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Cybersecurity · head to head

Acunetix vs Garden

Acunetix logo

Acunetix

Cybersecurity

Web application security testing made easy

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

Kubernetes development and testing automation with shared caching, now owned by Incredibuild

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Garden has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Acunetix pricing available by quote only; no transparent pricing published online; Garden incredibuild acquired Garden in November 2024 and the pricing page now redirects to documentation, so there is no public commercial offer and no published roadmap for a team betting a platform on it.
  • They diverge on capability: Acunetix covers DAST scanning, Garden covers Action graph.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acunetix and Garden actually diverge.

Attributes where Acunetix and Garden differ
AttributeAcunetixGarden
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsDesktop, Web, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acunetix

  • DAST scanning
  • IAST technology
  • AcuSensor
  • JavaScript security
  • SQL injection testing
  • XSS detection
  • OWASP Top 10
  • API security testing

Only in Garden

  • Action graph
  • Shared result caching
  • Remote Kubernetes environments
  • In-cluster builds
  • Same config everywhere
  • Hot reload sync
  • Helm and Kustomize support
  • Templating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acunetix

  • Scanning web applications for security vulnerabilitiesnot Garden
  • Testing APIs for exploitable weaknesses and threatsnot Garden
  • Automating dynamic application security testing (DAST)not Garden
  • Finding and validating security issues in production environmentsnot Garden

Garden

  • A platform team whose integration test suite takes longer than the coffee break and needs caching to cut the loopnot Acunetix
  • An organisation with thirty or more services on Kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates productionnot Acunetix
  • Giving every developer an ephemeral namespace instead of queuing for one shared staging environmentnot Acunetix
  • Running the identical build and test definition locally and in CI so failures reproduce on a laptopnot Acunetix

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acunetix

  • Pricing available by quote only; no transparent pricing published online
  • Requires per-application licenses for comprehensive coverage
  • Scanning speed and feature depth depend on subscription tier
  • Advanced features like API security testing may require higher-tier plans

Garden

  • Incredibuild acquired Garden in November 2024 and the pricing page now redirects to documentation, so there is no public commercial offer and no published roadmap for a team betting a platform on it.
  • It is tightly bound to Kubernetes, so teams running on ECS, Nomad, plain VMs or serverless get little from it and would need a different tool entirely.
  • The YAML action graph is a real configuration surface: a large monorepo needs someone to own and maintain Garden config as a first-class artefact, which is a standing platform-engineering cost.
  • Shared remote environments mean every developer needs cluster access and a cost allocation model, so cloud spend rises and namespace sprawl becomes a thing you have to police.
  • Caching correctness depends on declaring dependencies accurately; an under-declared action will serve a stale cached pass and hide a genuine test failure, which is a hard class of bug to notice.

Pricing, plan by plan

Acunetix

On request
  • StandardFree
    • Single user
    • 5 targets
    • Scheduled scans
  • PremiumFree
    • Multiple users
    • Unlimited targets
    • CI/CD integration
  • Acunetix 360Free
    • Enterprise features
    • SDLC integration
    • Custom workflows

Garden

Free
  • Garden open sourceFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed CLI
    • Full action graph and caching
    • Self-managed clusters
  • Commercial tier$undefined/year
    • Hosted caching and team features
    • Support and onboarding
    • Pricing no longer published since the Incredibuild acquisition

Which should you pick?

Choose Acunetix if

  • You need dast scanning.
  • You work on Desktop, Web, Api.
  • You also want iast technology.
Acunetix review

Choose Garden if

  • You need action graph.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes.
  • You also want shared result caching.
Garden review

Questions people ask

Is Acunetix or Garden better?
Neither clearly leads. Acunetix starts at On request and Garden at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acunetix or Garden?
Garden has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Acunetix and Free for Garden.
Does Acunetix or Garden run on more platforms?
Acunetix runs on Desktop, Web, Api. Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes.
Can I use Garden for free?
Yes. Garden has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Acunetix starts at On request.
What is Acunetix best used for?
Acunetix is most often used for scanning web applications for security vulnerabilities, testing apis for exploitable weaknesses and threats, automating dynamic application security testing (dast), finding and validating security issues in production environments. Of those, scanning web applications for security vulnerabilities and testing apis for exploitable weaknesses and threats are not what Garden is typically brought in for.
What can Acunetix do that Garden cannot?
Acunetix covers DAST scanning, IAST technology, AcuSensor, JavaScript security. Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Acunetix: How much does Invicti (formerly Acunetix) cost?

Invicti pricing is available by quote based on your organization's needs, application count, and required features. The platform offers 8x faster scanning compared to competitors and detects 99.98% of exploitable vulnerabilities. Contact Invicti sales for a custom pricing proposal.

Source
Garden: Is Garden still maintained?

The open source project remains on GitHub under Incredibuild ownership, but the commercial pricing page redirects to the docs and there is no public paid offer.

Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

Effectively yes. Garden is built around Kubernetes environments and offers little to teams on other runtimes.

Garden: Does it replace my CI system?

No. It runs inside GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or similar and speeds up what those pipelines execute.

Garden: What is the actual saving?

It comes from skipping builds and tests whose inputs have not changed, so the benefit scales with how many services you have and how often only a few change.

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