Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Burp Suite vs Tilt

Burp Suite logo

Burp Suite

Cybersecurity

The leading toolkit for web security testing

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

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; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • They diverge on capability: Burp Suite covers Web vulnerability scanner, Tilt covers Live update.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Burp Suite and Tilt differ
AttributeBurp SuiteTilt
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsDesktop, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
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 Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

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 Tilt
  • Automated scanning for web vulnerabilities on the Professional editionnot Tilt
  • Extending testing with community-built BApp extensionsnot Tilt
  • Enterprise-wide dynamic scanning through Burp DASTnot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot Burp Suite
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Burp Suite
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Burp Suite
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

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

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

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 Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is Burp Suite or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Burp Suite starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Burp Suite or Tilt?
Burp Suite starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Burp Suite or Tilt run on more platforms?
Burp Suite runs on Desktop, Api. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Burp Suite do that Tilt cannot?
Burp Suite covers Web vulnerability scanner, Proxy interceptor, Intruder, Repeater. Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

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
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

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
Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

Share

Related pages

More on Burp Suite

More on Tilt

Keep looking

Other head to heads