Nuclei vs ZeroThreat

Nuclei is a free, open-source vulnerability scanner for applications, infrastructure, cloud platforms, and networks. It uses YAML templates to define checks, drawing on more than 6,500 community-contributed templates; users can also create custom templates. Bulk and parallel scans, multiple target formats, and inclusion and exclusion filters are supported. Modules cover HTTP, DNS, TCP, headless, JavaScript, code, and file scanning, and authentication options include HTTP basic authentication and JWT. Nuclei can run in CI/CD pipelines, including through GitHub Actions, and export SARIF results to GitHub Code Scanning. It is distributed under the MIT License and is primarily a standalone CLI tool, with installation options including Go, Homebrew, Docker, GitHub, downloadable binaries, and Helm. It is actively developed, but has no LTS or stable version, so updates may bring breaking changes. Some templates can fuzz or take actions that risk denial of service; these are tagged and excluded from default scans. The tool is intended for security engineers, analysts, red teams, DevOps teams, bug bounty hunters, and penetration testers.

ZeroThreat is an AI-powered penetration-testing platform for web applications and APIs, accessible through web and API. It continuously discovers, exploits, and validates vulnerabilities, with findings backed by reproducible request-and-response evidence and exact payloads. Web testing supports authenticated workflows, including SSO, MFA, and role-based access, as well as rendering for React, Vue, and Angular single-page apps. API testing covers REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and gRPC, including internal APIs, shadow endpoints, BOLA, and BFLA. ZeroThreat says it detects more than 130,000 vulnerabilities, spanning OWASP, CWE/SANS, Nuclei, and monthly updated CVE intelligence. Integrations include CI/CD, project-management, and messaging tools, connected through native connectors, APIs, or webhooks. On-premises deployment is listed as air-gap ready. The free plan provides five sign-up scan credits valid for 15 days, then one scan credit per month for one target. Professional costs $100 a month; Pay Per Scan costs $125, paid once.