What is StackHawk?
StackHawk is a DAST platform built for CI/CD pipelines, designed to let developers run active dynamic application security tests against pre-production environments on every build.
Comparison at a glance
| Aspect | Barrion | StackHawk |
|---|---|---|
| Scan type | Passive (read-only), production-safe | Active DAST, crawl and attack in pre-prod / CI |
| What it finds / Use case | Misconfigurations, TLS/headers, cookies, exposure, drift in production | OWASP-style vulns (XSS, SQLi, auth issues) before release |
| Production | Built for production, no impact on availability | Targets pre-prod / staging in CI, not designed for live traffic |
| Remediation | Step-by-step fixes per finding, PDF/CSV export | Findings with developer guidance, CI failure on policy breach |
| Pricing | Free tier, paid for monitoring and advanced checks | Commercial per-app tiers, contact for plans |
Who Barrion is best for
Engineering teams that want continuous, production-safe monitoring of the live web app and audit-ready evidence without wiring scans into every pipeline.
Who StackHawk is best for
Teams that want shift-left DAST in CI/CD against pre-production environments, with build-time gates and developer-driven remediation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Barrion a replacement for StackHawk?
Not directly. StackHawk is an active DAST built for CI/CD pipelines that crawls and attacks pre-production builds. Barrion is a passive DAST, SAST, and AI pentesting platform focused on continuous production monitoring with step-by-step fixes. If you need pipeline-driven active scanning, StackHawk fits. If you want production-safe ongoing coverage, Barrion fits.
Can I use Barrion and StackHawk together?
Yes. A natural pattern is StackHawk in CI against staging or ephemeral environments for active DAST on every build, with Barrion running continuously in production for passive monitoring and AI pentesting. They cover different stages of the lifecycle.
How is Barrion priced compared to StackHawk?
Barrion has a free tier with core checks plus paid plans for monitoring and advanced features. StackHawk is commercial with per-application tiers, typically starting in the low hundreds per month and moving to enterprise pricing on request. Barrion is usually the simpler entry point for teams that do not need build-time DAST gates.
Does Barrion test in production safely?
Yes. Barrion only runs passive, read-only checks and never sends attack payloads on state-changing routes, so it is safe to run continuously in production. StackHawk uses active scanning and is designed to run against pre-production rather than live traffic.
Summary
Barrion and StackHawk are complementary. Use StackHawk to catch active vulnerabilities in CI before release. Use Barrion for ongoing, passive monitoring of what is actually live in production. Together they cover pre-release testing and runtime assurance.
Explore Barrion further
Try the same checks StackHawk runs against your own site with the free website security scan (no signup), browse our full tool catalog covering TLS, security headers, CSP, cookies, DNS, and email auth, or read per-check explainers in /learn for the background on what each test means and why it matters. If you want a deeper look at how Barrion stacks up across the market, the full Barrion vs competitors comparison walks through the trade-offs in one place, and the pricing page shows what's included in each plan.