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Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs Semperis

Arnica logo

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

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
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Arnica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; 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: Arnica covers AI SAST, 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 Arnica and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and Semperis differ
AttributeArnicaSemperis
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer-identity subscription with annual discountquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, GitHub, IDEWeb

Identical on both: 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 Arnica

  • AI SAST
  • Software Composition Analysis
  • Secrets detection
  • IaC scanning
  • Container scanning
  • SBOM generation
  • Agentic rules
  • Pipelineless integration

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.

Arnica

  • Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot Semperis
  • Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot Semperis
  • Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot Semperis
  • Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot Semperis
  • Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot 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 Arnica
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Arnica
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Arnica
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot Arnica

Where each one falls short

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

Arnica

  • Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
  • Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
  • Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
  • Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
  • On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

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

Arnica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • No credit card required
    • 14-day trial available
    • Weekly risk identification updates
  • Core Business$360/year
    • Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
    • Real-time risk scanning and notifications
  • Core Enterprise$720/year
    • Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
    • All Core Business features

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

  • You need ai sast.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis.
Arnica review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is Arnica or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnica starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arnica or Semperis?
Arnica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Arnica and On request for Semperis.
Does Arnica or Semperis run on more platforms?
Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Semperis runs on Web.
Can I use Arnica for free?
Yes. Arnica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis starts at On request.
What is Arnica best used for?
Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that Semperis cannot?
Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

Source
Semperis: 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.

Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

Source
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.

Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

Source
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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