express-brute vs Traceable AppSec: 2026 Comparison
express-brute is a free api security tool. Traceable AppSec is a commercial api security tool by Harness Inc.. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best api security 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:
Express-brute is built for Node.js teams protecting REST APIs where a lightweight, stateless rate-limiting layer is enough to stop credential stuffing and basic brute-force attacks at the route level. The 568 GitHub stars and active maintenance reflect real production use in shops that don't need distributed state or advanced behavioral analysis. Skip this if you're running microservices at scale or need account lockout logic that survives service restarts; express-brute stores attempt counts in memory, which breaks across load-balanced instances without external persistence configured.
Mid-market and enterprise teams with sprawling API estates and shadow API problems should pick Traceable AppSec for its automatic discovery and inventory built from live traffic replay, which catches undocumented endpoints that static scanning misses. The platform's runtime protection layer and generative AI-driven vulnerability detection address OWASP API Top 10 risks faster than manual testing cycles, and continuous posture insights keep compliance risk visible across the SDLC. This is less suited to smaller teams or those seeking a single platform for application security across code, container, and runtime layers; Traceable is API-focused and assumes mature deployment infrastructure.
