DAST is the part of your AppSec program that actually runs your app and tries to break it. No source code required. No instrumentation. Just a scanner hitting your endpoints the same way an attacker would, looking for XSS, SQLi, SSRF, XXE, and everything else that only shows up at runtime.
The problem is that most teams treat DAST as an afterthought. They run a scan before a release, triage 400 findings, close half as false positives, and move on. That's not a security program. That's theater. The tools in this roundup are built for something more serious: continuous scanning, CI/CD integration, API coverage, and signal that developers can actually act on.
Seven tools made this list. They range from the scanner that every pen tester already has open in another tab to enterprise platforms that consolidate DAST into a broader AppSec posture. Some are better for small teams moving fast. Others are built for organizations running hundreds of apps across multiple environments. Here's how they actually compare.
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Burp Suite Enterprise Edition takes the tool that security engineers already trust for manual testing and turns it into a scheduled, automated scanning platform. If your team has ever used Burp Suite Professional, you know the scanner's detection quality. Enterprise Edition is that same engine, running at scale, without someone sitting at a laptop. That lineage matters. The crawling and scanning logic is battle-tested across millions of manual assessments, which means the detection coverage for things like out-of-band SQLi, DOM-based XSS, and deserialization issues is genuinely strong.
The platform is cloud-deployed and targets mid-market to enterprise organizations running multiple web applications. Setup is URL-based, no code instrumentation required, and you can extend scan behavior using BApps, the same extension ecosystem from the Pro version. That's a real differentiator. If your team has custom Burp extensions for specific tech stacks or internal frameworks, they carry over. The GraphQL API gives you programmatic control over scan scheduling, results retrieval, and configuration, which is what you need when you're wiring this into a CI/CD pipeline at scale.
The RBAC and SSO support make it manageable in larger organizations where multiple teams own different application portfolios. Jira, GitLab, and Trello integrations handle the ticket creation side. NIST coverage spans ID.RA, PR.PS, and DE.CM, so it fits into continuous monitoring programs, not just point-in-time assessments.
The trade-off to know: this is a cloud-only deployment. If you're in a regulated environment where your apps live on air-gapped or closed networks, that's a blocker. Also, the power of the platform scales with how well you configure it. Teams that just point it at URLs and accept defaults will get decent results. Teams that tune scan configurations and write custom checks will get significantly better ones. Budget time for that tuning work.
Acunetix Web Application & API Security
Acunetix has been in the DAST space long enough to have earned a reputation, and the thing it's known for is breadth of detection. Over 12,000 vulnerability checks is a real number, and it covers the expected OWASP Top 10 categories plus a long tail of framework-specific issues, misconfigurations, and zero-day variants. The blended DAST and IAST approach is worth understanding: the DAST component scans from outside like any black-box scanner, while the IAST sensor, when deployed inside the application, provides deeper visibility into code-level issues that external scanning alone would miss. You get more signal, but the IAST piece requires instrumentation, which adds deployment complexity.
The AI/ML-based Predictive Risk Scoring is one of the more practically useful features in this category. Before a scan even starts, the platform uses over 200 features to estimate which assets are most likely to be vulnerable. For teams managing large application portfolios where you can't scan everything continuously at full depth, that prioritization changes how you allocate scan capacity. It's not magic, but it's better than scanning alphabetically.
Acunetix fits SMBs through enterprise, which is a wide range. In practice, smaller teams benefit from the automated discovery and crawling that builds an asset inventory without manual input. Larger teams benefit from the multi-environment scanning and trend analysis over time. The proof-of-exploit feature reduces the false positive triage burden that kills DAST adoption in most organizations.
The macro recording capability for password-protected areas is something that sounds minor but matters a lot operationally. Authenticated scanning is where most DAST tools fall apart. If your app has a complex login flow, MFA, or session management quirks, Acunetix's macro recording lets you capture that flow once and replay it during scans. That's the difference between scanning 20% of your application surface and scanning 80% of it.
Invicti DAST
Invicti's core claim is proof-based scanning, and it's worth taking seriously. Most DAST tools report a potential vulnerability and leave you to verify it. Invicti automatically exploits the vulnerability to confirm it's real, then gives you evidence. For a team drowning in findings, that changes the triage workflow entirely. You're not asking 'is this real?' You're asking 'how do we fix this confirmed issue?' That's a meaningful shift in how security and development teams interact around scan results.
