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Cybersecurity · head to head

Burp Suite vs Dagger

Burp Suite logo

Burp Suite

Cybersecurity

The leading toolkit for web security testing

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Dagger logo

Dagger

Developer Tools

Programmable CI/CD engine that runs your pipeline as containers on any runner

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Burp Suite the automated vulnerability scanner is Professional only, at $499; the free Community edition is manual tools; Dagger dagger is not a CI provider, so you keep paying for GitHub Actions or GitLab runners underneath it; the Dagger Cloud subscription is an addition to your CI bill, not a replacement for it.
  • They diverge on capability: Burp Suite covers Web vulnerability scanner, Dagger covers Pipelines as code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Burp Suite and Dagger actually diverge.

Attributes where Burp Suite and Dagger differ
AttributeBurp SuiteDagger
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month per team for Dagger Cloud
PlatformsDesktop, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2004Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Burp Suite

  • Web vulnerability scanner
  • Proxy interceptor
  • Intruder
  • Repeater
  • Sequencer
  • Decoder
  • Comparer
  • Logger

Only in Dagger

  • Pipelines as code
  • Local and CI parity
  • Content-addressed caching
  • Dagger Functions and modules
  • CI-provider agnostic
  • Dagger Cloud traces
  • GitHub Checks integration
  • Container-native execution

What people use each for

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

Burp Suite

  • Manual web application penetration testing through an intercepting proxynot Dagger
  • Automated scanning for web vulnerabilities on the Professional editionnot Dagger
  • Extending testing with community-built BApp extensionsnot Dagger
  • Enterprise-wide dynamic scanning through Burp DASTnot Dagger

Dagger

  • A platform team maintaining near-identical build YAML across forty repositories that wants one versioned module every repository calls insteadnot Burp Suite
  • An engineering organisation migrating off a CI provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migrationnot Burp Suite
  • A team whose engineers waste hours pushing commits to debug CI-only failures and needs to reproduce the exact run locallynot Burp Suite
  • A monorepo where most commits touch a small subset of services and cache-accurate step skipping cuts build minutes materiallynot Burp Suite

Where each one falls short

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

Burp Suite

  • The automated vulnerability scanner is Professional only, at $499; the free Community edition is manual tools
  • BApp Store extensions require the Professional edition
  • DAST and the agentic testing product are separate enterprise offerings with no published price
  • Professional is licensed per user per year rather than perpetually

Dagger

  • Dagger is not a CI provider, so you keep paying for GitHub Actions or GitLab runners underneath it; the Dagger Cloud subscription is an addition to your CI bill, not a replacement for it.
  • Writing pipelines in Go or TypeScript raises the barrier to entry: a release engineer who could edit a YAML step now needs to read code, and the people who can fix a broken build shrink to those comfortable with the SDK.
  • The engine runs as a container on the runner and needs a persistent cache volume to deliver its main benefit, so ephemeral CI runners give you correctness without the speed, and provisioning durable cache storage is extra platform work.
  • The Team plan caps at ten users and ten million events per month; an organisation of any size crosses that quickly and moves to Enterprise pricing that is not published, so cost at scale is unknowable up front.
  • The module ecosystem is young and thinly maintained relative to the marketplace of a mature CI provider, so integrations that exist as a one-line Action often have to be written yourself as a Dagger function.

Pricing, plan by plan

Burp Suite

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Essential manual tools
    • Proxy
    • Repeater
  • Professional$449/year
    • All Community features
    • Burp Scanner
    • Advanced manual tools
  • Enterprise$6995/year
    • CI/CD integration
    • Scheduled scans
    • Role-based access

Dagger

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • One user
    • One million events per month
    • Workflow logs and function call traces
  • Team$50/month
    • Up to ten users
    • Ten million events per month
    • Module insights and module catalogue
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom user and event limits
    • SSO
    • Managed single-tenant deployment

Which should you pick?

Choose Burp Suite if

  • You need web vulnerability scanner.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want proxy interceptor.
Burp Suite review

Choose Dagger if

  • You need pipelines as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want local and ci parity.
Dagger review

Questions people ask

Is Burp Suite or Dagger better?
Neither clearly leads. Burp Suite starts at Free and Dagger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Burp Suite or Dagger?
Burp Suite starts at Free and Dagger at Free.
Does Burp Suite or Dagger run on more platforms?
Burp Suite runs on Desktop, Api. Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
Can I use Burp Suite for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Burp Suite best used for?
Burp Suite is most often used for manual web application penetration testing through an intercepting proxy, automated scanning for web vulnerabilities on the professional edition, extending testing with community-built bapp extensions, enterprise-wide dynamic scanning through burp dast. Of those, manual web application penetration testing through an intercepting proxy and automated scanning for web vulnerabilities on the professional edition are not what Dagger is typically brought in for.
What can Burp Suite do that Dagger cannot?
Burp Suite covers Web vulnerability scanner, Proxy interceptor, Intruder, Repeater. Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Burp Suite: Does Burp Suite offer a free version?

Yes, Burp Suite Community Edition is available free and supports manual testing. The page does not provide specific details on additional paid editions or their pricing.

Source
Dagger: Does Dagger replace GitHub Actions?

No. Dagger runs inside GitHub Actions or any other CI. It replaces the YAML that describes your pipeline steps, not the trigger and runner layer.

Burp Suite: What features are available in the free edition?

Burp Suite Community Edition supports manual security testing, though specific feature limitations compared to paid editions are not detailed on this page. Visit individual product pages for detailed tier comparisons.

Source
Dagger: Is the engine open source?

Yes, the Dagger engine and SDKs are open source and free. Dagger Cloud, the observability product, is what costs money.

Burp Suite: Are paid versions of Burp Suite available?

Yes, PortSwigger offers Burp Suite Professional and Burp Suite DAST as paid products, though specific pricing and feature details are not available on the main product page.

Source
Dagger: What is an event in the pricing?

Dagger Cloud meters pipeline telemetry events. One million per month is free; the Team plan at 50 USD per month allows ten million.

Dagger: Can I run the same pipeline on my laptop?

Yes, that is the main reason teams adopt it. The dagger CLI executes the identical graph locally, so CI-only failures become reproducible.

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