Cybersecurity · head to head
OWASP ZAP vs Weka
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: 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.; Weka the package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
- They diverge on capability: OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Weka covers Classification.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which OWASP ZAP and Weka actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Weka
- Classification
- Regression
- Clustering
- Association rules
- Feature selection
- Java
- R
- Python
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 Weka
- Manual penetration testing that needs an intercepting proxy, request replay and fuzzing without a paid licence per testernot Weka
- Teaching developers what an attack against their own endpoint looks like, using a tool they can install themselvesnot Weka
- Pre-release regression scanning of an internal application that would never justify a commercial DAST subscriptionnot Weka
Weka
- Teaching and exploring classic machine learning algorithms through a GUInot OWASP ZAP
- Running data mining experiments and preprocessing without writing codenot 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.
Weka
- The package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
- Weka is split into a stable 3.8 branch that receives only bug fixes and compatibility-safe upgrades and a 3.9 development branch that may receive features that break compatibility
- Weka requires a 64-bit Java VM; the bundled installers ship Bellsoft OpenJDK 25 per platform and architecture
Pricing, plan by plan
OWASP ZAP
Free- Free & Open SourceFree
- Full functionality
- Active & passive scanning
- Spider
Weka
Free- Open SourceFree
- All ML algorithms
- GUI and CLI
- Java API
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.
Choose Weka if
- You need classification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
- You also want regression.
Questions people ask
- Is OWASP ZAP or Weka better?
- Neither clearly leads. OWASP ZAP starts at Free and Weka at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, OWASP ZAP or Weka?
- OWASP ZAP starts at Free and Weka at Free.
- Does OWASP ZAP or Weka run on more platforms?
- OWASP ZAP runs on Desktop, Cli, Api. Weka runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
- Can I use OWASP ZAP for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 Weka is typically brought in for.
- What can OWASP ZAP do that Weka cannot?
- OWASP ZAP covers Intercepting proxy, Passive scanner, Active scanner, AJAX spider. Weka covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Association rules.
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.
Weka: What is the cost of Weka software?
Weka is provided at no cost as open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, making it freely available for download and use.
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.
Weka: Are there commercial licensing options available?
Yes, the project offers information about commercial licenses for organizations requiring non-GPL terms, which can be found in their commercial applications documentation.
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.
Weka: What support resources are available to users?
Multiple support avenues exist including comprehensive documentation, frequently asked questions, dedicated help resources, and access to courses for learning the platform.
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.
Weka: Is source code access provided?
Yes, developers have full access to source code through the Git repository, along with development documentation and code credits for contributors.
SourceOWASP 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.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- OWASP ZAP vs 1Password
- OWASP ZAP vs Bitdefender Total Security
- OWASP ZAP vs Norton 360
- OWASP ZAP vs LastPass
- OWASP ZAP vs Bitwarden
- OWASP ZAP vs Burp Suite
- OWASP ZAP vs Metasploit
- OWASP ZAP vs Wireshark
- OWASP ZAP vs authentik
- OWASP ZAP vs Authelia
- OWASP ZAP vs Infisical
- OWASP ZAP vs Trivy
- OWASP ZAP vs Feedzai
- OWASP ZAP vs Frontegg
- OWASP ZAP vs HashiCorp Boundary
- OWASP ZAP vs JumpCloud
- OWASP ZAP vs McAfee Total Protection
- OWASP ZAP vs AWS SageMaker
- OWASP ZAP vs Google Vertex AI
- OWASP ZAP vs Azure Machine Learning
- OWASP ZAP vs DataRobot
- OWASP ZAP vs Orange
- OWASP ZAP vs scikit-learn
- OWASP ZAP vs Databricks
- OWASP ZAP vs MATLAB
- OWASP ZAP vs SAS
- OWASP ZAP vs Apache Spark MLlib
- OWASP ZAP vs ClearML
- OWASP ZAP vs Minitab
- OWASP ZAP vs Mistral AI
- OWASP ZAP vs Ollama
- OWASP ZAP vs OpenRouter
- OWASP ZAP vs BigQuery ML
- OWASP ZAP vs JMP
- Weka vs 1Password
- Weka vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Weka vs Norton 360
- Weka vs LastPass
- Weka vs Bitwarden
- Weka vs Burp Suite
- Weka vs Metasploit
- Weka vs Wireshark
- Weka vs authentik
- Weka vs Authelia
- Weka vs Infisical
- Weka vs Trivy
- Weka vs Feedzai
- Weka vs Frontegg
- Weka vs HashiCorp Boundary
- Weka vs JumpCloud
- Weka vs McAfee Total Protection
- Weka vs AWS SageMaker
- Weka vs Google Vertex AI
- Weka vs Azure Machine Learning
- Weka vs DataRobot
- Weka vs Orange
- Weka vs scikit-learn
- Weka vs Databricks
- Weka vs MATLAB
- Weka vs SAS
- Weka vs Apache Spark MLlib
- Weka vs ClearML
- Weka vs Minitab
- Weka vs Mistral AI
- Weka vs Ollama
- Weka vs OpenRouter
- Weka vs BigQuery ML
- Weka vs JMP