Cybersecurity · head to head
Netwrix vs OWASP ZAP
Netwrix
Cybersecurity
Data access governance and change auditing across Active Directory, file shares and Microsoft 365
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
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
- Only OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Netwrix the portfolio is assembled from acquisitions, so consoles, agents and licensing metrics differ between products and the platform story is ahead of the engineering reality.; 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: Netwrix covers Change auditing, OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Netwrix and OWASP ZAP actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 Netwrix
- Change auditing
- Effective permissions
- Data classification
- Access remediation
- Threat detection
- Group policy management
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.
Netwrix
- An organisation that cannot tell an auditor who has access to a sensitive file share and needs an answer with evidencenot OWASP ZAP
- A security team reducing ransomware blast radius by removing Everyone and Domain Users permissions from sensitive datanot OWASP ZAP
- An IT team investigating an unexplained Active Directory change and needing the exact account, time and previous valuenot OWASP ZAP
- A company responding to GDPR data subject access requests that must first locate personal data scattered across legacy sharesnot 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 Netwrix
- Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Netwrix
- Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Netwrix
- Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Netwrix
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Netwrix
- The portfolio is assembled from acquisitions, so consoles, agents and licensing metrics differ between products and the platform story is ahead of the engineering reality.
- Licensing metrics vary by product, per enabled user for some and per managed asset for others, which makes assembling a multi-product quote unusually difficult to compare against a single-vendor competitor.
- Auditing agents and collectors add load to domain controllers and file servers, and large estates need careful sizing to avoid degrading the systems being monitored.
- It reports and remediates but does not enforce access decisions at request time, so it complements rather than replaces identity governance and buyers still need an IGA tool for certification workflows.
- Coverage is strongest on Microsoft estates; Linux, NAS appliances and non-Microsoft SaaS are supported unevenly and often need additional modules or trail behind on feature parity.
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
Netwrix
On request- Netwrix Platform$undefined/year
- Priced per enabled user or per managed asset depending on the product
- Auditing, data classification, privileged access and threat products licensed separately
- Netwrix 1Secure SaaS console with a 14-day free trial
OWASP ZAP
Free- Free & Open SourceFree
- Full functionality
- Active & passive scanning
- Spider
Which should you pick?
Choose Netwrix if
- You need change auditing.
- You work on Windows, Web.
- You also want effective permissions.
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 Netwrix or OWASP ZAP better?
- Neither clearly leads. Netwrix 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, Netwrix or OWASP ZAP?
- OWASP ZAP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Netwrix and Free for OWASP ZAP.
- Does Netwrix or OWASP ZAP run on more platforms?
- Netwrix runs on Windows, Web. 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. Netwrix starts at On request.
- What is Netwrix best used for?
- Netwrix is most often used for an organisation that cannot tell an auditor who has access to a sensitive file share and needs an answer with evidence, a security team reducing ransomware blast radius by removing everyone and domain users permissions from sensitive data, an it team investigating an unexplained active directory change and needing the exact account, time and previous value, a company responding to gdpr data subject access requests that must first locate personal data scattered across legacy shares. Of those, an organisation that cannot tell an auditor who has access to a sensitive file share and needs an answer with evidence and a security team reducing ransomware blast radius by removing everyone and domain users permissions from sensitive data are not what OWASP ZAP is typically brought in for.
- What can Netwrix do that OWASP ZAP cannot?
- Netwrix covers Change auditing, Effective permissions, Data classification, Access remediation. OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Netwrix: Does it replace identity governance?
No. It shows you who has access and lets you fix it, but recertification campaigns and access request workflow are an IGA product.
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.
Netwrix: Is there a SaaS option?
Netwrix 1Secure is the cloud console covering data and identity visibility, with a 14-day free trial including full access.
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.
Netwrix: How is it priced?
Per enabled user or per managed asset depending on the product, quoted rather than published. Assume separate line items per module.
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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