Burp Suite Alternatives: 5 Tools for Web Security Testing

Burp Suite is still a strong choice for hands-on web application testing, but it is not the only way to inspect requests, replay traffic or find common web vulnerabilities. The best replacement depends on the work you need to do. ZAP is the strongest open-source scanner choice, Caido is a focused manual testing environment, mitmproxy is useful for scripted traffic work, Fiddler is built for debugging, and Invicti targets larger AppSec programmes.

Quick Answer

If you want a free tool with active scanning and automation, start with ZAP. If you want a modern desktop proxy for manual web testing, compare Caido with Burp Community. If your work is mainly HTTP traffic inspection and custom scripts, try mitmproxy. Choose Fiddler Everywhere for application debugging across devices. For enterprise DAST and API coverage, evaluate Invicti rather than expecting a lightweight proxy to do the same job.

There is no single winner for every team. Burp Suite combines a proxy, request history, Repeater, Intruder, scanner, extensions and reporting. Some alternatives replace only one part of that workflow. Decide which part matters before you move.

How We Chose These Alternatives

This is a documentation-based comparison, not a lab benchmark. We reviewed the current product, pricing and documentation pages published by the vendors and projects. We did not run scans against live targets, test detection rates or compare false-positive rates. Those results depend on the application, scan policy, authentication setup and operator skill.

We included tools with a clear use case that overlaps with at least one important Burp workflow. We also looked at whether a free option exists, whether the product supports manual traffic work or automation, and whether its official documentation explains the limits. Pricing is described only where a public page showed it. A missing public price is not treated as a free product.

What Burp Suite Does Before You Replace It

Burp Suite Community Edition is a free manual toolkit. PortSwigger lists an HTTP and HTTPS and WebSockets proxy with history, Repeater, Decoder, Sequencer and Comparer. Intruder is available in demo form. Professional adds project files, full Intruder, a web vulnerability scanner, more extensions, OAST testing and automatic crawling.

That difference matters. If you use Burp mainly to capture a request, change a parameter and replay it, a free alternative may cover much of your day-to-day work. If you depend on authenticated scanning, Intruder automation, BApp extensions or team reporting, replacing Burp with a simple proxy will leave gaps.

The public PortSwigger Professional page currently displays a price of $499. The page we reviewed does not show the billing period beside that price, so confirm the term, tax and renewal details at checkout before comparing total cost. Community Edition remains free.

Best Alternatives

1. ZAP: Best open-source option for scanning and automation

ZAP is an independent open-source project controlled by its core team and supported by Checkmarx. The project now uses the name ZAP. It left OWASP in September 2023, so older pages that still call it OWASP ZAP may be out of date.

ZAP is a good starting point when you want a scanner and an automation path without buying a commercial licence. Its basic penetration-test guide describes an operator-led process: explore the application, spider for URLs, use forced browsing where appropriate, run an active scan and then perform manual testing. That last step is important. ZAP's own guide says automated steps find basic vulnerabilities, while deeper testing still needs a person.

Choose ZAP when you need repeatable scans, a scriptable workflow or an open-source tool that a team can inspect and extend. It is less suitable if your main requirement is the same polished manual workflow and extension library that your testers already use in Burp Professional.

2. Caido: Best for focused manual web testing

Caido is built around the workflow of a web security researcher. Its documentation includes a migration section that maps Burp features to Caido and marks each feature as available, indirectly available or not available. That is useful because a product comparison should not assume that two tools with similar names behave in the same way.

Caido's Basic plan is free forever and includes up to two projects, seven workflows, three plugins, five filter presets, HTTPQL filtering and core HTTP tools. Individual adds unlimited projects, workflows, plugins, filter presets and installations. Team adds shared instances, central billing, reassignable licences and priority support. The public pricing page does not show a numeric price for Individual or Team in the version reviewed here.

Caido is not open source, although it has an open plugin ecosystem. It is worth testing if your work is centred on intercepting requests, filtering traffic, replaying messages and building repeatable manual workflows. Before moving a team, compare every Burp extension, scanner step and reporting requirement against Caido's feature mapping.

3. mitmproxy: Best for scriptable traffic inspection

mitmproxy is a good fit when you want to inspect and change HTTP traffic through a proxy and control the process with scripts. Its documentation shows how an intercepted request can be paused, modified or discarded before it reaches the server. It also supports filters so you can intercept only the requests that matter instead of stopping every request.

This approach suits developers, researchers and automation engineers who want traffic-level control. You can use it to understand an API exchange, reproduce a request, test how an application responds to a changed header or create a repeatable debugging routine.

mitmproxy is not a direct substitute for Burp Professional's complete vulnerability scanner, extension marketplace and reporting workflow. Treat it as a focused proxy and scripting tool. If your team needs broad vulnerability coverage, pair it with a scanner and a documented manual test plan.

