Acunetix vs w3af comparison

Invicti and w3af are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. Invicti is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.9, while w3af is ranked #42. Invicti holds a 2.4% mindshare in AS, compared to w3af’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of w3af users who would recommend it.

Acunetix

Read 38 Acunetix reviews

10,102 Views
4,849 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

w3af

Read 1 w3af review

1,098 Views
944 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Acunetix

w3af

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Acunetix and w3af based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SonarSource Sàrl, Checkmarx, Veracode and others in Application Security Tools.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Security Tools Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

June 2026

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Helped 900,747 peers since 2012

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

8th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (5th), Vulnerability Management (21st), DevSecOps (5th)

w3af

Ranking in Application Security Tools

42nd

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Acunetix is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of w3af is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Acunetix	2.4%
w3af	0.7%
Other	96.9%

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

Rahul Kumar

Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees

Identifies vulnerabilities across bulk web applications but needs better support and cleaner reports

The best feature Acunetix offers is the centralized dashboard and the quality of reports it generates, which includes various options for selecting reports and developer options for directly sharing the reports with developers. The centralized dashboard of Acunetix gives visibility into the security aspects of mass applications; for instance, with more than 200 applications, it provides a valuable overview of findings and necessary fixes, along with a high-level summary that helps us achieve compliance through monthly and sometimes weekly scanning. In terms of reporting, Acunetix is excellent because it can generate different types of reports, such as an executive summary report, detailed reports, and developer reports that can be shared directly with developers. Acunetix positively impacts my organization by helping identify outdated libraries and applications, including legacy applications vulnerable to old attacks based on OWASP Top 10, thus aiding in compliance checks for PCI DSS and OWASP. Acunetix provides a centralized report with compliance-related aspects and a vulnerability timeline, effectively helping reduce vulnerabilities and save time.

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Omar Sánchez (Mr.Tech)

Information Security Advisor, CISO & CIO, Docutek Services at Docutek Services

It's buggy and seems to try to do too many things, but having this on a USB drive has been valuable.

I tried to install this on numerous systems and eventually, with help, I got it running. It needs far too many dependencies installed and there's too much messing about to be of much use. Once running, it's buggy and begs the question can it be relied upon? Even within Kali it reports website time-outs, yet Zap or Burp are able to do a successful scan. I wanted this to work so much and be able to use it as an additional check of my results but have now binned it.

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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

"It comes equipped with an internal applicator, which automatically identifies and addresses vulnerabilities within the program."

"One of the features that I feel is groundbreaking, that I would like to see expanded on, is the IAS feature: The Interactive Application Security Testing module that gets loaded onto an application on a server, for more in-depth, granular findings. I think that is really neat. I haven't seen a lot of competitors doing that."

"The centralized dashboard of Acunetix gives visibility into the security aspects of mass applications; for instance, with more than 200 applications, it provides a valuable overview of findings and necessary fixes, along with a high-level summary that helps us achieve compliance through monthly and sometimes weekly scanning."

"If an organization has 100 plus applications and wants to use an automated scanner, they should definitely go ahead with Acunetix because it is very cost-effective and will save time compared to focusing on other solutions and performing manual security assessments."

"Login Sequence Recorder, scan throttling, and fantastic reporting output are the most valuable features."

"The solution is comprehensive and easy to use."

"Overall, the tool is efficient enough to identify and track your vulnerabilities and it's good for intelligence scanning purposes."

"The vulnerability scanning option for analyzing the security loopholes on the websites is the most valuable feature of this solution."

More Acunetix pros

"The best free software for pen testing web applications."

Cons

"The costs for the licensing have changed and it's not in our favor which is why we're now looking at other options."

"There are some versions of the solution that are not as stable as others."

"It is difficult to create a proxy connection."

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

"Acunetix should improve by further reducing false positives and providing more customized reports, plus better integration with newer tools such as GitHub and Azure DevOps."

"Improving the handling of false positives would be beneficial because it can be challenging to trust the findings flagged by Acunetix, and those findings must be manually validated."

"The pricing is a bit on the higher side."

"There's a clear need for a reduction in pricing to make the service more accessible."

More Acunetix cons

"Unfortunately, once you get around the seemingly strict set of pre-requisites to install it, it is incredibly buggy."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"The price is exceptionally high."

"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."

"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."

"The solution is expensive."

