Astra is a SaaS enterprise focused on delivering cloud security solutions. It combines automated processes with manual expertise to adhere to standards such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO27001, and SOC2, and to assess cloud systems for vulnerabilities. Astra provides tailored pentest reports that are available for download in various formats, including PDFs and XLS.

Yet, based on user reviews from third-party review platforms, certain shortcomings have been highlighted regarding Astra Pentest’s offerings. Businesses may consider other options due to the need for extensive vulnerability scanning, scalability needs, or regulatory compliance. Additionally, some may find Astra Pentest’s pricing too high or seek more affordable alternatives.

Best alternatives and competitors to Astra Pentest

Table notes:

• The vendors are arranged alphabetically, except for the products sponsored in the article, which are linked to the sponsor websites.
• Each vendor mentioned in the table below provides both automated and manual penetration testing capabilities as part of its security testing services.
• Review & user score: Review and user rating data is collected leading B2B review platforms including G2, Gartner and TrustRadius.

Astra Pentest evaluation based on user reviews

Strengths commonly highlighted by users

• Automated and manual penetration testing: Astra offers not just automated vulnerability scanning services, but also manual penetration testing services performed by manual penetration testers.¹
• VAPT reports: According to user feedback, Astra offers comprehensive and practical insights into system security vulnerabilities. ²The VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) report generated by Astra includes a thorough detailing of the vulnerabilities discovered during the evaluation, the associated risks, and suggestions for remediation.

Limitations and challenges faced by users

• Performance issues: A commonly cited limitation of Astra Pentest service is its slow performance and lack of stability. ^{3 4}.
• No free trial: Astra does not offer a free trial. Without a free trial, potential customers may find it difficult to compare Astra’s offerings directly against competitors.

1. Invicti

Invicti, previously known as Netsparker, is an application security testing platform. Invicti’s web application security testing utilizes proof-based vulnerability scanning that confirms security threats by safely exploiting them in a non-destructive, read-only manner. This method significantly lowers the incidence of both false positives and false negatives.

Invicti offers two subscription options: standard and enterprise. The standard plan is designed for individual users and functions as a desktop web vulnerability scanner, making it ideal for security teams and penetration testers who manage scans for less than 50 websites.

On the other hand, the enterprise plan is designed for multiple users and provides comprehensive vulnerability management and assessments. This plan is hosted on a browser-based cloud platform, removing the need for physical hardware or software.

2. Intruder

Intruder provides a scanning solution that identifies security vulnerabilities at the web layer, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, as well as infrastructure-level issues like remote code execution flaws and misconfigurations that result in weak encryption settings.

Additionally, Intruder’s web scanner is adept at scanning single-page applications (SPAs), efficiently managing and interacting with complex client-side scripts.

3. Cobalt

Cobalt is a cloud-based security platform that provides services including Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) and a DAST scanner that blends dynamic application security testing with Penetration Testing as a Service. Cobalt’s Pentest as a Service (PtaaS) integrates manual pentests with automated scans for a comprehensive security assessment.

4. Probely

Probely provides a Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) solution that enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities in web applications and APIs. It is capable of scanning both traditional web applications and modern single-page applications (SPAs).

Probely offers two scanning approaches: scheduled and partial scanning. Scheduled scanning automates security checks at set intervals, whereas partial scanning targets specific sections of an application rather than scanning the entire application at once. Their pricing structure allows for unlimited scans and operates on a usage-based model, with costs varying according to the amount of scan time used.

5. Rapid7

Rapid7 is recognized in the cybersecurity sector for its security solutions, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), cloud security, vulnerability management, threat intelligence, dynamic application security testing, and SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response).

Among its offerings, Rapid7’s Metasploit Pro is an exploitation and vulnerability validation tool that assists organizations in breaking down the penetration testing process into manageable segments. This product includes features like manual exploitation, which allows users to execute specific exploits individually, and auto-exploitation, which automates the exploitation process. Metasploit Pro is a multi-user tool that enables businesses to distribute tasks and share information among members of a penetration testing team.

6. Burp Suite

Burp Suite, which includes the PortSwigger web vulnerability scanner, provides various pricing options: Burp Suite Community, Burp Suite Professional, and Burp Suite Enterprise Edition. The community version is free and intended for manual security testing. The professional version is ideal for individuals and small teams, starting at $449 per user per year. The enterprise edition caters to larger organizations, with notable price discrepancies between the cloud and self-hosted versions.

Burp Suite’s penetration testing software automatically identifies various types of security threats in web applications, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery). Among its main capabilities is its proxy feature, which allows users to intercept and alter HTTP and HTTPS traffic exchanged between their browser and the intended web application.

7. Qualys

Qualys provides a cloud-based solution called Web Application Scanning (WAS) for conducting website penetration tests through applications. Qualys WAS is capable of scanning HTML web applications that include JavaScript and embedded Flash content. By integrating with CI/CD pipelines on platforms such as Azure and GitHub, Qualys WAS assists organizations in identifying coding issues at an early stage.

Additionally, Qualys WAS is able to scan Swagger-based Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) web services. Users have the capability to organize related requests into a file referred to as a Postman Collection, which can be easily shared with collaborators.

Further reading

• Top 8 Checkmarx Alternatives Based on 900+ Reviews in 2024
• Top 7 Alternatives To Burp Suite For Application Security Testing
• 8 Best Rapid7 Alternatives in 2024 Based on 1400+ Reviews

If you have further questions, reach us:

External Links

• 1. Astra Pentest Reviews, G2
• 2. Astra Pentest Reviews, G2
• 3. Astra Pentest Reviews, G2
• 4. Astra Pentest Reviews, G2