Detectify vs Tenable
Tenable scans web apps and APIs with Tenable One Web App Scanning inside an exposure management platform, while Detectify tests your web apps and APIs with payloads built with ethical hackers.
Last updated 8 October 2026
| Detectify | Tenable | |
|---|---|---|
| How tests are built | Payload-based tests, including 1,765+ Crowdsource modules from ethical hackers | Plugin-based detections built by Tenable Research, grouped in plugin families* |
| Attack surface monitoring | Subdomains, IPs and IP ranges, open ports and technologies, plus subdomain takeover checks every 8 hours | Discovers domains, hostnames and IPs. Real-time alerts on changes such as new servers or new open ports* |
| Ports monitored | Around 8,500 ports per target | Attack Surface Management scans TCP ports* |
| Web app scanning | Headless Chrome crawler with full SPA support | Scans modern web apps, including single-page applications. Uses Google Chrome to run certain plugins* |
| Authenticated scanning | Basic, Recorded Login and Recorded Crawling | Login form, cookie, Selenium recording, API key, bearer token and OAuth* |
| API scanning | OpenAPI v2, v3, v3.1 and GraphQL. OAuth, Basic and API key | OpenAPI v2 and v3, SOAP (WSDL) and GraphQL. Keys or tokens can be added as custom headers* |
| Internal scanning | Internal Scanning, deployed with Terraform (AWS) or Helm. Outbound-only connection | Run a local scanner in your environment on Tenable Core or as a Docker image* |
| Cloud configuration checks | Not covered. DNS connectors import assets only | Covered by a separate product, Tenable One Cloud Exposure, which checks cloud posture (CSPM)* |
| Emerging threats | New Crowdsource tests for newly disclosed vulnerabilities | Tenable Research adds new detections as it finds new security issues* |
| Integrations | Jira (two-way), Slack, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, Opsgenie, ServiceNow, Splunk, webhooks, Workato, REST API | Platform integrations: Jira, ServiceNow, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel. CI/CD: GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins and more* |
| Free trial | 2 weeks | Free trial, which also includes Tenable One Vulnerability Management* |
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
Tenable
Choose Tenable if
- You want web app scanning, attack surface management and vulnerability management in one platform
- You need to scan SOAP (WSDL) APIs as well as OpenAPI and GraphQL
- You want cloud posture checks from the same vendor, through Tenable One Cloud Exposure
Why teams choose Detectify
99%
99% of the findings we find have no CVE assigned, based on our own data over the past three years
- 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
- Maps subdomains from certificate transparency logs, DNS enumeration and brute-forcing
- Checks your subdomains for takeover every 8 hours, including GCP bucket takeover
- DNS connectors pull in assets from AWS, Azure, GCP, Cloudflare and more
- 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
Crowdsource from submission to test
01
Ethical hacker submits a payloadCrowdsource · path traversal
GET /static/..%2f..%2f..%2fetc/passwd
02
Reviewed, then shipped as a test moduleJoins 1,765+ modules
03
Finding
trade.go-hack-yourself.netPath traversalHigh
Surface Monitoring subdomain takeover
01
New subdomain foundCertificate transparency logs
promo.go-hack-yourself.net CNAME deprovisioned cloud resource
02
Checked for takeoverEvery 8 hours
03
Finding
promo.go-hack-yourself.netSubdomain takeoverHigh
Application Scanning recorded login
01
Login recorded onceDetectify Recorder, a Chrome extension
RECtrade.go-hack-yourself.net/logindemo@go-hack-yourself.net••••••••••Sign in
02
Crawled like a person, still logged inHeadless Chrome · clicks buttons, fills forms
03
Finding
trade.go-hack-yourself.net/accountXSSHigh
“Detectify has been instrumental in strengthening our security posture by giving us clear visibility into vulnerabilities across our systems that we simply wouldn’t have found on our own.”
FAQs
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. Tenable One Web App Scanning is part of the Tenable One exposure management platform, which also covers attack surface management, vulnerability management and cloud security.
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. Tenable One Web App Scanning uses plugin-based detections built by Tenable Research.
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.
Yes. Internal Scanning runs inside your network and connects outbound only. You deploy it with Terraform on AWS or with Helm.
Yes. Application Scanning supports Basic authentication, Recorded Login and Recorded Crawling.
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.
Yes. They run independently, so you can use Tenable for vulnerability management and cloud posture and Detectify for 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.