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Government · head to head

Mark43 vs OWASP ZAP

Mark43 logo

Mark43

Government

Modern Public Safety Software

From
$2000/month
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: Mark43 no published pricing on homepage; sales contact required for all cost details; 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: Mark43 covers Computer-Aided Dispatch, OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mark43 and OWASP ZAP actually diverge.

Attributes where Mark43 and OWASP ZAP differ
AttributeMark43OWASP ZAP
Starting price$2000/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidDesktop, Cli, Api
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20122001

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 Mark43

  • Computer-Aided Dispatch
  • Records Management
  • Evidence Management
  • Analytics
  • Mobile
  • FBI CJIS
  • NCIC
  • State Systems

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.

Mark43

  • Citizen Servicesnot OWASP ZAP
  • Records Managementnot OWASP ZAP
  • Public Safetynot OWASP ZAP
  • Civic Engagementnot 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 Mark43
  • Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Mark43
  • Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Mark43
  • Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Mark43

Where each one falls short

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

Mark43

  • No published pricing on homepage; sales contact required for all cost details
  • Only reference to pricing is 'early bird pricing' for 2027 conference registration
  • No transparent pricing structure visible for public evaluation

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

Mark43

$2000/month
  • Public Safety Suite$2000/month
    • CAD
    • RMS
    • Analytics

OWASP ZAP

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Mark43 if

  • You need computer-aided dispatch.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want records management.
Mark43 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 Mark43 or OWASP ZAP better?
Neither clearly leads. Mark43 starts at $2000/month and OWASP ZAP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mark43 or OWASP ZAP?
OWASP ZAP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/month for Mark43 and Free for OWASP ZAP.
Does Mark43 or OWASP ZAP run on more platforms?
Mark43 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. Mark43 starts at $2000/month.
What is Mark43 best used for?
Mark43 is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what OWASP ZAP is typically brought in for.
What can Mark43 do that OWASP ZAP cannot?
Mark43 covers Computer-Aided Dispatch, Records Management, Evidence Management, Analytics. OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mark43: Does Mark43 publish pricing online?

No, Mark43 pricing is not published on the public website. The only pricing reference is early bird conference registration. Prospective customers must contact Mark43 through 'Book A Demo' or 'Let's Connect' for pricing consultation.

Source
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.

Mark43: What payment methods or financing options does Mark43 offer?

No information about payment methods or financing options is disclosed on the public homepage. Pricing and payment details are handled through direct sales consultations.

Source
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.

Mark43: Are there volume discounts or specialized pricing for different agency sizes?

Mark43 website does not disclose any volume pricing, per-user costs, or specialized rates for agencies of different sizes. All pricing inquiries require direct contact with sales team.

Source
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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