali
Product Marketing Specialist
Contributor
Manieendar Mohan
Cyber Security Lead Engineer
