Burp Suite vs. ZAP: Features, Key Differences & Limitations

What Is Burp Suite? 

Burp Suite is a web security testing tool designed for performing manual security tests on web applications. It operates as an interception proxy, allowing users to capture, analyze, and modify HTTP/HTTPS communications between the browser and web servers. Its capabilities span from initial mapping to analysis of an application's attack surface.

It is intended to support the entire testing process, with tools for mapping web application architecture, analyzing requests and responses, and automated scanning for vulnerabilities. Burp Suite allows users to integrate it into their workflows, making it suitable for both manual and automated web application security testing.

This is part of a series of articles about Burp Suite

What Is OWASP ZAP? 

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is an open-source web application security scanner. It's developed by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), aiming to provide an easy-to-use tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications. ZAP is designed for a diverse set of users, from web app security beginners to seasoned pen testers.

Similar to Burp Suite, ZAP acts as an intercepting proxy, sitting between the tester's browser and the web application. This functionality allows users to inspect and modify the traffic flowing to and from the web application. Its active and passive scanning capabilities enable the detection of a range of vulnerabilities, from surface-level issues to those buried deep in the app.

Tzvika Shneider

CEO, Pynt

Tzvika Shneider is a 20-year software security industry leader with a robust background in product and software management.

Tips from the expert

• Consider the use case and scope: Choose between Burp Suite and ZAP based on your project's requirements, such as penetration testing, API security, or web application testing.
• Factor in the learning curve: ZAP may be more beginner-friendly, while Burp Suite provides advanced features for experienced security professionals; consider team proficiency when selecting.
• Evaluate the plugin ecosystems: Assess the available plugins for both tools to extend their capabilities based on your testing needs, like adding support for specific protocols or enhanced scanning techniques.
• Compare support and documentation: Review the level of community support, documentation, and user forums for both tools to aid troubleshooting and enhance your security testing process.
• Review cost vs. feature set: For budget considerations, weigh the feature set of Burp Suite (paid) against ZAP (free) to ensure you're getting the most value for your security testing strategy.

Key Features of Burp Suite

Burp Suite’s feature set is designed for deep application analysis. Its most important capabilities include:

• Manual testing: Enables testers to manually probe web applications for security weaknesses.
• Crawler: Automatically crawls and maps out a website’s structure, identifying inputs and potential entry points for attacks. 
• Web vulnerability scanner: Detects a large variety of security weaknesses.
• Intruder: Automates the process of custom attacks against identified vulnerabilities, facilitating the exploitation and validation of potential security issues. 
• Repeater: Allows for manual manipulation of HTTP requests to test for conditions such as SQL injection, XSS, and more.

Key Features of OWASP ZAP 

OWASP ZAP offers a set of features tailored for web application security testing:

• Spidering tools: These include AJAX Spider, which can crawl web applications to build a comprehensive map, ensuring thorough coverage in scanning activities. 
• Passive scanning: Quietly analyzes traffic for security issues without actively probing the application, reducing the risk of disruption.
• Active scanning: Enables deeper security analysis by aggressively testing web applications for vulnerabilities, supporting a range of attack vectors. 
• Fuzzing: Sends numerous malformed requests to the application to uncover inputs susceptible to injection and other attacks. 
• Extensibility: ZAP's add-ons allow users to customize and enhance its capabilities, tailoring the tool to their security testing needs.

Related content: Read our guide to API Security

Burp Suite vs. ZAP: Key Differences

Here’s an overview of the main differences between Burp and ZAP.

1. Automation

Burp Suite’s main automated features include its crawling and advanced vulnerability scanning functionalities. This supports identification and exploitation of security weaknesses, however Burp Suite is primarily a manual security testing tool.

OWASP ZAP’s main automated features include its powerful scanning engine and scriptable interfaces. It offers passive and active scanning in an automated manner, with the additional flexibility provided by its scripting capabilities for customization. ZAP's automation extends to security regression testing, valuable for developers in ensuring consistent application security.

2. Coverage

Burp Suite's crawler is useful for mapping out complex applications and offers the wider coverage of the two. It automatically adapts to the unique structures of web applications, identifying hidden endpoints and parameters. This comprehensive mapping supports a deep analysis of application security.

OWASP ZAP offers spider tools for discovering content and functionality within web applications. Its AJAX spider is designed for JavaScript-heavy applications, ensuring that dynamic actions and endpoints are not overlooked during the scanning process. However, users may need to incorporate add-ons to cover all common vulnerabilities.

3. Accuracy

Burp Suite's scanning accuracy is bolstered by its contextual scanning engine, which reduces false positives by understanding the application's context. It applies advanced heuristics and manual testing insights to validate potential vulnerabilities, ensuring that reported issues are relevant and actionable.

OWASP ZAP also maintains high accuracy through its passive and active scanning modes. Its passive scanner minimizes false positives by examining actual traffic without intrusive tests. For more aggressive testing, the active scanner employs various techniques to verify potential vulnerabilities.

4. Costs

Burp Suite offers a free version with limited functionalities and a paid Professional edition with enhanced features and capabilities. The cost of the Professional edition may be a consideration for individuals or small teams.

OWASP ZAP, being an open-source project, is available free of charge. This makes it a viable option for individuals, educational institutions, and organizations looking to conduct thorough security assessments without the financial burden. ZAP’s open-source nature also encourages community involvement in its development, keeping the tool up-to-date and relevant.

Limitations of Burp Suite

Slow Scans

Burp Suite’s scans, especially when set to the highest level of thoroughness, can be time-consuming. This can be a bottleneck in time-sensitive projects and does not support DevOps processes which involve fast development iterations. 

Complex Onboarding

The learning curve for Burp Suite can be steep, particularly for those new to web application security testing. The tool’s extensive features and settings require users to invest significant time to learn.

Requires Security Expertise

Effectively utilizing Burp Suite demands a high level of security expertise. Users must be proficient in identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities manually, which requires a deep understanding of various attack vectors and security best practices. This need for expertise can limit its use to more experienced security professionals.

Requires Extensive Review of Scanning Results

Burp Suite generates a large volume of data during its scans, which users must meticulously review to identify true vulnerabilities. The manual verification process can be labor-intensive, as users need to sift through potential false positives and contextualize the findings within the application's specific environment.

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Limitations of OWASP ZAP

Slow Scans

OWASP ZAP's scans can also be relatively slow, particularly when using its active scanning features. This impacts the efficiency of the testing process in fast-paced development environments.

Complex Onboarding

While ZAP aims to be user-friendly, its comprehensive feature set can be daunting for newcomers. The initial setup and configuration require users to understand numerous components and settings, which can be a challenge for beginners.

Requires Security Expertise

Similar to Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP is most effective in the hands of experienced security professionals. To fully leverage its capabilities, users must possess a solid grasp of web security principles and be skilled in interpreting scan results.

Does Not Support Analysis Guided Scanning

OWASP ZAP does not offer analysis-guided scanning out of the box, meaning it relies heavily on predefined scanning rules and patterns. This limitation can result in less tailored vulnerability assessments compared to tools that adapt based on real-time analysis of the application's behavior.

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Pynt: The Ultimate Burp Suite and ZAP Alternative for API Security Testing

Pynt is an innovative API Security Testing platform exposing verified API threats through simulated attacks. It helps companies continuously monitor, classify and attack poorly secured APIs, before hackers do.

Pynt's leverages an integrated shift-left approach, and unique hack technology using home-grown attack scenarios, to detect real threats, discover APIs, suggest fixes to verified vulnerabilities, thereby eliminating the API attack surface risk.

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