Detectify vs ProjectDiscovery

ProjectDiscovery Cloud runs the open-source Nuclei engine and its templates against your assets, while Detectify tests your web apps and APIs with payloads built with ethical hackers.

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Last updated 8 October 2026

	Detectify	ProjectDiscovery
How tests are built	Payload-based tests, including 1,765+ Crowdsource modules from ethical hackers	Nuclei YAML templates from the community that safely attempt exploitation, plus custom templates*
Attack surface monitoring	Subdomains, IPs and IP ranges, open ports and technologies, plus subdomain takeover checks every 8 hours	Discovers assets from root domains, IPs and CIDR ranges, with ASN mapping, HTTP probing and cloud imports*
Ports monitored	Around 8,500 ports per target	Built-in port scanner can check asset IPs on ports 1-65535*
Web app scanning	Headless Chrome crawler with full SPA support	Finds OWASP Top 10 and common web flaws through active testing and crawling of web apps*
Authenticated scanning	Basic, Recorded Login and Recorded Crawling	Authentication via custom headers, such as tokens or API keys, and template variables in scan configs*
Internal scanning	Internal Scanning, deployed with Terraform (AWS) or Helm. Outbound-only connection	pd-agent runs on your network via Docker or Go, over a secure outbound connection. Enterprise plan*
Cloud configuration checks	Not covered. DNS connectors import assets only	Checks cloud environments for misconfigured resources. Connectors import assets from AWS, Azure, GCP and more*
Emerging threats	New Crowdsource tests for newly disclosed vulnerabilities	Community Nuclei templates for trending vulnerabilities, often within hours. Automatic rescans on Enterprise*
Integrations	Jira (two-way), Slack, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, Opsgenie, ServiceNow, Splunk, webhooks, Workato, REST API	Slack, Microsoft Teams, email, webhooks. Tickets in Jira, GitHub, GitLab and Linear. REST API*

SupportedNot supported

* See sources for ProjectDiscovery details.

Detectify helps 10,000+ users manage their attack surfaces

Which one fits your team

Detectify

Choose Detectify if

Your biggest risk sits in internet-facing web apps, APIs and subdomains
You want testing that goes beyond known CVEs
You want attack surface monitoring and application testing in one platform

ProjectDiscovery

Choose ProjectDiscovery if

You already use Nuclei and want to write and run your own YAML templates
You want port checks across the full 1-65535 range on your asset IPs
You track issues in GitHub, GitLab or Linear

Why teams choose Detectify

400+ ethical hackers in Crowdsource submit payloads for vulnerabilities they find in the wild

Crowdsource ethical hackers submit payloads for vulnerabilities they find in the wild
1,765+ modules run against the assets you add
New tests ship when a vulnerability is disclosed, as with Log4Shell on the same day

Crawls your app in a real browser, so JavaScript and single-page apps get tested
Basic access authentication, recorded login and recorded crawling
Technology fingerprinting picks the tests that fit your stack

Import an OpenAPI spec or GraphQL schema and pick the operations to test
OAuth, Basic Auth and API key authentication
Prompt injection tests for AI and LLM endpoints

Crowdsource from submission to test

Ethical hacker submits a payloadCrowdsource · path traversal

GET /static/..%2f..%2f..%2fetc/passwd

Reviewed, then shipped as a test moduleJoins 1,765+ modules

Finding

trade.go-hack-yourself.netPath traversalHigh

Application Scanning recorded login

Login recorded onceDetectify Recorder, a Chrome extension

Crawled like a person, still logged inHeadless Chrome · clicks buttons, fills forms

Finding

trade.go-hack-yourself.net/accountXSSHigh

API Scanning from spec to scan

Import your spec, pick the operationsOpenAPI or GraphQL · auth: OAuth

# openapi.json GET /orders/{id} ✓ POST /orders ✓ POST /assistant/chat ✓

Payloads sent to each operationRotated between runs

Finding

api.go-hack-yourself.net/assistant/chatPrompt injectionHigh

“It takes a minute for us to add a root asset, and Detectify will discover subdomains and start scanning.”

Patrick ZimmermannInformation Security Manager, Bühler Group

FAQs

01Is Detectify an alternative to ProjectDiscovery?

Yes, for teams whose main risk is internet-facing web apps, APIs and subdomains. Detectify monitors your external attack surface and tests applications with payload-based tests. ProjectDiscovery Cloud discovers your assets and runs community-written and custom Nuclei templates against them.

02What's the main difference between Detectify and ProjectDiscovery?

How the tests are built. Detectify's tests come from its own research and from Crowdsource, a program of ethical hackers who submit payloads for real vulnerabilities. ProjectDiscovery Cloud runs community-written and custom Nuclei templates that safely attempt exploitation to confirm each finding.

03Does Detectify scan APIs?

Yes. API Scanning tests the operations you choose in an OpenAPI v2, v3 or v3.1 spec or a GraphQL schema that you import. It supports OAuth, Basic and API key authentication.

04Can Detectify scan internal applications?

Yes. Internal Scanning runs inside your network and connects outbound only. You deploy it with Terraform on AWS or with Helm.

05Does Detectify support authenticated scanning?

Yes. Application Scanning supports Basic authentication, Recorded Login and Recorded Crawling.

06How much does Detectify cost?

Pricing depends on the products you use and how many assets you cover. Surface Monitoring is priced by the number of domains in scope, and Internal Scanning by the number of internal apps. Start a 2-week free trial, or talk to sales for a quote.

07Can I use Detectify and ProjectDiscovery together?

Yes. They run independently, so you can use ProjectDiscovery Cloud for your own Nuclei templates and Detectify for payload-based testing of web apps and APIs.

See Detectify on your own domains

Start a free trial, or book a demo to walk through Detectify with our team.

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