Top 13 Web Application Penetration Testing Tools

Web app pentesting refers to a security assessment process where ethical hackers simulate real-world attacks on a web application to identify vulnerabilities, exploit weaknesses, and provide actionable insights to enhance security posture.

But, with a continuously evolving landscape and an ocean of vendors, how do you choose the best web pentest tool for your company and security needs?

As such, our security experts have hand-picked the best 13 web application penetration testing tools in the market based on scanner capacity, accuracy, budget, and experience. Let’s take a deeper look.

Top 13 Web Pentest Tools of 2025

1. Astra’s Pentest
2. NMAP
3. Wireshark
4. Metasploit
5. Burp Suite
6. Nessus
7. Cobalt.io
8. Probely
9. Rapid7
10. Indusface WAS

How to Choose The Best Web Pentest Tool?

1. Ease Of Use

The pentest tool should be easy to use and navigate. The user interface should be intuitive, with friendly workflows that do not hinder individual or team productivity.  

2. Manual Pentesting & Automated Scanning

The pentest tool should offer a combination of automated scans and manual penetration testing by qualified pen testers, which is also a bonus since customers can opt for annual or bi-annual in-depth pentests with the scanner, ensuring continuous monitoring of your web assets. 

3. Report Format

It is essential to consider whether the pentest tool provides multiple report formats for you to choose from, be it PDF or XLS. The report should also offer customizations for detailed versions and executive summaries for management, keeping the reader in mind. 

4. Customer Support 

The web application penetration testing tool under consideration should also come with good customer service that is available 24*7, be it through chats, emails, calls, or through the dashboard. 

5. Reliability & Experience

Ensure that the company is known for its reliability and experience in web pen-testing with at least 3+ years of experience. This can be confirmed by going through reputed review sites such as Gartner, G2, and others to know more about their customers’ experiences. 

Top 13 Web Application Penetration Testing Tools

1. Astra Pentest

Features:

• Platform: Online 
• Scanner Capacity: Unlimited continuous scans
• Manual pentest: Available for web app, mobile app, APIs, and cloud infrastructures
• Accuracy: Zero false positives
• Vulnerability management: Comes with dynamic vulnerability management dashboard 
• Compliance: Helps you stay compliant with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO27001, and SOC2
• Price: Starts at $199/month 

Astra Pentest is a leading web application penetration testing company that offers PTaaS and continuous threat exposure management capabilities. Our comprehensive solutions blend automation and manual expertise to run 10,000+ tests and compliance checks, ensuring complete safety, irrespective of the threat and attack location.

With a 360° view of an organization’s security posture, continuous proactive insights, real-time reporting, and AI-first defensive strategies, we help CTOs shift left at scale. Our guaranteed zero false positives, seamless integrations, and expert support make cybersecurity simple, effective, and hassle-free for hundreds of businesses worldwide. 

Still don’t believe us? Check out what 700+ customers have to say about Astra!

Pros 

• It can be integrated into the CI/CD pipeline.
• Ensure zero false positives through thorough manual vetting of scan results. 
• Helps with cloud and API vulnerability management.
• Provide round-the-clock customer support.

Limitations 

• Free trial starts at $7.

2. NMAP

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Usually scans the 1000 most popular ports of each network protocol
• Manual pentest: Network mapping and port scanning
• Accuracy: Occasionally shows false positives and faulty insights 
• Vulnerability management: No
• Compliance: Indirectly relates to compliance reporting 
• Price: Free

NMAP is short for Network Mapper. It is an open-source web application pentest tool that helps you map a network by scanning ports, discovering operating systems, and creating an inventory of devices and the services running on them. 

It sends differently structured packets for different transport layer protocols which return with IP addresses and other information. You can use the tool for a large network with thousands of devices and ports.

Pros 

• Shows open ports, running serves, and other critical facets of a network
• Freely available.
• Usable for large and small networks alike

Limitations

• The user interface can be improved.
• Might show different results each time.

3. WireShark

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Captures live packet data from a network interface
• Manual pentest: Useful tool for pentesting
• Accuracy: Fairly accurate
• Vulnerability management: No
• Compliance: Indirectly relates to compliance reporting 
• Price: Free

WireShark is one of the most famous open-source penetration testing tools for web applications that you can use for protocol analysis. It allows you to monitor network activities at a microscopic level. It is a growing platform with thousands of developers contributing worldwide.

