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.
Salt Security
Salt Security is an API protection platform that uses cloud-scale big data and artificial intelligence to identify, prevent, and remediate cyberattacks targeting your critical application programming interfaces.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Akto | Salt Security |
|---|---|---|
| Website | akto.io | salt.security |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Custom |
| Starting Price | Free | Custom Pricing |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2021 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, India | Palo Alto, USA |
Overview
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.
Salt Security
Salt Security helps you protect the APIs that power your modern applications and data sharing. You can gain complete visibility into all your APIs, including hidden or 'shadow' ones that often go unmonitored. The platform continuously analyzes your API traffic to establish a baseline of normal behavior, allowing it to pinpoint malicious activity that traditional security tools might miss.
You can stop attackers during the reconnaissance phase before they can breach your systems. The platform also provides your development teams with actionable insights to fix vulnerabilities at their source. By integrating with your existing workflows, you can ensure your digital services remain secure without slowing down your release cycles or manual configuration overhead.
Overview
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.
Salt Security Features
- Continuous API Discovery. Automatically find and inventory every API in your environment so you can eliminate blind spots and shadow APIs.
- Adaptive Intelligence. Use big data and AI to learn your unique API traffic patterns and detect subtle behavioral anomalies.
- Attack Prevention. Identify and block attackers during their initial probing phase to prevent data breaches and account takeovers.
- Vulnerability Remediation. Turn captured attack data into clear insights for your developers so they can patch security gaps quickly.
- Posture Management. Scan your API definitions and live traffic to ensure your configurations meet security best practices and compliance.
- Threat Hunting. Search through historical API traffic data to investigate incidents and understand the full context of any security event.
Pricing Comparison
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
Salt Security Pricing
Pros & Cons
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
Salt Security
Pros
- Excellent visibility into undocumented and shadow APIs
- Low false-positive rate for behavioral threat detection
- Easy integration with existing API gateways and proxies
- Provides actionable remediation data for development teams
Cons
- Requires significant traffic volume for AI baseline accuracy
- Initial setup may require coordination across multiple teams
- Premium enterprise pricing requires a significant budget