The deployment flexibility is a genuine differentiator in this category. SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid configurations are all supported. If you're running applications on internal networks that can't be reached from a cloud scanner, the on-premises option keeps Invicti viable. The hybrid model lets you manage everything from a central console while running scan engines where your apps actually live. For enterprises with complex network topologies, that matters more than most vendors acknowledge.
Shadow API discovery is a feature that addresses a real and growing problem. APIs get created, forgotten, and left running. They don't show up in your OpenAPI spec. They don't get scanned. Invicti's ability to discover these endpoints during scanning means you're not just testing what you know about. The predictive risk scoring, combined with concurrent multi-asset scanning and unlimited users and scans, makes this a platform designed for scale rather than individual assessments.
The Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps integrations are native, not webhook hacks. That matters when you're trying to gate deployments on scan results or trigger rescans on code changes. The trade-off: Invicti is positioned firmly at mid-market and enterprise, and the pricing reflects that. If you're a small team with a handful of apps, the feature set is more than you need and the cost will feel it.
Rapid7 InsightAppSec
InsightAppSec lives inside the Rapid7 Insight platform, which is either a feature or a constraint depending on how you look at it. If your organization already runs InsightIDR or InsightVM, adding InsightAppSec means your DAST findings land in the same platform as your SIEM and vulnerability management data. That unified view has real operational value. If you're evaluating DAST in isolation, the platform dependency is just overhead.
The Universal Translator is Rapid7's answer to the modern web application problem. Single-page applications, REST APIs, GraphQL endpoints, and JavaScript-heavy apps all require different crawling and testing approaches than traditional HTML applications. The Universal Translator handles that translation layer so the scanner can actually reach and test modern app surfaces. The 95+ attack types cover the standard vulnerability classes, and the Attack Replay feature lets developers reproduce a finding in their own environment to validate a patch without needing a security engineer to walk them through it.
The five-minute time-to-first-scan claim is real for simple applications. The platform is designed for quick deployment, and the UI reflects that priority. For teams that have struggled with DAST tools that require weeks of configuration before they produce useful output, that's a meaningful difference. The optional on-premises scan engine handles the closed-network use case without requiring a full on-premises deployment.
Compliance reporting for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and OWASP Top Ten is built in, which matters for teams that need to produce evidence for auditors. The Jira integration handles ticket creation. The NIST coverage is ID.RA and PR.PS, which is narrower than some competitors in this list. If continuous monitoring and DE.CM coverage is a requirement for your program, note that gap.
Checkmarx One DAST
Checkmarx One DAST is not a standalone scanner. It's the DAST module inside the Checkmarx One platform, which also includes SAST, SCA, and ASPM. That context is essential to understanding when to pick it. If you're already running Checkmarx One for static analysis, adding DAST gives you a centralized API inventory that combines findings from both scanning approaches. A vulnerability that shows up in both SAST and DAST gets correlated automatically. That's a level of signal consolidation that standalone DAST tools can't provide.
The authentication handling is notably thorough. Browser recording for complex login flows, two-factor authentication support, SSO, and multi-step login handling cover the scenarios where most DAST tools either fail silently or require manual workarounds. If your application portfolio includes apps with non-trivial authentication, this matters. The YAML generation for automated configuration also reduces the setup friction that kills DAST adoption in CI/CD pipelines.
The ASPM integration is the feature that separates Checkmarx One DAST from point solutions. Application Security Posture Management consolidates findings from across the platform into unified risk scores. Instead of managing separate dashboards for SAST findings and DAST findings, you get a single risk view per application. The policy correlation feature connects vulnerabilities to organizational security policies, which helps when you need to explain to a CISO why a specific finding requires immediate remediation.
The trade-off is straightforward: this tool makes the most sense if you're buying into the Checkmarx One platform. Using it as a standalone DAST scanner means paying for platform capabilities you won't use. The NIST coverage is the broadest in this roundup, spanning GV.SC, ID.AM, ID.RA, and PR.PS, which reflects the platform's broader scope beyond just scanning. Cloud-only deployment is a constraint worth noting for regulated environments.
Tenable Web App Scanning
Tenable Web App Scanning is the DAST offering from the company that built Nessus, and the integration story is the main reason to consider it. If you're running Tenable Vulnerability Management or Tenable Security Center for infrastructure scanning, adding Web App Scanning means your application vulnerabilities and your infrastructure vulnerabilities land in the same platform. You can build unified dashboards that show your full exposure across hosts, cloud assets, and web applications without stitching together data from multiple tools.