WireShark is the industry standard for protocol analysis in many different sectors. If you know what you are doing, it is a great tool to use.

Pros 

• Easy to install
• Open-source tool.

Limitations

• Can be difficult for beginners to navigate. 
• Could improve its user interface.

4. Metasploit

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: N/A
• Manual pentest: Metasploit contains an assortment of tools that can be used for pentesting
• Accuracy: N/A
• Vulnerability management: No
• Compliance: Indirectly relates to compliance reporting 
• Price: Free

Metasploit is a Ruby-based open-source framework used by ethical and malicious actors to probe systematic vulnerabilities on networks and servers. The Metasploit framework also contains portions of fuzzing, anti-forensic, and evasion tools with listeners, encoders, post-exploitation code, and whatnot. 

It is easy to install and can work on a wide range of platforms regardless of the languages they run on. The popularity and the wide availability of Metasploit among professional hackers make it an essential tool for Penetration Testers. 

Pros

• Includes nearly 1677 exploits. 
• Freely available online pentest tool.
• Easy to use. 

Limitations

• Not beginner-friendly. 
• Initial navigation can be difficult. 

5. Burp Suite

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications
• Manual pentest: Yes
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability management: No
• Compliance:  PCI-DSS, OWASP Top 10, HIPAA, GDPR
• Price:  $449/per user/per year

Burp Suite stands out as a top-tier web penetration testing tool, equipped with features for both manual and automated testing. It identifies vulnerabilities by intercepting and analyzing web traffic, automating tedious tasks, and performing fuzzing and brute-force attacks on login mechanisms.

This tool is highly effective at detecting common web vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Insecure Direct Object References (IDORs). It offers both, a free community edition and a commercial edition.

Pros

• Provides advanced automated pentesting services.
• Provides step-by-step advice for every vulnerability found.
• Can crawl through complex targets with ease based on URLs and content.

Limitations

• Advanced solutions are commercialized and can be expensive.
• Does not provide expert customer service and assistance.

6. Nessus

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications
• Manual pentest: No
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability management: Yes (Additional Cost)
• Compliance: HIPAA, ISO, NIST, PCI-DSS
• Price:  Starts at $4,236/year 

Nessus is an automated website penetration testing tool by Tenable. It has been used by security professionals for vulnerability assessment since 1998. They aim to make vulnerability assessments simple and quick remediations. You can deploy it on a variety of platforms. 

It’s easy to navigate and use UI, and simplified automation of scanning and reporting tasks makes it one of the leading choices for web app pentests.

Pros 

• Helps find missing patches that are critical to maintaining security. 
• Point-in-time analysis of security system. 
• Helps achieve compliance with the scans. 

Limitations

• Advanced support is only available upon additional payment. 
• Takes time to complete scans. 
• Can be an expensive solution.

7. Cobalt

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web and mobile applications, APIs, Networks, and Cloud
• Manual pentest: Yes
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability management: Yes
• Compliance: SOC2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, CREST 
• Price: Quote on request

Cobalt is another penetration-testing-as-a-service provider. They connect your organization with the global community of vetted penetration testers whose pentesting skills suit your tech stack.

Its SaaS platform helps you gather real-time insights so that your teams can get on with the remediation quickly. It helps you with web app pentesting, mobile app pentesting, cloud scanning, and API pentesting.

Pros

• Impressive existing clientele, including Nissan and Vodafone.
• 14-day trial period.
• Accelerated find to fix cycles

Limitations

• The retest often takes too much time
• Complex pricing structure
• Reported false positives

8. Probely

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications, APIs
• Manual pentest: No
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability management: Yes
• Compliance: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR, & OWASP TOP10
• Price: Starts at $98/month – Pro Plan

Probely is designed for web application scanning and API scanning. They say, using Probely is like adding a virtual specialist to your team. We will let you be the judge after you look at the features.

Probely automatically prioritizes vulnerabilities based on the risk of the vulnerabilities and provides proof of legitimacy for each issue.

Pros

• Simple to use with continuous scanning. 
• Wide range of tests. 
• Good customer support.

Limitations

• Could have better integrations. 
• Custom vulnerability scoring does not align with general scoring.