More Acunetix pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	19

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

In a typical enterprise environment, Acunetix is mainly used for visibility, detection, and investigation across network traffic. The main use cases usually fall into a few core areas, with primary...

See all answers

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

I advise that Acunetix is the best option. Invest time in proper initial configuration and scope definitions. The tool is powerful, but its effectiveness depends heavily on how the authenticated ar...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Acunetix?

Everything is perfect and good, including the pricing and all related aspects.

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Comparisons

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Acunetix

Compared 8% of the time

OWASP Zap vs Acunetix

Compared 7% of the time

HCL AppScan vs Acunetix

Compared 4% of the time

Invicti vs Acunetix

Compared 4% of the time

OpenText Dynamic Application Security Testing vs Acunetix

Compared 4% of the time

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PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs w3af

Compared 17% of the time

Checkmarx One vs w3af

Compared 8% of the time

Waratek ARMR vs w3af

Compared 8% of the time

Jscrambler vs w3af

Compared 7% of the time

Onapsis vs w3af

Compared 7% of the time

More w3af Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix

June 2026

Download Acunetix product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

June 2026

Download w3af product report

Also Known As

AcuSensor

No data available

Overview

Acunetix is a dynamic application security tool used globally for web application vulnerability scanning, focusing on SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

Acunetix provides a comprehensive web vulnerability assessment platform designed for identifying and remediating security threats. Users benefit from its ability to schedule scans, boasting a fast detection rate for common vulnerabilities. The tool's centralized dashboard helps organizations with compliance monitoring and features such as crawling and login sequence enhancements, contributing depth to its security assessments. Despite high praise for its integration capabilities and automated scanning that saves time, pricing and false positives present challenges. Organizations often use Acunetix to maintain internal security and evaluate pre-release environments.

What are Acunetix's main features?

Comprehensive Reporting: Detailed reports assist in security analysis and compliance audits.
User-Friendly Interface: Simple navigation enhances user experience.
Scheduled Scans: Automation of scans allows for continuous monitoring.
Fast Detection: Quickly identifies vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
Integration Capabilities: Scalable solutions with compatibility across applications.
Crawling & Login Sequence: Improves depth in security analysis.

What benefits should businesses look for in reviews?

Low False Positive Rate: Accurate vulnerability detection saves time in analysis.
Time Efficiency: Automated scans reduce manual workload, improving team productivity.
Scalability: Integration features help accommodate growth and complexity.
Compliance Support: Centralized dashboard supports regulatory compliance checks.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and technology, Acunetix assists in protecting sensitive data through robust scanning and reporting capabilities. Its ability to perform dynamic assessments makes it a chosen tool in regulatory environments and development settings, offering both internal security inspections and pre-release evaluations.

Invicti

w3af is an open-source web application security scanner designed to identify vulnerabilities and ensure web application security. Its modular framework offers flexibility, making it a preferred choice for security researchers and developers aiming to fortify web environments.

Offering extensive features, w3af integrates seamlessly into the development cycle, enabling users to pinpoint and address security vulnerabilities efficiently. This tool integrates various plugins for scanning and exploiting, facilitating a comprehensive security assessment. Its adaptability allows users to customize scans according to their security needs, ensuring a thorough evaluation of application security.

What are the most important features of w3af?

Plug-in Based Architecture: Allows customization through a vast library of plugins for tailored scanning.
Comprehensive Scanning: Identifies a wide range of vulnerabilities, including SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
Integration Capabilities: Easily integrates with other security tools and continuous integration pipelines.
Active and Passive Scans: Utilizes both active and passive techniques for thorough security checks.
User-Friendly Configuration: Simplifies configuration and operation due to its intuitive design.

What benefits should users consider in w3af reviews?

Enhanced Security: Effectively detects security flaws, boosting application security.
Cost-Effective: As an open-source tool, it reduces investment in high-cost security solutions.
Scalability: Adaptable for small and large-scale applications, catering to diverse security demands.
Community Support: Extensive community support aids in issue resolution and feature enhancement.
Time-Saving: Automates security testing, allowing developers to focus on code enhancement.

In industries like e-commerce and finance, which demand stringent security measures, w3af proves invaluable. It aids in identifying potential threats early in the development process, preventing data breaches and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Professionals in these sectors rely on w3af to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information, streamlining security testing processes and facilitating secure software deployments.

w3af

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

June 2026

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