Cybersecurity · head to head
Acunetix vs Semperis
Acunetix
Cybersecurity
Web application security testing made easy
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Semperis
Cybersecurity
Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Acunetix pricing available by quote only; no transparent pricing published online; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- They diverge on capability: Acunetix covers DAST scanning, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Acunetix and Semperis actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).
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 Semperis
- Active Directory Forest Recovery
- Malware-free restore
- Replication-stream monitoring
- Automated rollback
- Attack indicator scoring
- Entra ID and Okta coverage
- Purple Knight
- Forest Druid
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Acunetix
- Scanning web applications for security vulnerabilitiesnot Semperis
- Testing APIs for exploitable weaknesses and threatsnot Semperis
- Automating dynamic application security testing (DAST)not Semperis
- Finding and validating security issues in production environmentsnot Semperis
Semperis
- An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot Acunetix
- Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Acunetix
- Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Acunetix
- Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot 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
Semperis
- Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
- It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
- Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
- Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.
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
Semperis
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Acunetix if
- You need dast scanning.
- You work on Desktop, Web, Api.
- You also want iast technology.
Choose Semperis if
- You need active directory forest recovery.
- You also want malware-free restore.
Questions people ask
- Is Acunetix or Semperis better?
- Neither clearly leads. Acunetix starts at On request and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Acunetix or Semperis?
- Acunetix starts at On request and Semperis at On request.
- Does Acunetix or Semperis run on more platforms?
- Acunetix runs on Desktop, Web, Api. Semperis runs on Web.
- 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 Semperis is typically brought in for.
- What can Acunetix do that Semperis cannot?
- Acunetix covers DAST scanning, IAST technology, AcuSensor, JavaScript security. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.
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.
SourceSemperis: Does this replace my backups?
No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?
Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.
Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?
Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.
Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?
The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.
Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?
It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.
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