StackHawk alternatives: 11 API security tools compared
People weigh StackHawk against other options for three reasons: they want a view of live and unknown APIs that a pre-merge scanner does not give, they would rather pay by endpoint or by organisation than by developer, or they want a vendor outside the United States. Choices range from contract-driven testing and open core tools to inventory platforms that sit beside gateways and WAFs.
Short answer: Pynt, Escape and 42Crunch head the list of StackHawk alternatives drawn from our API security tool ranking. Our rule for order: vendors outside the big brands go first, and the largest names are not placed in the top three. Pynt is the one to try if your developers already keep Postman or Selenium tests that could double as attack input. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best API Security Tools in 2026, and each says where it differs from StackHawk.
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Pricing: Published per user per month for Wingman; Scale quoted
Established in: United States
Built for: Development teams wanting application and API tests on every pull request
Not for: Infrastructure teams needing coverage of servers and network devices
01
Why buyers look past StackHawk
01
Cost follows developers, not endpoints
The Wingman plan on StackHawk's pricing page is $10 per user per month with unlimited apps and a ceiling of 50 scans per user each month. That suits a small engineering team. A security group that wants coverage of every application, including ones whose developers never run an agent, has to work out who counts as a user, and past the ceiling it buys extra scans or moves to a quote.
02
Discovery and reporting sit in the top plan
Attack surface discovery, sensitive data detection, program reporting, teams, roles and SSO are listed only under Scale, which is sold by talking to the company. Wingman is built for the individual developer working beside Claude Code, Cursor or Copilot, so organisations that start with an inventory problem find the entry plan answers a different question.
03
It tests code you run, before release
StackHawk describes runtime testing in pre-production environments or against production endpoints for validation, driven from CI/CD and pull requests. It does not describe itself as a gateway or inline blocker. Teams who need live traffic observed, shadow endpoints catalogued or requests blocked look at the platforms below that connect to gateways and WAFs.
you already run Imperva WAF and want API discovery added to it
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
Pynt
United States · Published
Pynt turns the traffic your existing functional tests already create into attacks, so a Postman collection, a Burp session, Selenium or a CLI step in the pipeline becomes the test input. Sensors read eBPF or ALB mirroring. The company gives a Delaware address. The site shows a Start Free button but does not publish paid terms, so confirm the scope in a trial.
Switch from StackHawk if your developers already keep Postman or Selenium tests that could double as attack input.
Escape Technologies is a French SAS whose scans look for broken access control, IDOR and BOLA, and handle REST and GraphQL logins through OAuth, SAML or TOTP. Its pages now put pentesting and attack-surface management first, and the rate is quoted to the size of your environment, with a listing on AWS Marketplace as another way to buy.
Switch from StackHawk if you want a French vendor and scans that follow authenticated user journeys.
42Crunch works from the OpenAPI file: an audit applies 300+ checks to the definition, a scan sends simulated traffic at the running service, and a micro-firewall is generated from the same contract. A 14-day trial exists and deployment is cloud, on-prem or hybrid. Pricing is an organisation quote, and the parent company is located in London.
Switch from StackHawk if you keep accurate OpenAPI definitions and want the contract to drive testing and blocking.
APIsec prices by the hundred endpoints, so the bill follows API size instead of headcount. A free account covers public test APIs, Standard adds continuous BOLA and role attacks, and CI/CD links, custom attacks and SLAs begin at Pro. Private APIs need a hosted agent. It validates exploits after the fact and does not block traffic.
Switch from StackHawk if you want a published endpoint-based price and a free account for trying attacks.
Akto keeps an MIT-licensed core in a public repository that starts with docker-compose and ingests traffic from Burp Suite, Postman, AWS and gateways. Scheduled tests in CI/CD and extra dashboard users sit in the Enterprise edition, which is usage-based and quoted. The current site gives most space to agentic AI and MCP security.
Switch from StackHawk if you want to run the core yourself from source and read what it does.
Levo.ai uses eBPF sensors to build an inventory of APIs, agents and MCP servers from runtime traffic, then tests and monitors them. Cost is a per-endpoint quote, and deployment can be SaaS, shared or private cluster, hybrid or air-gapped. Sensors need access to your hosts, and tiers cannot be compared before a sales call.
Switch from StackHawk if regulated rules stop traffic leaving your network and an air-gapped option matters.
FireTail connects through its own library or an agentless link to a cloud API gateway, then lists an inventory, posture filters and an application-layer audit trail with alerts to email, ticketing or a SIEM. The company lists McLean, Virginia, and Dublin. Its API page names no supported gateways and states no price, though a trial is offered.
Switch from StackHawk if you value an audit trail of API activity and an office in the EU.
Data Theorem finds REST, GraphQL, gRPC and SOAP endpoints from the outside and by reverse engineering mobile and web apps, then signs in as users to test for BOLA and privilege escalation. Runtime blocking is left to the WAF you already run. Authenticated testing needs a scanner in your environment, and engagement starts with a time-boxed proof of concept.
Switch from StackHawk if your estate includes mobile apps and you want endpoints found from the outside.
Cequence builds a catalogue of documented, undocumented and shadow endpoints, generates test plans from Postman collections or specifications, and maps 200+ risk rules to 25 frameworks. It attaches to gateways or runs inline. Bot management and the WAAP bundle are separate products, no price or trial is shown, and offices are listed in Santa Clara, Ohio and Bangalore.