9. Rapid7

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Cloud and Web Applications
• Manual pentest: Yes
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability management: Yes
• Compliance: CIS, ISO 27001
• Price: Starts at $175/app/month 

As a vulnerability assessment service provider, Rapid7 is another web pentesting tool with a range of services dedicated to web application security. They configure the scans, schedule them, validate the findings, and remove false positives.

They optimize the vulnerability scans based on your compliance requirements. Apart from these things, Rapid7 also provides business logic testing that is otherwise impossible with a vulnerability scanner. 

Pros 

• Simple and easy-to-navigate interface.
• Capable of finding hidden vulnerabilities
• Great and easy-to-understand reports. 

Limitations

• Customer support can be improved. 
• Removal of scanned devices must be done manually.

10. IndusfaceWAS

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web and mobile applications, APIs
• Manual pentest: Yes
• Accuracy: Zero false positives 
• Vulnerability management: Yes 
• Compliance: PCI-DSS, ISO 27001
• Price: Starts at $ 59/app/month – Advance plan 

IndusfaceWAS combines automated scanning and manual pentesting to help you detect all OWASP top 10 vulnerabilities and business logic errors. Indusface also promises zero false positives and provides remediation assistance. 

The scanner built by Indusface is focused on scanning single-page applications and intelligent crawling. It offers unlimited scans and detects application vulnerabilities validated by OWASP and WASC.

Pros

• Assured zero false positives through zero-day protection. 
• Helps achieve compliance with regulations like PCI-DSS and ISO 27001. 
• Vulnerability detection is not limited to OWASP Top 10. 
• It has an executive dashboard that provides necessary information.

Limitations

• Not available for mobile applications.
• Reports are difficult to understand.

11. Veracode

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications
• Manual Pentest: Yes
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability Management: Yes
• Compliance: NIST, PCI, OWASP, HIPAA, GDPR
• Price: Quote upon request

Veracode is a dynamic solution and one of the best tools for web application pentesting that helps analyze web apps to find vulnerabilities. It can run thousands of tests with a less than 1% false positive assurance rate. 

While it offers great utility for web app pentesting, the user interface can have a steep learning curve for beginners.

Pros 

• Offers quick penetration testing services.
• Extremely comprehensive reports.
• Remediation assistance is provided.

Limitations

• Zero false positives are not assured. 
• Could improve its user interface 

12. OpenVAS

Features

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications, network protocols
• Manual Pentest: No
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability Management: No
• Compliance: No
• Price: Free

OpenVAS is an open-source penetration testing software that is comprehensive and powerful. It is supported and updated constantly with the help of expert pentesters all around the world, thus making it up to date. 

Most importantly, it has been observed to miss basic vulnerabilities and may result in false positives.

Pros

• Automated vulnerability scanning is quick and efficient
• Freely available network vulnerability scanning tool. 
• Scans for improper file access, XSS injections.

Limitations

• Could be difficult for beginners to make use of. 
• Automated causes false positives to appear. 

13. Acunetix

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Web applications
• Manual Pentest: No
• Accuracy: False positives possible
• Vulnerability Management: Yes
• Compliance: OWASP, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, NIST
• Price: Quote on Request

This web pentesting software provides vulnerability assessments and automated penetration tests provided by Invicti. Acunetix helps reduce vulnerabilities across various kinds of web applications. 

It also allows the scanning of multiple environments as well as the prioritization of vulnerabilities. 

Pros

• Time release of updates
• Can find a wide array of vulnerabilities.
• Agile testing with detailed reports

Limitations

• Does not provide expert remediation assistance with professionals. 
• Does not ensure zero false positives.
• Dated user interface with scope for improvement.

Top Features That Every Web Pentest Tool Should Have

Here are the top features offered by good web application penetration testing tools that you would need to eliminate any security vulnerabilities. 

1. Vulnerability Scanning

The web app pentesting tool should have a comprehensive vulnerability scanner capable of scanning for a wide range of vulnerabilities from OWASP Top 10 and SANS 25 to any new vulnerabilities based on CVEs, bug bounty reports, and other trusty sources. 

2. Detailed Reporting

A good pentesting tool is accompanied by better reporting, without which it would be incomplete. Reports should have executive summaries, risk scores based on CVSS scores, and contextual data for easy prioritization and steps for remediation.  

