Overview

runZero combines active scanning, passive traffic sampling, and API integrations to maintain an inventory spanning IT, OT, IoT, cloud, mobile, and remote assets. The inventory goes beyond devices to include services, screenshots, software, vulnerabilities, certificates, wireless devices, users, and groups. That breadth is valuable when exposure work depends on relating network assets to software and risk context, rather than keeping separate lists.

Its agentless model avoids deploying agents, supplying authentication, or installing appliances. That reduces collection prerequisites, though Explorer binaries still need administrative or root privileges to install. Teams can use hosted SaaS or run on-premise Consoles with distributed Explorers and a command-line tool; the latter is not a way around the enterprise tier, since console self-hosting requires Platform and runZero Care.

Key features

Discovery and inventory

Active scans, passive sampling, and integrations cover hardware, software, cloud, and network discovery. Using several collection paths is a practical advantage in environments where one technique will miss assets. Prebuilt connections span cloud providers, EDR, MDM, vulnerability scanning, ITSM, and detection platforms, with a Custom Integration API and scripts for additional connections. The payoff depends on which systems an organization can connect and maintain.

Reporting, alerts, and safeguards

Reports include layer-2 topology maps and asset-risk views; alerts can arrive in the product, by email, or by webhook, including Slack. Those options give teams ways to surface findings in existing workflows. runZero has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit covering the security Trust Service Criteria, and says customer data is logically separated and encrypted at rest and in transit. Documentation, API resources, release notes, a Trust Center, and human support through the console or contact form round out its operational support.

Pricing

The Community Edition is free and is aimed at individuals, small businesses, and security researchers with 100 or fewer assets. It allows one organization, 10 recurring tasks, and 30 days of data retention. That is a useful entry point for a bounded environment, but the asset ceiling and short retention make it a poor fit for larger inventories or longer-term analysis.

runZero Platform costs 5000.00 USD per contact, with the asset limit set by contract. It includes unlimited organizations, projects, and recurring tasks, plus three years of data retention. This is the enterprise option for larger deployments; organizations considering a self-hosted console must also enable the additional runZero Care support package. The pricing model is freemium, and a 21-day trial is offered.

Platforms

runZero supports API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows environments. Explorer binaries are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and require administrative or root privileges for installation.

Who it's for

The Community Edition is the sensible starting point for small organizations and researchers whose asset count fits within 100 and whose retention needs fit within 30 days. Platform is better suited to enterprises that need contract-defined capacity, multiple organizations or projects, more recurring tasks, and longer retention. Teams that need an on-premise console should budget for both Platform and runZero Care. Organizations seeking a single small-network inventory may find the free edition sufficient; those needing more than its caps should not mistake it for a scalable free tier.

Pros and cons

Pro: Multiple discovery methods feed one inventory, helping teams account for assets that a single scanning method could miss.
Pro: Inventory includes software, vulnerabilities, certificates, wireless devices, users, and groups as well as assets and services, broadening the context available for exposure work.
Pro: The free edition gives small environments a no-cost route to 100 assets, while the Platform tier extends retention to three years and removes organization, project, and recurring-task caps.
Con: Community Edition's 100-asset limit, one-organization allowance, 10 recurring tasks, and 30-day retention constrain its usefulness as an organization grows.
Con: Self-hosting the console requires the enterprise Platform license and runZero Care, so it is not a low-cost deployment alternative.
Con: Explorer setup requires administrative or root privileges despite the agentless approach.

Alternatives

For a free, open-source framework on Linux, macOS, self-hosted, or Windows, consider OWASP Amass; it is a more focused choice than runZero's broader inventory platform. If a 30-day no-cost evaluation is preferable to runZero's ongoing capped free tier, Qualys External Attack Surface Management offers CSAM with EASM at no cost for 30 days.

FullHunt may suit users looking for a freemium option with 10 monthly credits on its free plan, limited to evaluation and internal use, or a $149.00 Builder plan. Detectify Surface Monitoring has a free Starter tier for up to five users and one team, with monitoring charged extra per domain; its Standard plan is 2500.00 EUR per year. For a consumer security suite rather than an asset-discovery platform, Bitdefender Total Security costs 59.99 USD per year for the first year, plus applicable sales tax, for five devices and one account.

CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, Ivanti Neurons for Zero Trust Access, and Rapid7 Surface Command are also alternatives to compare.

Explore more options in Attack Surface Management Software, Exposure Management Software, Network Discovery Software, and IT Asset Discovery Software.

Verdict

Choose runZero if your security team needs a broad, continuously updated asset view built from several discovery methods, with useful inventory context and risk reporting. Its strongest case is the combination of agentless discovery and a deep inventory; its main drawbacks are the Community Edition's tight caps and the Platform-plus-Care requirement for console self-hosting. If your environment exceeds the free limits or needs on-premise control, plan for the enterprise tier; if you only need a small, bounded inventory, Community Edition is the more proportionate choice.

	Netdisco	runZero
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	Free	Free
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web	api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Hardware discovery		Yes
Software discovery		Yes
Cloud discovery		Yes
Network asset discovery		Yes
Agentless discovery		Yes
Deployment model		hybrid

Netdisco vs runZero

Netdisco

runZero