4. Fiddler Everywhere: Best for application and API debugging

Fiddler Everywhere is designed for capturing, inspecting, saving, replaying and debugging network traffic on Windows, macOS and Linux. Its purchase page lists Lite at $7 per user per month when billed annually or $10 monthly. Pro is listed at $13 per user per month annually or $19 monthly. Enterprise is listed at $37 per user per month with annual billing only.

The feature split helps explain where it fits. Lite includes traffic capture and inspection. Pro adds full feature access, traffic manipulation through rules, collaboration and other debugging features. Enterprise adds controls such as policy-driven installation, single sign-on and offline mode.

Fiddler is a sensible choice when developers need to understand why an application request failed, compare responses or inspect traffic from a remote device. It is not a one-for-one penetration testing replacement. If you need vulnerability scanning, exploit workflows and specialist testing extensions, keep a dedicated AppSec tool in the stack.

5. Invicti: Best for enterprise DAST programmes

Invicti takes a different route. It is an application security platform with DAST, API security and other scanning engines. Its product page describes discovery across web applications and APIs, proof-based scanning, runtime prioritisation and integrations with CI/CD tools. The public product page asks teams to request a demo rather than listing a standard self-serve price.

Choose Invicti when your main problem is continuous web application and API coverage across many assets, with central reporting and remediation workflows. It is not a lightweight desktop proxy for manually changing a request. A team may use an enterprise scanner alongside a manual proxy rather than trying to make one product cover both jobs.

Comparison Table

How to Choose

Start with the job, not the feature list. If a tester spends most of the day capturing and replaying requests, evaluate Caido and mitmproxy first. If the team needs automated coverage in a CI pipeline, test ZAP and Invicti against a staging application with a known test plan. If developers are diagnosing network problems across browsers and devices, Fiddler may be easier to adopt.

Next, map your current Burp workflow. List the extensions, project files, authentication steps, scan policies, report formats and proxy settings that your team actually uses. A tool can look similar in a marketing page but still lack one extension or workflow that your testers rely on every week.

Finally, run a controlled pilot. Use a staging target that you own, a fixed test account and a short list of checks. Compare setup time, repeatability, useful findings, false positives, reporting and how easy it is for another tester to reproduce the result. Do not compare tools by running an uncontrolled scan against a production site.

What to Avoid

Check operating system support, browser certificate setup, authentication handling, WebSocket support, API testing, team collaboration, export formats and update frequency. For an enterprise tool, also review where data is stored, who can access findings, how licences are assigned and whether the vendor supports your procurement requirements.

Do not assume a free tool has no cost. Your team may spend more time building scripts, maintaining scan policies or converting reports. Do not assume a paid product is automatically more accurate. A scanner still needs the right scope, authentication and manual review.

Keep your old Burp project files and notes during the pilot. Export traffic and evidence in a format that another tool can read where possible. Run the new tool beside the old one for a short period, then compare results before you retire a workflow. This reduces the chance that a missing feature appears only after a deadline.

Key Takeaways

• Choose ZAP when you need an open-source scanner and automation.
• Choose Caido for focused manual web testing and mitmproxy for scriptable traffic inspection.
• Choose Fiddler for debugging and Invicti for enterprise DAST rather than treating every tool as a full Burp replacement.

Related Reading

If you are building safer developer workflows, see our guides to AI agent permissions and sandbox controls and AI-generated regex review workflows. Both cover the value of clear scopes and human review.

FAQ

Is ZAP a good replacement for Burp Suite?

It can be a good replacement for teams that need open-source scanning and automation. It does not reproduce every Burp Professional feature, so map your extensions and manual workflows before switching.

Is Caido free?

Caido has a Basic plan that is free forever. It limits the number of projects, workflows, plugins and filter presets. Paid plans add higher limits and team features.

Is mitmproxy better than Burp Suite?

Neither is better for every task. mitmproxy is strong for scriptable traffic inspection. Burp Suite is a broader web penetration testing toolkit with a scanner and a larger extension workflow.

Is Fiddler a security scanner?

Fiddler Everywhere is mainly a network traffic debugging proxy. Use it to inspect and replay requests, not as a replacement for a dedicated vulnerability scanner.

Does Invicti replace manual testing?

No. Invicti focuses on automated application and API security testing. Manual testing remains important for business logic, access-control edge cases and issues that automation cannot confirm.

Is it legal to test a public website with these tools?

Only if you own the system or have clear permission and an agreed scope. A publicly accessible website is not automatically authorised for penetration testing.

Sources and further reading

• PortSwigger: Burp Suite Community Edition
• PortSwigger: Burp Suite Professional
• ZAP: A Basic Penetration Test
• ZAP: Ownership and project status
• Caido: Pricing
• Caido: Burp Suite feature mapping
• mitmproxy: Intercept requests
• Telerik: Fiddler Everywhere pricing
• Invicti: Application Security Platform