3. Vetted Scan Results

Automated vulnerability scans often generate false positives. The tool should have the support of expert pentesters who can vet and weed out any false positives from the scan results for a more effortless remediation experience for you. 

4. Scan Behind Logins

The tool should be capable of scanning behind logins and have an extension for recording login information to do the same. This enables the tool to carry out authenticated scans based on different roles.

5. Deep Integrations

Modern web pentest tools should be capable of integrating with other CI/CD tools, such as code repositories like Jenkins, GitHub, & GitLab, or management and communication tools such as Jira & Slack, among others.  

6. Good Remediation Support

Another component of a good web pentest tool is good remediation support that helps customers mitigate the detected and identified vulnerabilities with ease. Remediation support entails contacting expert pen-testers and providing step-by-step remediation measures.  

7. Easy To Use Dashboard

The dashboard should be easy to use and navigate without presenting the customer with an overload of information. It should have options to download the report and view the scan results in real-time.

Importance of Website Penetration Testing

Penetration testing allows an organization to understand its security posture – how it would fare against an attack. It is a necessary procedure for specific industries where the pentest certificate is essential for compliance. Some of its benefits include:

1. To get a comprehensive understanding of the security posture.
2. Gain tangible insight into the risk posed by each vulnerability.
3. Get thorough and efficient guidance for remediation of the issues.
4. Connect vulnerability remediation with business outcomes.
5. Test your current security measures against a potent threat.
6. Comply with relevant security standards.

For you to conduct a penetration test successfully, it is very important to form an idea about different types of web pentest tools.

Different Types of Tools used by Pentesters

The process of pentesting is generally divided into five steps. The Pentest starts with planning, followed by scan, infiltration, escalation, and analysis. Each of these steps requires certain kinds of tools. We will look into different types of tools a Pentester needs to be equipped with.

Port Scanners

You can use a port scanner to send a packet to specific ports to uncover security vulnerabilities. Ports are virtual points where network connections start or end and each port is associated with a different process. Port scanners are used to identify open ports in a network that are treated as vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability Scanners

A vulnerability scanner is an automated tool that you use to create an inventory of all IT assets and then test them for known vulnerabilities. A security professional can use the report generated by a vulnerability scanner to identify security loopholes and categorize them by severity.

Network Sniffers

Network sniffers can monitor network traffic and information. It can be used by blackhats to ‘sniff’ traffic to steal passwords or other information. Network administrators can use it to find vulnerabilities and ensure a secure environment.

Intercept Proxy

An intercepting proxy sits between the client-side browser and the internet. It allows you to monitor and alter responses and requests by intercepting the connection. It is a very important tool for web application vulnerability assessment.

Password Cracker

As the name suggests, a password cracker is used to crack passwords. Several different password-cracking techniques include brute force, dictionary attacks, combined dictionary attacks, Rainbow table attacks, etc. Both attackers and pen-testers use these techniques.

Top Web App Penetration Testing Techniques

Black Box Pentesting

Black-box penetration testing is a technique where the pentester does not have any prior information about the target to be exploited. 

Since the testers don’t have any information about the target, it is the closest simulation to a real attack. The tester has no information regarding the source codes or internal software information, such as structure and application design.  

White Box Pentesting

White Box Penetration Testing is a technique in which a system or network’s internal structure and function are known to the penetration tester, including aspects of the application’s architecture and implementation that may not be known to the software’s developers. It is often used to pentest a company’s internal networks and systems. 

Gray Box Pentesting

Gray box penetration testing is a type in which the pentesters have partial knowledge of the network and infrastructure of the system they are testing. It is a combination of black-box and white-box pentesting where a solid understanding of the system is required, and it is often used in more controlled environments. 

Final Thoughts

By understanding the importance of web penetration testing and leveraging the right tools, you can significantly enhance your security posture. Choosing a tool that aligns with your specific needs is imperative, whether it’s a comprehensive platform like Astra Pentest or specialized tools for network scanning (Nmap) or protocol analysis (Wireshark).

Remember, penetration testing is an ongoing process. Regular assessments, coupled with effective vulnerability management, are essential to staying ahead of cyber threats.

FAQs