PenScan vs Invicti: Application Security Comparison

PenScan

7 open-source scanners in one run
Self-serve — 2 free credits, no demo
Verifiable trust certificate & badge
From $35 per scan

Invicti

Enterprise DAST+IAST platform built for large application portfolios

Web application and API security at enterprise scale, with Proof-Based Scanning™ and IAST for teams managing hundreds or thousands of applications

Feature comparison

PenScan vs Invicti: Side by Side

Based on publicly available product information. Capability availability may vary by plan.

Capability	PenScan	Invicti
Web application (DAST) scanning	true	true
API security testing	API endpoints via ZAP + Wapiti	true
IAST (server-side agent)	false	true
Network and port scanning	true	false
TLS/SSL analysis	true	Checked as part of DAST; not SSLyze-depth
XSS and injection testing	true	true
Advanced XSS fuzzing	true	true
CVE/template-based checks	true	true
Proof-Based Scanning (verified PoC)	false	true
Authenticated scanning	false	true
Multi-app portfolio management	Up to 3 domains on Growth, unlimited on Enterprise	true
CI/CD integration	false	true
Passive asset & subdomain discovery	true	Available in add-on or higher tiers
Severity-ranked report	true	true
PDF reports (Technical/Executive/Compliance)	true	true
Enterprise compliance reporting	Compliance PDF available; not audit-ready depth	true
Trust certificate & embeddable badge	true	false
Self-serve signup	true	false
Pay-per-scan pricing	true	false

✓ = Available · ✓ amber = Partially / plan-dependent · — = Not available · Last reviewed August 2026

Where PenScan stands out

Breadth across seven independent scanner types

PenScan combines OWASP ZAP (web app), Nuclei (CVE templates), Wapiti (injection), Nikto (server misconfig), SSLyze (TLS), Nmap (network), and Dalfox (XSS fuzzing) — each an independent engine with its own detection logic. Invicti is a single DAST+IAST platform with deep precision in its domain. The two approaches have different coverage profiles: PenScan's multi-engine breadth covers network, TLS, and web layers simultaneously; Invicti's precision is stronger in verified web application vulnerability detection.

Accessible from day one — no procurement cycle

PenScan accounts start with two free scan credits, no demo required. The Starter plan is $35 per scan with no commitment. Invicti is a sales-led enterprise product; teams typically go through a multi-week procurement and onboarding cycle before the first scan. For teams evaluating quickly or with limited budget cycles, this distinction is practical.

Trust certificates for customer-facing security assurance

After a clean scan, PenScan issues a verifiable certificate and a live embeddable badge — used by sales and compliance teams to demonstrate security posture externally without exposing scan data. Invicti is oriented toward internal enterprise security programmes; an equivalent customer-facing trust credential isn't part of its offering.

Network and TLS coverage in every scan

SSLyze provides dedicated TLS/SSL configuration analysis, and Nmap handles port and service discovery — both running in every PenScan combined scan. Invicti's DAST is focused on web application HTTP-layer testing. Network exposure and TLS misconfiguration aren't core to Invicti's scanning model.

Where Invicti stands out

Proof-Based Scanning™ with verified exploitability

Invicti's scanning engine automatically generates and executes a proof-of-concept exploit for each potential finding before surfacing it. Only confirmed, exploitable vulnerabilities appear in results. For enterprise security teams where false positive investigation is a significant cost, this verified output is a meaningful efficiency gain.

IAST for deep server-side visibility

Invicti combines DAST with an IAST agent running inside the application — capturing server-side call stacks and data flows during the scan. This surfaces server-side vulnerabilities that don't manifest externally and would not be detected by any outside-in scanner, including PenScan.

Authenticated scanning across complex applications

Invicti can log into applications, traverse authenticated workflows, and scan the full application surface — including functionality behind role-based access controls. PenScan scans externally accessible surfaces; authenticated scan coverage is not currently available.

Enterprise-scale portfolio management

Invicti is built for organisations running hundreds or thousands of web applications — with centralised scanning governance, scheduling at scale, and team-level reporting. PenScan's Growth plan supports up to three domains; its Enterprise plan supports more, but the operational scale of Invicti's governance model is in a different tier.

Decision guide

Which platform is right for your team?

Neither platform is universally better. The right choice depends on your team's size, workflow, and primary security goals.

Choose PenScan if…

You need to scan web, network, and TLS layers in a single combined run
Self-serve access with no sales cycle is required
A trust certificate or embeddable security badge is part of your customer-facing workflow
Your team is testing a small number of targets thoroughly, not a large portfolio of apps
Pay-per-scan or accessible monthly pricing is a hard constraint

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Consider Invicti if…

You're managing a large enterprise application portfolio — tens to hundreds of web apps — and need scalable governance
Proof-Based Scanning with verified PoC is required to reduce false positive triage burden
Authenticated scanning is a requirement for your application's logged-in surfaces
IAST for server-side visibility is needed alongside DAST
CI/CD integration and enterprise compliance reporting are core to your security programme

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Pricing

How the costs compare

PenScan

PenScan: Starter at $35 per scan (2 free credits on signup). Growth at $99/month billed annually — 50 scans/year, 3 domains, 3 seats. Enterprise pricing on request.

View full pricing

Invicti

Invicti is enterprise-priced and sold through a sales engagement. Pricing is not publicly listed. Contact their team or request a demo at invicti.com for pricing details.

See current pricing on the Invicti website.

FAQ

PenScan vs Invicti: Common Questions

For small and mid-size teams, PenScan and Invicti serve different operational realities. PenScan is self-serve, priced accessibly, and designed so developers can run a full scan and action the results without a dedicated security team. Invicti is built for enterprise security programmes — teams managing large application portfolios with dedicated AppSec staff. If the primary goal is thorough, affordable automated pentest coverage with a verifiable output, PenScan is a more proportionate fit. If the primary goal is enterprise-scale scanning with IAST and governance, Invicti is the stronger choice.

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) means scanning a running application from the outside — sending requests and analysing responses to find vulnerabilities. PenScan uses multiple DAST tools (ZAP, Wapiti, Dalfox) alongside non-DAST scanners like Nmap (network) and SSLyze (TLS). Invicti is a pure DAST+IAST platform — deep in the application HTTP layer. PenScan's broader scanner set covers more of the attack surface type; Invicti's engine goes deeper within web application DAST specifically.

PenScan does not currently offer native CI/CD integrations (such as GitHub Actions or Jenkins plugins). Scans are triggered via the dashboard or on a scheduled cadence. Invicti offers deep CI/CD integration, making it suitable for teams embedding security testing into deployment pipelines. This is a meaningful capability gap for teams running DevSecOps programmes.

Invicti's Proof-Based Scanning automatically generates an exploit proof-of-concept for each finding — only exploitable vulnerabilities appear. PenScan uses multi-tool corroboration: a finding detected by both ZAP and Wapiti carries higher confidence than one reported by a single tool. Both approaches reduce noise, but through different mechanisms. Proof-Based Scanning provides verified exploitability; multi-scanner corroboration provides cross-tool evidence. Neither is universally superior — the right choice depends on your tolerance for false positives versus your need for coverage breadth.

Yes — some enterprise teams use a self-serve tool like PenScan for quick coverage of new targets, release-cycle spot checks, and customer-facing trust certificates, while using Invicti for deep authenticated scanning and compliance reporting on critical application tiers. The tools address different points in a security programme rather than competing directly for the same use case.

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Try PenScan with two free scans

No credit card required. No demo call. Run a full seven-scanner combined pentest on your domain today and get a prioritised vulnerability report in under 30 minutes.

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