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Acunetix vs Pentera comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Acunetix improves efficiency and security by automating vulnerability detection, reducing costs and manual testing efforts for businesses.
Sentiment score
5.2
Pentera automates security tests, proving valuable for retests, but rising licensing costs pose ROI challenges for some users.
It saves a significant amount of time by covering attack surfaces.
Information Security Engineer at Tübitak Bilgem
I have seen a return on investment, as Acunetix helps reduce the man-days and effort needed for scanning bulk applications through automated assessments.
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
I have seen a return on investment with Acunetix, including time saved and cost reduction, because it provides us threats on our web application servers.
cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK
Some customers consider the ROI favorable, but facing difficulties now due to changes in the licensing model, which has made it more expensive compared to last year.
Director at Infosonik Systems Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Acunetix's customer service is praised for responsiveness, yet users experience varying response times and suggest improvements.
Sentiment score
6.0
Pentera's support team is reliable and responsive, but documentation needs updating; users rate support highly despite some inconsistency.
For high-severity issues, they reach out within two to three hours, and for critical issues, a response is received within 15 minutes.
Lead Cybersecurity at TBO
The technical support from Invicti is very good and fast.
Information Security Engineer at Tübitak Bilgem
Support staff not being familiar with the problem.
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Acunetix efficiently manages growing workloads with adaptable deployment despite scan speed and Linux support challenges, with user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.0
Pentera is highly scalable with adaptable equipment requirements, earning strong satisfaction ratings across various enterprise environments.
Acunetix can handle increasing workloads and more applications easily.
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
Acunetix's scalability for my growing needs is great; it is a very scalable product compared to others.
cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Acunetix is stable and reliable, with minimal issues and helpful support, offering consistent performance and reporting capabilities.
Sentiment score
7.3
Pentera is praised for high stability, with most users rating it highly despite minor initial setup concerns.
I did not need to reach customer support because the product is very stable.
cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK
 

Room For Improvement

Acunetix needs improved scanning speed, reduced false positives, better reporting, enhanced support, flexible licensing, and improved mobile integration.
Pentera struggles with cost, licensing flexibility and needs better virtualization, dashboards, hardware support, and detailed credential information.
The main concern is related to false positives; Acunetix needs to work on identifying valid and invalid findings.
Lead Cybersecurity at TBO
Acunetix should have better integration with newer tools such as GitHub and Azure DevOps.
CEO at Xcelliti
I believe Acunetix can improve customer support, as the dedicated support staff are often unfamiliar with problems and troubleshooting, leading to communication gaps that delay issue resolution.
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
When the IP is imported into a system, we cannot withdraw or revoke the license.
Pre-sale manager at Nam Truong Son
 

Setup Cost

Acunetix pricing is viewed as costly, with calls for more flexible and transparent pricing to match market standards.
Pentera's pricing receives mixed reviews, though many appreciate its value in effectively assessing ransomware protection.
The pricing cost is affordable for small and mid-sized organizations, and when compared to Checkmarx, it is significantly affordable, as Checkmarx is quite expensive.
Lead Cybersecurity at TBO
We secured a special licensing model for penetration testing companies, which is cost-effective.
Information Security Engineer at Tübitak Bilgem
The pricing of Acunetix is pretty expensive and could be improved.
Senior Business Development Manager at Intouch World
 

Valuable Features

Acunetix excels in vulnerability detection, offers comprehensive reports, scalability, and ease of use for enhanced application security.
Pentera offers automated vulnerability assessments with valued features like attack surface mapping, AI reporting, and quick, effective processes.
Its most valuable role is in enhancing security by identifying potential vulnerabilities efficiently.
Senior Business Development Manager at Intouch World
The solution is excellent at detecting SQL injection and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.
CEO at Xcelliti
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.
Senior Engineer - Penetration Tester at a government with 10,001+ employees
We can automate the Pentera processes by automatically creating scenarios to validate the system.
Pre-sale manager at Nam Truong Son
 

Categories and Ranking

Acunetix
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (11th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (8th), Vulnerability Management (19th), DevSecOps (6th)
Pentera
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Penetration Testing Services (4th), Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) (3rd), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Acunetix is designed for Application Security Tools and holds a mindshare of 2.1%, down 2.5% compared to last year.
Pentera, on the other hand, focuses on Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), holds 24.1% mindshare, down 30.4% since last year.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Acunetix2.1%
SonarQube16.9%
Checkmarx One9.9%
Other71.1%
Application Security Tools
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pentera24.1%
Cymulate15.9%
The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai13.6%
Other46.4%
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Sabbir Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Infosonik Systems Ltd
Comprehensive attack surface coverage and real-world threat emulation strengthen security while licensing models need improvement
Comprehensive Attack Surface includes several features. Omni Attack Surface discovers, assesses, and exploits vulnerabilities across both internal networks and external assets, including cloud environments from a single platform. External Attack Surface Management (EASM) and Internal Network Validation test internal security controls and identify weaknesses within the internal network. Automated Penetration Testing features are provided through the Pentera Surface module. Surface provides automated validation and penetration testing features with a proactive, continuous, and highly realistic approach to cybersecurity validation, helping organizations understand and reduce their true cyber exposure. They have AI-based reporting that leverages AI to identify patterns of exploitability over time, aggregate results across sites, and highlight recurring weaknesses. They offer two types of reports: an elaborate technical report for CTOs and an Executive Summary for management. When customers see the reports after completing the POC, they are impressed by how detailed the technical report is, while management can understand what actions need to be taken to protect their network and infrastructure. Recent Gartner reports indicate that traditional VAPT companies perform vulnerability testing at specific times, which creates security gaps. Pentera provides continuous validation, running 24/7 in the infrastructure. This means when any vulnerability appears due to firmware upgrades, OS updates, or software changes, it can be automatically identified in real-time.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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.
What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?
I'm using Acunetix to automate security checks. Acunetix helped me catch common vulnerability issues early and improved the overall security posture of the application before development, specifica...
What advice do you have for others considering Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?
I would advise anyone or any startup looking to engage in the security part to directly use Acunetix, as this will help in most aspects. I would rate this product a nine out of ten.
What do you like most about Pentera?
What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach.
What needs improvement with Pentera?
The licensing model has changed from earlier versions. Previously, there was a 500 IP cap, and customers needed to buy a minimum of 500 IP and consider 500 domains. In Bangladesh, many large organi...
What is your primary use case for Pentera?
Common use cases include several features. The POC is completed before any customer goes for procurement. Once the POC is done, customers appreciate features such as comprehensive attack surface co...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

AcuSensor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Joomla!, Digicure, Team Random, Credit Suisse, Samsung, Air New Zealand
Blackstone Group Caterpillar Apria Healthcare Taylor Vinters Sandler Capital Management Drawbridge BNP Paribas British Red Cross
Find out what your peers are saying about Acunetix vs. Pentera and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.