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XBOW is a closed platform that pentests web apps autonomously and sells through demos, quotes and cloud marketplaces. Teams look elsewhere for an open-source engine, published per-scan prices, self-hosting, or coverage beyond web apps. Here are eight options and what each is built for.
Disclosure: this page is published by Xalgorix, one of the tools listed. Facts come from each vendor's own site or README (commercial platforms and XBOW checked on 13 November 2026, open-source projects on 9 November 2026), and every row links to its source. We haven't benchmarked these tools against each other. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
XBOW tests web apps and APIs autonomously, chains vulnerabilities into attack paths and ships each finding with a working exploit. It doesn't publish prices: its pricing page describes usage-based pricing scoped to your environment, with a demo to start, and it's sold on the AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle and Microsoft marketplaces. Sources: xbow.com/platform and xbow.com/pricing. Xalgorix vs XBOW in detail →
| Tool | License | What it tests | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xalgorix Open source | Apache-2.0 | Black-box: tests the running app; reports a finding only after exploiting it, then re-tests it with an independent verifier | Xalgorix Cloud: 10 credits for $10 (never expire); plans from $49/mo |
| Strix Open source | Apache-2.0 | Runs your app dynamically and validates findings with proof-of-concept exploits | Strix Cloud: Pro $29 per seat per month; pentests billed per test |
| Shannon (Keygraph) Open source | AGPL-3.0 | White-box: reads the source code, then exploits the running app. “No exploit, no report” | Keygraph Pro: $50 per active developer per month, adds black-box testing; Enterprise on request |
| PentestGPT Open source | MIT | Agentic penetration-testing framework powered by large language models | None listed |
| RunSybil Commercial | Proprietary | AI offensive security platform that tests code, APIs, cloud and infrastructure, and checks whether other tools' findings are actually exploitable | Not published: demo or meeting |
| Escape Commercial | Proprietary | Attack surface management, DAST and AI pentesting across APIs, web apps and external assets, including GraphQL | Not published: scoped by quote; also on AWS Marketplace |
| Horizon3.ai NodeZero Commercial | Proprietary | Autonomous pentesting of internal and external networks, cloud, Kubernetes, Active Directory and web apps; exploits to show attack paths and re-tests fixes | Not published: demo |
| Pentera Commercial | Proprietary | Automated security validation across internal networks, external assets, cloud, web apps and APIs; runs complete attack kill chains, built to run in production | Not published: talk to sales or book a demo |
NodeZero and Pentera are infrastructure-first platforms: they cover web apps, but their strength is network, identity and cloud attack paths, so they're a different purchase from an autonomous web app pentester.
Black-box: tests the running app; reports a finding only after exploiting it, then re-tests it with an independent verifier.
Best fit: Exploit-verified web app and API testing you can start today, billed per scan, with an engine you can read and self-host.
Apache-2.0 · Xalgorix Cloud: 10 credits for $10 (never expire); plans from $49/mo · Sources: GitHub, Pricing · Xalgorix vs XBOW →
Runs your app dynamically and validates findings with proof-of-concept exploits.
Best fit: The largest open-source community; points at a codebase, a repository, a live URL or an API spec.
Apache-2.0 · Strix Cloud: Pro $29 per seat per month; pentests billed per test · Sources: README, strix.ai/pricing · Compare with Xalgorix →
White-box: reads the source code, then exploits the running app. “No exploit, no report”.
Best fit: Teams that own the source and want attacks planned from it, with SARIF output and CI gating.
AGPL-3.0 · Keygraph Pro: $50 per active developer per month, adds black-box testing; Enterprise on request · Sources: README, keygraph.io/pricing · Compare with Xalgorix →
Agentic penetration-testing framework powered by large language models.
Best fit: Research, learning and CTF-style work where you run and steer the framework yourself.
MIT · None listed · Sources: README · Compare with Xalgorix →
AI offensive security platform that tests code, APIs, cloud and infrastructure, and checks whether other tools' findings are actually exploitable.
Best fit: Enterprises that want an AI layer validating findings across their existing tools.
Proprietary · Not published: demo or meeting · Sources: runsybil.com
Attack surface management, DAST and AI pentesting across APIs, web apps and external assets, including GraphQL.
Best fit: API-heavy teams that want continuous, DAST-style coverage inside engineering workflows.
Proprietary · Not published: scoped by quote; also on AWS Marketplace · Sources: escape.tech/pricing
Autonomous pentesting of internal and external networks, cloud, Kubernetes, Active Directory and web apps; exploits to show attack paths and re-tests fixes.
Best fit: Internal network, identity and cloud attack paths rather than one web app.
Proprietary · Not published: demo · Sources: horizon3.ai
Automated security validation across internal networks, external assets, cloud, web apps and APIs; runs complete attack kill chains, built to run in production.
Best fit: Enterprise infrastructure validation programs across many environments.
Proprietary · Not published: talk to sales or book a demo · Sources: pentera.io
It depends on what you need XBOW for. For autonomous web app pentesting you can try without a sales process, the open-source agents (Xalgorix, Strix, Shannon) are the closest fit. For infrastructure and identity attack paths, NodeZero and Pentera cover ground XBOW isn't built around. We make Xalgorix, so weigh our view accordingly; every fact here links to its source.
Yes. Xalgorix and Strix are Apache-2.0, Shannon's open-source edition is AGPL-3.0, and PentestGPT is MIT. Xalgorix, Strix and Shannon also sell hosted versions; PentestGPT lists none.
Xalgorix (10 credits for $10; plans from $49 a month), Strix Cloud ($29 per seat a month, plus a per-test pentest fee it doesn't list) and Keygraph Pro for Shannon ($50 per active developer a month). XBOW, RunSybil, Escape, NodeZero and Pentera sell through demos or quotes, as checked on 13 November 2026.
Not entirely. Autonomous tools are good at breadth, speed and re-testing, and the ones listed here exploit findings rather than only flag them. Business-logic flaws, novel attack chains and scope judgement still benefit from an experienced human, and some audits or customers expect a human-led test.
More side-by-side detail on the open-source tools: open-source AI pentesters compared →
10 credits for $10, no subscription, and credits never expire. Or self-host the open-source engine for free.
