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Cybersecurity · head to head

Beyond Identity vs OWASP ZAP

Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OWASP ZAP logo

OWASP ZAP

Cybersecurity

Free, open-source web application scanner and intercepting proxy, now governed by the Software Security Project.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.; OWASP ZAP authenticated scanning of modern single-page applications is the hard part and ZAP makes you build it by hand: session handling, token refresh and login scripts are configured per application, and a misconfigured session means the scanner logs itself out and reports a clean result for pages it never reached.
  • They diverge on capability: Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beyond Identity and OWASP ZAP actually diverge.

Attributes where Beyond Identity and OWASP ZAP differ
AttributeBeyond IdentityOWASP ZAP
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidDesktop, Cli, Api
FoundedUnknown2001

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 Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

Only in OWASP ZAP

  • Intercepting proxy
  • Passive scanner
  • Active scanner
  • AJAX spider
  • Automation Framework
  • Headless daemon and REST API
  • Docker images
  • Add-on marketplace

What people use each for

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

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot OWASP ZAP
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot OWASP ZAP
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot OWASP ZAP
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot OWASP ZAP

OWASP ZAP

  • Adding a baseline security scan to every application's pipeline where per-target commercial licensing would limit coverage to a handfulnot Beyond Identity
  • Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Beyond Identity
  • Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Beyond Identity
  • Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Beyond Identity

Where each one falls short

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

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

OWASP ZAP

  • Authenticated scanning of modern single-page applications is the hard part and ZAP makes you build it by hand: session handling, token refresh and login scripts are configured per application, and a misconfigured session means the scanner logs itself out and reports a clean result for pages it never reached.
  • There is no support contract in the product, so when a scan breaks the day before a release the escalation path is a GitHub issue and a community chat, which is not an answer that satisfies a delivery manager or an auditor who wants a named responsible party.
  • Active scanning sends genuine attack traffic, so it can create records, trigger emails, exhaust rate limits or destabilise a fragile environment, and pointing it at production without prior agreement produces an incident rather than a test result.
  • Output needs triage: passive rules generate large volumes of low-severity informational findings about headers and cookie flags that bury the few results that matter, and a team without someone tuning the rule set stops reading the report within a few sprints.
  • As a dynamic scanner it can only test what it can reach, so authorisation flaws between accounts, business logic abuse and anything behind an undiscovered endpoint go unreported, and a passing ZAP scan is evidence of nothing more than the absence of the classes of bug it looks for.

Pricing, plan by plan

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

OWASP ZAP

Free
  • Free & Open SourceFree
    • Full functionality
    • Active & passive scanning
    • Spider

Which should you pick?

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Choose OWASP ZAP if

  • You need intercepting proxy.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Cli, Api.
  • You also want passive scanner.
OWASP ZAP review

Questions people ask

Is Beyond Identity or OWASP ZAP better?
Neither clearly leads. Beyond Identity starts at On request and OWASP ZAP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beyond Identity or OWASP ZAP?
OWASP ZAP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Beyond Identity and Free for OWASP ZAP.
Does Beyond Identity or OWASP ZAP run on more platforms?
Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. OWASP ZAP runs on Desktop, Cli, Api.
Can I use OWASP ZAP for free?
Yes. OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Beyond Identity starts at On request.
What is Beyond Identity best used for?
Beyond Identity is most often used for an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered, a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches, a firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systems, a security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on top. Of those, an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered and a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches are not what OWASP ZAP is typically brought in for.
What can Beyond Identity do that OWASP ZAP cannot?
Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration. OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

OWASP ZAP: Is it still called OWASP ZAP?

The project left OWASP in August 2024 and is now governed by the Software Security Project, with core development sponsored by Checkmarx. The tool is now just ZAP, though most existing documentation, courses and search results still use the OWASP name.

Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

OWASP ZAP: Is it free for commercial use?

Yes. It is Apache 2.0 licensed, with no per-application, per-scan or per-user cost, and it can be used and modified commercially without a licence agreement.

Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

OWASP ZAP: Can it replace a penetration test?

No. It automates checks for known vulnerability classes against endpoints it can reach. It does not reason about business logic, chain findings into an attack, or test authorisation between accounts, which is most of what a tester actually does.

OWASP ZAP: Does it run in CI?

Yes, through the official Docker images and the Automation Framework, which defines scan jobs in YAML so configuration lives in the repository. A baseline passive scan is the usual starting point because it is fast and non-intrusive.

OWASP ZAP: How does it compare to Burp Suite?

Burp Suite Professional is the more polished manual testing tool and has a stronger scanner and extension ecosystem, but it is licensed per tester and Burp Suite Enterprise per target. ZAP is the better fit where cost per target is the binding constraint; many teams use both.

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