OWASP ZAP vs w3af
OWASP ZAP
zaproxy.orgw3af
w3af.orgSide by side
| Figure | OWASP ZAP | w3af |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Application Security Testing | 8.5 (#4) | 8.1 (#8) |
| Spec score · Penetration Testing Software | 8.6 (#5) | 8.2 (#11) |
| Spec score · Dynamic Application Security Testing Software | 8.5 (#4) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Automation | The Automation Framework controls ZAP with a YAML plan and supports jobs including active scanning, passive scanning, spidering, API imports, and report generation. | The guide includes automation using scripts and a REST API. |
| Deployment | ZAP publishes Docker images, including a bare image described as minimal and ideal for CI. | The installation guide documents running w3af in Docker and provides installation instructions for Mac OS X. |
| Purpose | ZAP is a web application scanner and proxy for security testing. | w3af is an open-source web application security scanner for developers and penetration testers to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. |
Plans
In their own words
OWASP ZAP
OWASP ZAP is a web application scanner and proxy for security testing. Its tools include active and passive scanning, a spider, alerts, and scan policies. ZAP’s Automation Framework uses YAML plans to coordinate jobs such as scanning, spidering, API imports, and report generation. It can import OpenAPI, GraphQL, SOAP, and Postman definitions through jobs or add-ons. GitHub Actions are available for baseline, full, and API scans via Docker-packaged scans, and the project publishes Docker images, including a minimal image for CI. Add-ons come from an online Marketplace and are generally installed or removed without restarting ZAP. The software is free and open source, with a free plan at free. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, API use, and self-hosted deployment. Windows and Linux installers require Java 17 or later; the macOS installer includes Java 17. ZAP says it can support only its latest full release, and current releases are unsigned, though checksums are provided.
w3af
w3af is a free, open-source web application security scanner for vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. It can identify more than 200 vulnerabilities, including cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and OS command injection. Its workflow starts with crawler plugins that find URLs and injection points, continues with audit plugins that check for vulnerabilities, and can use attack plugins to exploit findings. Other plugin types cover infrastructure detection, request and response analysis, output, brute force, request modification, and evasion.
Users can scan and analyze results in a GTK graphical interface or a console. Web application payloads can interact with Metasploit when an exploit provides exec() capability. Developers can use the REST API from development languages and run it in Docker; scripts and the API also support automation. The project documents Linux and macOS installation, including running in Docker without installing w3af dependencies. It is available for Linux, macOS, web, API, and self-hosted deployment. REST API traffic over HTTP is unencrypted, so the documentation recommends added protection such as an SSL proxy for publicly reachable deployments.