Avatao Security Training vs NodeGoat: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Avatao Security Training is a commercial secure code training tool by Avatao. NodeGoat is a free secure code training tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best secure code training fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Development teams and compliance officers at startups through mid-market will find Avatao Security Training most valuable for closing the gap between developers who code and auditors who care; its hands-on secure coding challenges tied directly to ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS frameworks mean training actually maps to what gets audited. The continuous release of bite-sized challenges keeps developers engaged rather than checking a box once a year, and the compliance dashboards give auditors the evidence trail they need without separate reporting work. Skip this if your organization needs awareness training for non-technical staff as your primary use case; Avatao clearly prioritizes developer secure coding over phishing modules for the broader workforce.
Junior developers and AppSec teams building internal training programs should use NodeGoat because it maps directly to OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities with runnable Node.js code you can actually break and fix, not just read about. The project has 2,021 GitHub stars and costs nothing, making it ideal for bootstrap security education before developers touch production code. Skip this if you need a scoring system, compliance reporting, or automated remediation; NodeGoat is a teaching tool, not a scanner, and it won't integrate into your CI/CD pipeline.
