Burp Suite Alternatives 2026: 6 Free Options
Burp Suite alternatives: ZAP, OpenTRAP, Caido, mitmproxy and 2 more. Prices and licenses checked October 28, 2026.
•3 min read•Security Software & Testing
Verdict:Burp Suite Professional is $499 per user a year, and the Community edition is free but lacks the automated scanner that Professional adds. People look for alternatives either to avoid the license or because they want something lighter. ZAP is the standard free replacement, with a scanner, proxy and Docker images; expect a different interface and fewer polished extensions than Burp's BApp store of 300-plus. Caido is the closest modern rival in feel, and its free Basic plan covers two projects and one user, but paid prices are not published. mitmproxy suits people who like scripting; it intercepts and modifies traffic but does not scan. HTTP Toolkit is better for developers debugging an app than for pentesters writing a report. Nuclei is a different kind of tool: it runs templates against targets and fits CI pipelines. The trade-off is workflow depth. Burp's Repeater, Intruder and extension ecosystem are what testers rely on, and replacements cover parts of that. A freelancer on a tight budget should start with ZAP plus mitmproxy. A professional billing clients for pentests will likely find the $499 license pays for itself.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZAP | Free (Free and open source) | macOS, Windows, Linux | Free scanning and proxying | Docs only |
| OpenTRAP | Free (Free and open source under AGPL-3.0; the README names no paid tier or feature gate) | Linux | Burp-style proxy workflow on Linux for free | Docs only |
| Caido | Free (Basic: free forever, 2 projects, 7 workflows, 3 plugins, 1 user) | Windows, macOS, Linux | A lighter Burp-style proxy | Docs only |
| mitmproxy | Free (free, open source) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Scripted traffic interception | Docs only |
| HTTP Toolkit | Free (Hobbyist plan is free) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Debugging traffic as a developer | Docs only |
| Nuclei | Free (Free open-source template-based scanner) | macOS, Windows, Linux | Fast template-based scans | Docs only |
| StackHawk | Paid from $10 per user/month, billed monthly (Wingman) | Web browser | Application security testing (DAST) | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want a free scanner and proxy (ZAP is the pick)
- You want a modern Burp-like interface at no cost (Caido is the pick)
- You script your tests in Python (mitmproxy is the pick)
- You debug an app's HTTP traffic as a developer (HTTP Toolkit is the pick)
- You scan many targets from CI (Nuclei is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Burp Suite features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Burp Suite today: Free (Community Edition is free; Professional adds the automated scanner); paid from $499 per user/year (Professional) (Burp Suite pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Burp Suite alternatives
Burp Suite Community Edition is free, but the documentation marks running scans, generating reports and Collaborator as Professional only. Professional is listed at $499 per user per year, which is a large step for a student or a small team that only wants automated scanning. The Community build is aimed at manual testing, so teams that need scan automation either pay per seat or look at other tools.
ZAP
Compared with Burp Suite: Free open-source web application scanner with Docker images. It has an automated scanner like Burp Professional's without the $499 price, though extensions and polish differ.
Price: Free (Free and open source) (ZAP pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows, Linux. Apache-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 16k GitHub stars · latest release v2.17.0 (Dec 15, 2025) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Free scanning and proxying.
Worth knowing: Web application scanner; docker images also available.
OpenTRAP
Compared with Burp Suite: OpenTRAP is a free open source proxy and testing suite under AGPL-3.0 that presents itself as a Burp Suite alternative. It ships as a Linux-only AppImage built on ZAP's scan engine, with Proxy, Repeater, Intruder, Collaborator and a scanner. It is marked active development, and extensions are still on its roadmap.
Price: Free (Free and open source under AGPL-3.0; the README names no paid tier or feature gate) (OpenTRAP pricing, checked 2026-10-28).
Platforms and license: Linux. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 593 GitHub stars · latest release 20261027-022942 (Oct 27, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Burp-style proxy workflow on Linux for free.
Caido
Compared with Burp Suite: Free Basic plan with 2 projects, 7 workflows and 1 user, unlimited installations; check the pricing page for paid tiers. A newer interception tool than Burp, with a smaller extension scene.
Price: Free (Basic: free forever, 2 projects, 7 workflows, 3 plugins, 1 user) (Caido pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary.
Best for: A lighter Burp-style proxy.
Worth knowing: Individual and Team tiers show no numeric price; Enterprise is custom.
mitmproxy
Compared with Burp Suite: MIT-licensed intercepting proxy with console, command-line and web interfaces for HTTP, HTTP/2 and WebSockets. It has no scanner like Burp but scripts well in Python.
Price: Free (free, open source) (mitmproxy pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 46.4k GitHub stars · latest release v12.3.1 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Scripted traffic interception.
Worth knowing: Console, command-line and web interface for intercepting HTTP, HTTP/2 and WebSockets; no scanner.
HTTP Toolkit
Compared with Burp Suite: Free Hobbyist plan intercepts supported clients and lets you inspect and rewrite traffic. Check the pricing page for Pro and Team prices. Aimed at developers rather than pentest reports.
Price: Free (Hobbyist plan is free) (HTTP Toolkit pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Not stated.
Best for: Debugging traffic as a developer.
Nuclei
Compared with Burp Suite: Free open-source template-driven scanner for web apps, networks and cloud. It scans from templates rather than a manual proxy, so it complements rather than replaces Burp's intercept workflow.
Price: Free (Free open-source template-based scanner) (Nuclei pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows, Linux. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 32.4k GitHub stars · latest release v3.11.1 (Aug 8, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Fast template-based scans.
Worth knowing: Template-driven scanning of web apps, networks and cloud; not an authenticated host-patch auditor.
Other popular options (paid)
StackHawk
Compared with Burp Suite: Developer-focused DAST built for use inside AI coding tools and CI. Wingman is $10 per user per month with 50 scans per user monthly, versus Burp Pro at $499. Scale pricing is quote-only.
Price: Paid from $10 per user/month, billed monthly (Wingman) (StackHawk pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- You want a free scanner and proxy: ZAP
- You want a modern Burp-like interface at no cost: Caido
- You script your tests in Python: mitmproxy
- You debug an app's HTTP traffic as a developer: HTTP Toolkit
- You scan many targets from CI: Nuclei
Limits of this review
Docs-only for ZAP, OpenTRAP, Caido, mitmproxy, HTTP Toolkit, Nuclei: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Burp Suite. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-28: Burp Suite, ZAP, OpenTRAP, Caido, mitmproxy, HTTP Toolkit, Nuclei, StackHawk. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.