Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

OWASP ZAP vs Tyler Brazos

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
Tyler Brazos logo

Tyler Brazos

Government

Mobile Law Enforcement Technology

From
$800/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Tyler Brazos brazos is now sold as Tyler Enforcement Mobile and tylertech.com/products/brazos redirects to the Enforcement Mobile page
  • They diverge on capability: OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Tyler Brazos covers Mobile Citations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OWASP ZAP and Tyler Brazos actually diverge.

Attributes where OWASP ZAP and Tyler Brazos differ
AttributeOWASP ZAPTyler Brazos
Starting priceFree$800/month
Pricing modelfreesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsDesktop, Cli, ApiIos, Android, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
Founded20011966

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 OWASP ZAP

  • Intercepting proxy
  • Passive scanner
  • Active scanner
  • AJAX spider
  • Automation Framework
  • Headless daemon and REST API
  • Docker images
  • Add-on marketplace

Only in Tyler Brazos

  • Mobile Citations
  • Field Reporting
  • License Scanning
  • Database Queries
  • Crash Reporting
  • Tyler CAD/RMS
  • NCIC
  • State DMV

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

OWASP ZAP

  • Adding a baseline security scan to every application's pipeline where per-target commercial licensing would limit coverage to a handfulnot Tyler Brazos
  • Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Tyler Brazos
  • Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Tyler Brazos
  • Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Tyler Brazos

Tyler Brazos

  • Electronic citation issuance from a patrol vehicle or handheld devicenot OWASP ZAP
  • Field reporting and crash reports for law enforcementnot OWASP ZAP
  • Feeding citation data into court case managementnot OWASP ZAP

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Tyler Brazos

  • Brazos is now sold as Tyler Enforcement Mobile and tylertech.com/products/brazos redirects to the Enforcement Mobile page
  • No pricing is published; Tyler routes all enquiries through contact and demo requests with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • The product is sold only to public sector agencies

Pricing, plan by plan

OWASP ZAP

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

Tyler Brazos

$800/month
  • Mobile Suite$800/month
    • Mobile Citations
    • Field Reporting
    • Database Queries

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.
OWASP ZAP review

Choose Tyler Brazos if

  • You need mobile citations.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Windows.
  • You also want field reporting.
Tyler Brazos review

Questions people ask

Is OWASP ZAP or Tyler Brazos better?
Neither clearly leads. OWASP ZAP starts at Free and Tyler Brazos at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OWASP ZAP or Tyler Brazos?
OWASP ZAP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OWASP ZAP and $800/month for Tyler Brazos.
Does OWASP ZAP or Tyler Brazos run on more platforms?
OWASP ZAP runs on Desktop, Cli, Api. Tyler Brazos runs on Ios, Android, Windows.
Can I use OWASP ZAP for free?
Yes. OWASP ZAP has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tyler Brazos starts at $800/month.
What is OWASP ZAP best used for?
OWASP ZAP is most often used for adding a baseline security scan to every application's pipeline where per-target commercial licensing would limit coverage to a handful, manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per tester, teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselves, pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial dast subscription. Of those, adding a baseline security scan to every application's pipeline where per-target commercial licensing would limit coverage to a handful and manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per tester are not what Tyler Brazos is typically brought in for.
What can OWASP ZAP do that Tyler Brazos cannot?
OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider. Tyler Brazos covers Mobile Citations, Field Reporting, License Scanning, Database Queries.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on OWASP ZAP

More on Tyler Brazos

Keep looking

Other head to heads