42Crunch
42Crunch is an API security platform that provides automated tools to help you identify vulnerabilities, enforce security policies, and protect your applications from data breaches and cyber attacks.
Akto
Akto is an open-source API security platform that helps you discover all your APIs, detect sensitive data exposure, and find vulnerabilities in your CI/CD pipeline before hackers do.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | 42Crunch | Akto |
|---|---|---|
| Website | 42crunch.com | akto.io |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 0 days free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2017 | 2021 |
| Headquarters | London, UK | Bengaluru, India |
Overview
42Crunch
42Crunch provides a unified platform to help you secure your entire API lifecycle from design to runtime. You can automatically audit your OpenAPI definitions to find security gaps before writing a single line of code. By integrating security directly into your development workflow, you ensure that every API you deploy is hardened against common threats like broken object-level authorization and data injections.
The platform enables you to enforce consistent security policies across your entire API inventory using a micro-API firewall. You can monitor traffic in real-time and block malicious requests without manual intervention. It is designed for security and development teams in regulated industries who need to scale their API security without slowing down their release cycles.
Akto
Akto is a specialized API security platform designed to help you secure your entire API ecosystem. You can automatically discover every API endpoint in your network, including hidden or 'shadow' APIs that often go undocumented. The platform continuously monitors your traffic to identify where sensitive data like PII or financial info is being exposed, giving you a clear map of your security posture.
You can integrate security testing directly into your development workflow by running over 100 built-in security tests against your APIs. This allows you to catch broken object-level authorization (BOLA) and other common vulnerabilities before they reach production. Whether you are a security engineer or a developer, you can use Akto to automate the tedious parts of API auditing and maintain a robust defense against modern web threats.
Overview
42Crunch Features
- API Security Audit Scan your OpenAPI specifications instantly to receive a security score and actionable fix headers for identified vulnerabilities.
- Conformity Testing Verify that your live API implementation matches your security contract to prevent data leakage and unauthorized access.
- Micro-API Firewall Deploy a lightweight firewall that stays with your API to block attacks and enforce strict schema validation.
- IDE Extensions Fix security issues while you code with native extensions for VS Code and IntelliJ that provide real-time feedback.
- CI/CD Integration Automate your security gates within Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab to ensure only secure APIs reach production.
- Discovery and Inventory Find and catalog all your APIs across your infrastructure to eliminate shadow APIs and unmanaged endpoints.
Akto Features
- Automated API Discovery. Inventory all your APIs automatically by analyzing network traffic to find shadow APIs and undocumented endpoints instantly.
- Sensitive Data Tracking. Identify exactly where sensitive data like passwords or credit card numbers are leaking across your API requests and responses.
- BOLA Detection. Run automated tests to find Broken Object Level Authorization flaws, the most critical risk in modern API security today.
- CI/CD Integration. Trigger automated security scans within your GitHub or GitLab pipelines to stop vulnerable code from ever being deployed.
- API Traffic Mirroring. Analyze real-world traffic patterns without impacting your application performance using seamless mirroring from AWS, Azure, or GCP.
- Custom Test Editor. Create your own security tests using a simple YAML-based editor to address unique business logic vulnerabilities in your apps.
Pricing Comparison
42Crunch Pricing
- Static API Security Audit
- IDE Extensions access
- OpenAPI (Swagger) support
- Basic security scoring
- Individual user access
- Everything in Community, plus:
- Dynamic API Scan
- API Firewall protection
- CI/CD pipeline integration
- Centralized security governance
- Role-based access control
Akto Pricing
- Up to 50 endpoints
- Automated API discovery
- Basic security tests
- Community support
- Local deployment option
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited endpoints
- Advanced sensitive data detection
- CI/CD pipeline integration
- Slack and Jira alerts
- Priority email support
Pros & Cons
42Crunch
Pros
- Excellent integration with popular developer IDEs
- Detailed scoring provides clear paths for remediation
- Automates complex security testing in CI/CD
- Lightweight firewall has minimal impact on performance
Cons
- Steep learning curve for complex API schemas
- Requires high-quality OpenAPI documentation to work
- Enterprise pricing requires a custom sales quote
Akto
Pros
- Fast setup with immediate visibility into shadow APIs
- Comprehensive library of pre-built security test cases
- Open-source core allows for deep customization
- Strong focus on the OWASP API Top 10
- Easy integration with existing DevOps workflows
Cons
- Initial traffic mirroring setup can be technical
- Pro tier pricing is a significant jump
- Learning curve for writing custom YAML tests