OnScanner vs Intruder
Intruder is an external vulnerability scanner that layers its own checks and triage on established scanning engines, with attack surface monitoring. OnScanner runs its own specialist engines in one live pass and extends coverage into privacy and tracker analysis, email authentication, and TLS and WAF posture, prioritized with EPSS and CISA KEV.
Evaluating options? See OnScanner as a Intruder alternative.
TL;DR
Choose OnScanner when you want the broadest coverage per scan, fully automated: live, never-cached scans with safe exploit verification and zero-day heuristics, EPSS and CISA KEV prioritization, deep technology and end-of-life detection, and 40+ privacy and tracker checks with email, TLS and WAF posture. Turn on AI Findings and it writes the executive summary, ranks your Top Risks, chains findings into MITRE ATT&CK attack paths, drafts remediation, and generates SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI-DSS and HIPAA compliance reports. Free tier and a hosted MCP server included.
Intruder is a great choice when you want continuous attack surface monitoring with curated, noise-reduced findings and integrations aimed at lean teams that want a managed feel.
Feature comparison
Verified against public product pages on 2026-07-02. Cells marked "Not listed" mean the capability is not described on the vendor's public docs as of that date, not that it is impossible.
| Capability | OnScanner | Intruder |
|---|---|---|
| External (unauthenticated) scanning | YesThe anonymous attacker's view, no agents | YesExternal vulnerability scanning assesses 'your internet-facing infrastructure for known vulnerabilities that an attacker, who… |
| Authenticated scanning | YesScan behind login with credentials | YesAuthenticated web app scanning behind login pageshentication license/add-on… |
| Privacy, tracker & consent scanning | Yes40+ categories incl. fingerprinting | Not listed*Not listed on public docs as of 2026-07-02 |
| CVE intelligence (EPSS & CISA KEV) | YesCVE/CPE matching with EPSS + KEV context | Yes'Intruder helps you prioritize real threats by blending severity scores with exploit intelligence (EPSS, KEV list) and insights… |
| Active exploit verification | YesSafe, non-destructive, in-band probes | PartialAI pentesting agents 'interact directly with your target, sending requests, analyzing responses, and probing for exposed data to… |
| Patch-status & end-of-life detection | YesVendor/distro patch data + EOL flags | PartialScans detect 'missing patches, misconfigurations, common mistakes, encryption weaknesses, information leakage, unintentionally… |
| Email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) | Yes | Not listed*Not listed on public docs as of 2026-07-02 |
| WAF detection | Yes | YesPlatform flags 'Web application firewall (WAF) detected' on target detail pages, targets can be filtered by firewall… |
| Continuous monitoring | YesScheduled scans + change detection | Yes'24/7 automated scanning for new threats' plus emerging threat scans that 'check your systems within hours of new risks… |
| REST API | Yes | YesPublic REST API (developer hub): manage targets, kick off scans, retrieve issues/results, CI/CD integration |
| MCP server for AI agents | YesHosted: mcp.onscanner.com | YesFirst-party open-source MCP server (github.com/intruder-io/intruder-mcp, announced 2025-05-15) lets AI agents such as Claude add… |
| AI analysis, remediation & compliance reports | YesOpt-in AI Findings + AI Compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA) | PartialGregAI virtual analyst; AI-powered pentests are a separately priced service |
| Transparent self-serve pricing | YesFree tier; Professional $60/mo | PartialFree plan, 14-day trial, and per-target pricing model are public, and AI pentests are listed from $3,500/test, but specific… |
Why teams pick OnScanner
- Enterprise-grade coverage, fully automated: OnScanner's own specialist engines, built in-house, run in parallel on every scan.
- Every scan is live and never cached, with safe active exploitation probes that verify what is actually exploitable and zero-day heuristics that flag unknown vulnerabilities before a CVE exists.
- Deep technology detection with patch-status and end-of-life flags, so you know exactly what is running and what is out of support.
- Exploit-aware prioritization: CVE and CPE matching enriched with EPSS scores and the CISA KEV catalog, so you fix what attackers actually use.
- Opt-in AI Findings: an executive summary, ranked Top Risks, and clear per-finding explanations with remediation your developers can act on.
- Vulnerability chaining: AI Findings links related results into real attack paths mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK kill chain.
- AI Compliance reports on demand: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI-DSS and HIPAA assessments generated from your scan results.
- 40+ privacy, tracker, fingerprinting and consent checks plus email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), TLS and WAF posture in the same pass.
- Continuous monitoring with scheduled scans and 24/7 change detection, plus a REST API and hosted MCP server on every plan, free tier included.
When Intruder fits
- You are a lean team that wants one tool for external and internal vulnerability scanning, authenticated web app testing, and cloud misconfiguration checks across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
- You want emerging threat scans that check your systems when new critical vulnerabilities appear in the wild.
- You want triage help built in: exploit-likelihood filtering that blends EPSS and the CISA KEV catalog, a virtual analyst, compliance integrations (Drata, Vanta, Jira, Slack), and an MCP server.
The difference in one line: OnScanner runs its own engines in one live pass and adds 40+ privacy and tracker checks, zero-day heuristics, and opt-in AI compliance reports, from a free tier.
Pricing
OnScanner is self-serve with a free Starter tier and Professional at $60 per month. Intruder: custom (free tier exists; paid plan figures not displayed on the public pricing page as of 2026-07-02) (Free plan plus paid tiers (Cloud, Pro, Enterprise; fine print also references Essential). Paid pricing is 'a base fee plus a small fee-per-target'; specific subscription prices are not displayed statically and require the interactive calculator or sales contact. Enterprise is quoted separately. AI-powered web application pentests start at $3,500/test. 14-day free trial. Verified 2026-07-02.)
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between OnScanner and Intruder?
Coverage per pass and how findings are produced. OnScanner runs its own specialist engines live against your target and includes privacy, email and WAF posture with EPSS and KEV context. Intruder focuses on external vulnerability scanning and attack surface monitoring with curated results.
Do both offer APIs?
Check the comparison table for what each vendor's public docs list as of the verification date. OnScanner ships a REST API and a hosted MCP server on every plan, so both scripts and AI agents can run scans and fetch structured results.
Can I try both before choosing?
Usually yes; OnScanner has a free Starter tier with no sales call, and most external scanners offer trials. Running both against the same target you own is the fastest way to see which findings you would actually act on.
Sources
Every Intruder fact above was checked against these public pages on 2026-07-02. If something has changed since, tell us at support@onscanner.com and we will correct it.
- Intruder homepage
- Intruder pricing
- External vulnerability scanning (Intruder)
- Risk-based vulnerability management (Intruder)
- Vulnerability management platform (Intruder)
- AI pentesting (Intruder)
- Authenticated web app scanning announcement (Intruder)
- Product updates, July 2024 (Intruder blog)
- Claude and Intruder MCP post (Intruder blog)
- Intruder developer API docs
- Intruder MCP server (GitHub)
See what OnScanner finds on your site
Live, never-cached security and privacy scanning: OWASP Top 10, CVE intelligence with EPSS and KEV, 40+ privacy checks, REST API and MCP server. Free Starter tier, no sales call.