Acunetix vs HCL AppScan comparison

Invicti and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. Invicti is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3, while HCLSoftware is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.9. Invicti holds a 2.7% mindshare in AS, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Invicti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

Acunetix

Read 32 Acunetix reviews

3,283 Views
2,632 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 43 HCL AppScan reviews

3,792 Views
2,867 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Acunetix

HCL AppScan

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

HCL AppScan and Acunetix compete in the application security market. HCL AppScan has an edge due to its robust support and cost-effectiveness, whereas Acunetix stands out with its feature comprehensiveness.

Features: HCL AppScan offers extensive integration capabilities, detailed security analysis, and strong support. Acunetix provides accurate scanning, a wide vulnerability coverage, and quick results.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan could enhance scan speed, workflow intuitiveness, and integration features. Acunetix might improve scalability, proactive integrations, and user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan has streamlined deployment and reliable customer support. Acunetix provides both cloud and on-premise solutions with responsive assistance.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan is cost-effective with compelling ROI due to low setup costs. Acunetix offers high ROI justifying its higher initial costs with its features.

To learn more, read our detailed Acunetix vs. HCL AppScan Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. HCL AppScan

April 2025

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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

Acunetix

Ranking in Application Security Tools

17th

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (23rd), DevSecOps (6th)

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Application Security Tools

14th

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

10th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of Acunetix is 2.7%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

AnubhavGoswami

Compliance Manager at Compunnel

Attractive automated reports with boost user productivity and an easy setup

The primary use is mainly related to vulnerability assessment, including both public and internal IP addresses By using this tool, we have reduced the workload and increased the productivity of users. It generates automated reports. This feature is beneficial when sharing reports with clients as…

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Rishi Anupam

Senior Manager at Airtel

A stable and scalable scanning solution with good reporting feature

The solution is used for the vulnerabilities scan on the network side The reporting part is the most valuable feature. The penetration testing feature should be included. I have been using the solution for four years. It is a stable solution. I rate it seven out of ten. It is a scalable…

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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."

"The most important feature is that it's a web-based graphical user interface. That is a great addition. Also, the ability to schedule scans is great."

"Acunetix has an awesome crawler. It gives a referral site map of near targets and also goes really deep to find all the inputs without issues. This was valuable because it helped me find some files or directories, like web admin panels without authentication, which were hidden."

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

"The solution is highly stable."

"The scalability is good. The scalability is more than good because it can operate both as a standalone and it can be integrated as part of applications. So that really makes it a very, very versatile solution to have."

"I find it to be one of the most comprehensive tools, with support for manual intervention."

"It generates automated reports."

More Acunetix pros

"It comes with all of the templates that we need. For example, we are a company that is regulated by PCI. In order to be PCI compliant, we have a lot of checks and procedures to which we have to comply."

"The product has valuable features for static and dynamic testing."

"The static scans are good, and the SaaS as well."

"The product is useful, particularly in its sensitivity and scanning capabilities."

"The UI was very intuitive."

"It has certainly helped us find vulnerabilities in our software, so this is priceless in the end."

"The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is scanning QR codes."

"The solution is cheap."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"We want to see how much bandwidth usage it consumes. When we monitor traffic we have issues with the consumption and throttling of the traffic."

"There was an issue related to updates from the internet."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing."

"Integration into other tools is very limited for Acunetix. While we're trying to incorporate a CI/CD process where we're integrating with JIRA and we're integrating with Jenkins and Chef, it becomes problematic. Other tools give you a high integration capability to connect into different solutions that you may already have, like JIRA."

"Acunetix needs to include agent analysis."

"It is difficult to create a proxy connection."

"Acunetix needs to improve its cost."

"I had some issues with the JSON parameters where it found some strange vulnerabilities, but it didn't alert the person using it or me about these vulnerabilities, e.g., an error for SQL injection."

More Acunetix cons

"The solution's scalability can be a matter of concern because one license runs on one machine only."

"AppScan is too complicated and should be made more user-friendly."

"We would like to see a check in the specific vulnerabilities in mobile applications or rooted devices, such as jailbreaking devices."

"They have to improve support."

"I would like to see the roadmap for this product. We are still waiting to see it as we have only so many resources."

"It's a little bit basic when you talk about the Web Services. If AppScan improved its maturity on Web Services testing, that would be good."

"Improvement can be done as per customer requirements."

"We would like to integrate with some of the other reporting tools that we're planning to use in the future."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 pricing and licensing are reasonable to a point. In order to run multiple scans at a time, we are going to have to purchase a 100 count license, which is an overkill. Though, compared to what we were paying for, the cost seems reasonable."

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

"Implementing Acunetix needs a medium or larger business agency, because you need some money to get Acunetix. It is costly, but if you care about your agency's security, then maybe it's a cost that might help you in the future."

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

"The solution is expensive."

"I would say that Acunetix is expensive because there are products on the market with similar features that are equally or better-priced."

More Acunetix pricing and cost advice

"With the features, that they offer, and the support, they offer, AppScan pricing is on a higher level."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"Our clients are willing to pay the extra money. It is expensive."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"The tool was expensive."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The product is moderately priced, though it's an investment due to extensive code analysis needs."

"The price is very expensive."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Acunetix Vulnerability Scanner?

I typically use Acunetix ( /products/acunetix-reviews ) to identify vulnerabilities for clients.

See all answers

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

I would recommend Acunetix to others. Overall, I rate this solution seven out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives. It also requires enhancements in customer support, similar to what Veracode provides. Regularly scheduling calls with clients to discuss fe...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

The primary use case for AppScan is for security purposes. I compare AppScan with other tools such as Veracode. We use AppScan for vulnerability detection and auto-remediation of vulnerabilities wi...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 17% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Acunetix

Compared 12% of the time

Invicti vs Acunetix

Compared 7% of the time

Tenable.io Web Application Scanning vs Acunetix

Compared 6% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Enterprise Edition vs Acunetix

Compared 6% of the time

More Acunetix Competitors

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs HCL AppScan

Compared 12% of the time

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 10% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

OWASP Zap vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs HCL AppScan

Compared 6% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix

April 2025

Download Acunetix product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

March 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

AcuSensor

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner is an automated web application security testing tool that audits your web applications by checking for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Cross site scripting, and other exploitable vulnerabilities.

Invicti

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

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

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

Buyer's Guide

Acunetix vs. HCL AppScan

April 2025

Free Report: Acunetix vs. HCL AppScan

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