Cybersecurity · head to head
Cisco Duo vs OWASP ZAP
OWASP ZAP
Cybersecurity
Free, open-source web application scanner and intercepting proxy, now governed by the Software Security Project.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cisco Duo free tier limited to 10 users maximum; 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.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cisco Duo and OWASP ZAP actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Cisco Duo
Nothing recorded that OWASP ZAP does not also cover.
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.
Cisco Duo
- Eliminating phishing with passwordless authnot OWASP ZAP
- Implementing zero trust with device trustnot OWASP ZAP
- Protecting sessions from hijacking and theftnot OWASP ZAP
- Managing compliance for regulated industriesnot 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 Cisco Duo
- Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Cisco Duo
- Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Cisco Duo
- Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Cisco Duo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cisco Duo
- Free tier limited to 10 users maximum
- Licenses must be purchased in 10-user increments (under 100 users) or 25-user increments (100+ users)
- Pricing is per-user per-month with minimum purchase increments
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
Cisco Duo
Free- FreeFree
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Seamless integrations
- Authenticator app
- Essentials$3/month
- All Free features
- Duo Directory
- Phishing-resistant MFA
- Advantage$6/month
- All Essentials features
- Identity intelligence
- Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR)
- Premier$9/month
- All Advantage features
- Complete device trust
- VPN-less remote access
OWASP ZAP
Free- Free & Open SourceFree
- Full functionality
- Active & passive scanning
- Spider
Which should you pick?
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Cisco Duo or OWASP ZAP better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cisco Duo starts at Free and OWASP ZAP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cisco Duo or OWASP ZAP?
- Cisco Duo starts at Free and OWASP ZAP at Free.
- Does Cisco Duo or OWASP ZAP run on more platforms?
- Cisco Duo runs on Web. OWASP ZAP runs on Desktop, Cli, Api.
- Can I use Cisco Duo for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cisco Duo best used for?
- Cisco Duo is most often used for eliminating phishing with passwordless auth, implementing zero trust with device trust, protecting sessions from hijacking and theft, managing compliance for regulated industries. Of those, eliminating phishing with passwordless auth and implementing zero trust with device trust are not what OWASP ZAP is typically brought in for.
- What can Cisco Duo do that OWASP ZAP cannot?
- OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cisco Duo: How much does Cisco Duo cost?
Cisco Duo Free is $0/user/month (up to 10 users). Paid plans start at $3/user/month (Essentials), $6/user/month (Advantage), and $9/user/month (Premier). Billing is per-user per-month.
SourceOWASP 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.
Cisco Duo: Is Cisco Duo free to try?
Yes, Duo Free offers multi-factor authentication and seamless integrations at $0/user/month for up to 10 users.
SourceOWASP 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.
Cisco Duo: What is the minimum purchase for Cisco Duo?
Organizations must buy licenses in 10-user increments for under 100 users, or 25-user increments for 100 or more users. Plans are modifiable at any time.
SourceOWASP 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.
Cisco Duo: What does the Advantage plan add over Essentials?
Advantage ($6/user/month) adds identity intelligence, Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR), Duo Passport, session theft protection, Active Directory Defense, and risk-based authentication.
SourceOWASP 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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