The FedRAMP authorization is a hard requirement for many government and public sector organizations, and Tenable is one of the few DAST vendors that has it. If you're in that space, the list of viable options gets short fast. The hybrid deployment model, cloud SaaS plus on-premises via Security Center, covers both internet-facing and internal application scanning scenarios.
The two-minute quick scan for common security hygiene issues is genuinely fast. It's not a full deep scan, but for continuous monitoring of a large application portfolio, running quick scans frequently and deep scans on a schedule is a reasonable operational model. OWASP Top 10 coverage, third-party component scanning, and SSL/TLS certificate validation cover the baseline requirements for most compliance programs.
The honest limitation: Tenable Web App Scanning is not the deepest DAST scanner in this roundup. It doesn't have proof-based exploitation like Invicti, the BApp extension ecosystem of Burp Enterprise, or the IAST blending of Acunetix. What it has is tight integration with the Tenable platform and a straightforward operational model. For teams that are already Tenable shops and need DAST coverage without adding another vendor, it's the right call. For teams evaluating DAST in isolation, there are tools in this list with stronger detection depth.
Qualys TotalAppSec
Qualys TotalAppSec is the most ambitious scope in this roundup. It's not just a DAST scanner. It's a platform that combines DAST, API security, web malware detection, asset discovery, and penetration testing data consolidation into a single cloud-based service. The TruRisk scoring engine, which Qualys uses across its broader platform, applies business context and asset criticality to vulnerability prioritization. That means a critical SQLi finding in a customer-facing payment application scores differently than the same finding in an internal dev tool. That context-aware prioritization is what separates a useful risk program from a raw vulnerability list.
The asset discovery scope is broader than any other tool in this list. On-premises, multi-cloud, API gateways, containers, and microservices are all in scope. The platform identifies shadow assets, forgotten applications, and rogue endpoints that never made it into your official inventory. For large enterprises where the application portfolio is genuinely unknown, that discovery capability has real value before you even start scanning.
The consolidation of third-party penetration testing data from Burp, ZAP, and BugCrowd is a feature that reflects how mature AppSec programs actually operate. You're not choosing between automated scanning and manual pen testing. You're running both, and you need the findings in one place. TotalAppSec imports that external data and normalizes it into the same risk scoring framework as automated scan results.
The web malware detection using behavioral analysis and deep learning covers a threat category that pure DAST tools ignore entirely. If your applications serve content that could be compromised by a supply chain attack or a malicious third-party script injection, that detection layer adds coverage that no other tool in this roundup provides. The trade-off: this is a cloud-only platform, and the breadth of features means there's significant configuration work to get full value. Teams that want a focused DAST scanner will find TotalAppSec over-engineered for their needs. Teams running mature AppSec programs at enterprise scale will find it fits the complexity they're already managing.
How to Choose the Right Tool
Picking a DAST tool is not about finding the one with the longest feature list. It's about matching the tool's operational model to how your team actually works, where your apps live, and what you need to prove to auditors or leadership. Here are the criteria that actually matter when you're making this decision.
Deployment model vs. your network topology: Cloud-only scanners like Burp Enterprise and Checkmarx One DAST cannot reach applications on closed or air-gapped networks. If your apps live behind a VPN or on internal networks, you need a tool with an on-premises scan engine option. Invicti, InsightAppSec, and Tenable Web App Scanning all support hybrid or on-premises deployment. This is a hard constraint, not a preference.
Authenticated scanning coverage: A DAST scanner that can't log into your application is scanning the login page and nothing else. Evaluate how each tool handles your specific authentication flows. Complex SSO, MFA, and multi-step login sequences require either macro recording (Acunetix), browser recording (Checkmarx One), or similar capabilities. Test this with your actual apps before committing.
False positive rate and proof of exploit: High false positive rates kill DAST adoption. Developers stop trusting the scanner, tickets pile up unresolved, and the program dies. Tools like Invicti and Acunetix that provide proof-based exploitation or proof of exploit reduce that triage burden significantly. If your team is small and can't afford to spend hours validating findings, this feature is not optional.
