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Government · head to head

GovPilot vs OWASP ZAP

GovPilot logo

GovPilot

Government

Digital forms and workflow modules for small municipalities priced out of enterprise govtech

From
On request
Free plan
No
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
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GovPilot modules are prebuilt and configured rather than developed, so a municipality with an unusual ordinance or fee structure must adapt its process to the software rather than the reverse.; 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: GovPilot covers Prebuilt process modules, OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GovPilot and OWASP ZAP actually diverge.

Attributes where GovPilot and OWASP ZAP differ
AttributeGovPilotOWASP ZAP
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidDesktop, Cli, Api
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2001

Identical on both: 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 GovPilot

  • Prebuilt process modules
  • GIS property map
  • Digital form intake
  • Report a concern app
  • Public records request handling
  • Workflow routing

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.

GovPilot

  • A small town replacing paper permit applications without funding a large implementationnot OWASP ZAP
  • A clerk's office that needs a defensible record of public records requests and response timesnot OWASP ZAP
  • A municipality wanting residents to report issues from a phone with location attachednot OWASP ZAP
  • A borough adding modules gradually as budget allows rather than buying a full system at oncenot 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 GovPilot
  • Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot GovPilot
  • Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot GovPilot
  • Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot GovPilot

Where each one falls short

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

GovPilot

  • Modules are prebuilt and configured rather than developed, so a municipality with an unusual ordinance or fee structure must adapt its process to the software rather than the reverse.
  • The install base is concentrated in New Jersey and the north east, so agencies elsewhere find fewer reference sites and modules tuned to another state's terminology.
  • Module based pricing means the total climbs in steps as departments are added, and the initial quote often covers fewer processes than the town eventually needs.
  • It is not built for the complexity larger cities carry, so an agency that grows into multi department plan review will outgrow it and face a second migration.
  • Integration options are limited compared with enterprise platforms, so connecting to an existing finance or utility billing system may mean manual reconciliation.

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

GovPilot

On request
  • GovPilot$undefined/year
    • Quoted by module count and municipality population
    • Implementation is short because modules are configured rather than built
    • Payment processing on citizen transactions charged separately

OWASP ZAP

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

Which should you pick?

Choose GovPilot if

  • You need prebuilt process modules.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want gis property map.
GovPilot 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 GovPilot or OWASP ZAP better?
Neither clearly leads. GovPilot 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, GovPilot or OWASP ZAP?
OWASP ZAP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for GovPilot and Free for OWASP ZAP.
Does GovPilot or OWASP ZAP run on more platforms?
GovPilot runs on Web, 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. GovPilot starts at On request.
What is GovPilot best used for?
GovPilot is most often used for a small town replacing paper permit applications without funding a large implementation, a clerk's office that needs a defensible record of public records requests and response times, a municipality wanting residents to report issues from a phone with location attached, a borough adding modules gradually as budget allows rather than buying a full system at once. Of those, a small town replacing paper permit applications without funding a large implementation and a clerk's office that needs a defensible record of public records requests and response times are not what OWASP ZAP is typically brought in for.
What can GovPilot do that OWASP ZAP cannot?
GovPilot covers Prebuilt process modules, GIS property map, Digital form intake, Report a concern app. OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GovPilot: Who is GovPilot actually for?

Small and mid sized municipalities that are currently on paper and cannot fund an Accela or Tyler implementation.

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.

GovPilot: How long does implementation take?

Short by govtech standards, because modules are prebuilt and configured rather than custom developed.

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.

GovPilot: Can we find comparable pricing?

Yes. Municipal contracts are public, and in this segment neighbouring towns' council minutes give a genuinely comparable number.

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.

GovPilot: Will we outgrow it?

A city that develops complex multi department plan review will, and should plan for that rather than discover it.

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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