Switch from StackHawk if a security team needs a catalogue of shadow endpoints more than a pull-request gate.
Salt Security begins agentless to draw an API inventory, then adds protection through the gateways, WAFs and SOC tools you already run. The platform splits into Surface, Code, Connect, Collect and Protect modules, so a quote depends on which are bought. Neither prices nor a trial length appear on the site, which now also stresses agentic AI.
Switch from StackHawk if you want protection layered over existing gateways and WAFs, bought module by module.
Imperva API Security classifies public, private and shadow APIs, scores them against the OWASP API Security Top 10 and flags BOLA with behavioural baselines. A self-managed console keeps traffic off external cloud services. Automatic inline mitigation runs through Imperva Cloud WAF or WAF Gateway, so full protection pulls in another product. A trial is offered.
Switch from StackHawk if you already run Imperva WAF and want API discovery added to it.
You want your OpenAPI file to drive audit, scan and blocking
42Crunch: Its audit applies 300+ checks to the definition and a micro-firewall is built from the same contract, with a 14-day trial offered.
02
You want a French vendor for authenticated business-logic scans
Escape: Escape Technologies is a French SAS that tests for BOLA and IDOR behind OAuth, SAML or TOTP logins.
03
You would rather pay by the size of the API than by developer
APIsec: Pricing is per 100 endpoints, and a free account covers public test APIs.
04
You want to read and run the code of the scanner yourself
Akto: The core is MIT-licensed and starts with docker-compose; scheduled CI/CD tests are Enterprise.
05
Traffic must stay inside your own network
Levo.ai: Deployment can be private cluster, hybrid or air-gapped, priced per endpoint on a quote.
04
When StackHawk is still the right choice
StackHawk stays the right choice when the work happens in pull requests. Its docs list integrations for GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, CircleCI and more, and it covers REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP and JSON-RPC configuration, authenticated scanning and business logic tests. A trial of 14 days needs no credit card, and $10 a user is easy to budget. If developers already scan locally and in CI, a move would remove a workflow that works.
05
What moving off StackHawk involves
01
Scanner configuration does not carry over
StackHawk scans are described in a stackhawk.yml file read by HawkScan, with authentication settings and scripts. None of that maps one-to-one onto another tool. List the apps, the login methods and the custom scripts you use now, and rebuild one application end to end in the new tool before touching the rest.
02
Pipeline checks need a new home
If pull requests currently fail on StackHawk findings, replace that gate before switching it off. Decide which severities break the build, where findings are sent for triage, and how existing open findings are exported, since the history sits in the StackHawk platform.
03
Pick the question you are answering
Moving from a developer scanner to an inventory platform changes what you measure. Run both for a cycle on one team, compare what each finds on the same API, and write down whether the new tool tests your code or only observes traffic.
06
Questions about replacing StackHawk
6 answers
How much does StackHawk cost?
The pricing page lists Wingman at $10 per user per month, with unlimited apps, 50 scans per user each month and a free 14-day trial without a credit card. Scale, the second plan, is quoted after talking to the company and includes unlimited agentic scans.
What do I get only on StackHawk Scale?
Its pricing table places attack surface discovery, sensitive data detection, program reporting, and teams, roles and SSO under Scale. It also lists Enterprise support there, against standard support on Wingman.
Which tools here have a published price?
APIsec publishes a per 100 endpoint rate and a free account. Akto has an MIT-licensed edition and a quoted enterprise one.
42Crunch, Escape and Levo.ai quote, and Pynt shows a Start Free button without paid terms. The rest state no price on the pages we read.
Is there an open source alternative to StackHawk?
Akto's repository is MIT-licensed and starts with docker-compose, but its README places scheduled CI/CD tests and extra dashboard users in the Enterprise edition. Check which features your team needs before you plan around the free core.
Can I replace StackHawk with a tool that blocks traffic?
Some of the tools listed work at runtime: 42Crunch builds a micro-firewall from the OpenAPI definition, and Salt Security and Imperva act through gateways or WAFs.
They answer a different need, since StackHawk scans before release and does not block. Many teams run a scanner and a blocker together.
Which alternatives come from outside the United States?
Escape Technologies is a French SAS and 42Crunch's parent company is located in London. FireTail lists McLean, Virginia, with an office in Dublin. The other tools in this list give United States addresses on their sites.
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Sources
Checked 10 November 2026
StackHawk pricing: Wingman $10 per user per month, 50 scans per user per month, 14-day trial, Scale quoted and its feature list.
StackHawk documentation: GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins and CircleCI integrations; REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP and JSON-RPC configuration; stackhawk.yml scanning.
StackHawk product: Runtime testing in pre-production or against production endpoints, API discovery from source code, BOLA and business logic coverage.
42Crunch: OpenAPI audit, scan and micro-firewall; 14-day trial; London-located parent.
APIsec: Per 100 endpoint pricing, free tier for public test APIs, Pro features.
Akto: MIT-licensed core, docker-compose install, Enterprise edition, agentic AI focus.
Escape: French SAS, BOLA and IDOR testing, authenticated scans, quoted pricing.
Pynt: Test-driven attacks, CLI and eBPF or ALB mirroring, Start Free.
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Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 10 November 2026; our review process is public.