API coverage depth: REST APIs are table stakes. Evaluate whether the tool handles GraphQL, gRPC, and SOAP. Check whether it can discover undocumented or shadow API endpoints, not just scan what's in your OpenAPI spec. Invicti's shadow API discovery and Qualys TotalAppSec's OpenAPI v3 drift detection address different parts of this problem.
Platform integration vs. standalone value: Some tools in this list are modules inside larger platforms. Checkmarx One DAST makes the most sense if you're already running Checkmarx One SAST. Tenable Web App Scanning makes the most sense if you're already a Tenable shop. InsightAppSec fits naturally into the Rapid7 Insight ecosystem. If you're buying standalone DAST, Burp Enterprise, Acunetix, and Invicti are the stronger independent choices.
CI/CD integration maturity: There's a difference between 'supports CI/CD' and 'has native integrations with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps with documented pipeline examples.' Invicti has the most explicit native integration list in this roundup. Evaluate whether the integration is a webhook to a REST API or a maintained plugin with proper failure handling and scan gating support.
Compliance reporting requirements: If you need to produce evidence for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, or OWASP Top Ten audits, check whether the tool generates those reports natively. InsightAppSec covers PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and OWASP Top Ten. Tenable Web App Scanning has FedRAMP authorization. Qualys TotalAppSec covers GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA through PII detection. Match the tool's compliance coverage to your actual audit requirements.
Scale and portfolio size: If you're scanning five applications, almost any tool in this list works. If you're scanning 500 applications across multiple teams and environments, you need concurrent scanning, role-based access control, team-level dashboards, and asset management. Invicti's unlimited users and scans model, Qualys TotalAppSec's asset discovery scope, and Burp Enterprise's RBAC are all designed for that scale. Smaller teams should avoid paying for that complexity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between DAST and SAST?
SAST analyzes source code without running the application, finding issues like insecure coding patterns and hardcoded credentials at the code level. DAST runs the live application and attacks it from the outside, finding vulnerabilities that only appear at runtime like authentication bypasses, injection flaws in dynamic queries, and business logic issues. Most mature AppSec programs run both.
Can DAST tools scan APIs, not just web applications?
Yes, all seven tools in this roundup include API scanning. Coverage varies: most handle REST and SOAP, while some like Checkmarx One DAST also cover gRPC. The more important question is whether the tool can discover undocumented APIs, not just scan the ones you already know about.
How do I handle authenticated scanning for applications with MFA or SSO?
This is where most DAST deployments fail. Look for tools that support macro recording or browser-based session recording to capture complex login flows. Acunetix and Checkmarx One DAST both have explicit support for MFA and SSO authentication scenarios. Test your specific auth flow before assuming any tool handles it correctly.
Is DAST safe to run against production applications?
It depends on the scan configuration and the application. Some DAST checks, particularly those testing for SQLi or command injection, can cause unintended side effects in production databases or systems. Most enterprise DAST tools include scan profiles designed for production use that limit destructive tests. Always start with a staging environment and review scan configurations before running against production.
How do DAST tools integrate into CI/CD pipelines?
The typical pattern is triggering a scan on deployment to a staging environment, then gating the pipeline on scan results above a defined severity threshold. Tools like Invicti, Acunetix, and InsightAppSec have documented integrations with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps. The key is configuring scan scope and timeout values so the scan completes within your pipeline's acceptable window.
What's the difference between proof-based scanning and standard DAST scanning?
Standard DAST reports potential vulnerabilities based on application responses that match known vulnerability patterns. Proof-based scanning, as implemented by Invicti and Acunetix, goes further by actually exploiting the vulnerability and returning evidence of successful exploitation. This dramatically reduces false positives and removes the manual verification step from the triage workflow.
Conclusion
DAST is not a checkbox. It's a continuous process that requires the right tool matched to your environment, your team's capacity, and your actual application portfolio. If you're already deep in the Rapid7, Tenable, or Checkmarx ecosystems, the platform-native options reduce integration overhead and give you unified visibility. If you're buying DAST on its own merits, Burp Enterprise's detection quality, Invicti's proof-based scanning, and Acunetix's blended DAST/IAST approach are the strongest standalone choices. Use the comparison and filtering tools on CybersecTools to narrow the list against your specific deployment requirements, and don't skip the authenticated scanning test before you sign anything.
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An enterprise-scale dynamic application security testing (DAST) platform that provides automated vulnerability scanning and security assessment for web applications.
