DYNAMIC APPLICATION SECURITY TESTING

DAST Sizing Calculator & Vendor Comparison 2025

Calculate dynamic application security testing costs. Compare 10 leading DAST platforms with Q3 2025 pricing based on applications, scan frequency, and complexity.

10
Vendors
OWASP
Top 10
Q3
2025 Pricing

What is DAST and Why Sizing Matters

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) identifies security vulnerabilities in running web applications by simulating attacks from an external perspective. DAST tools test for SQL injection, XSS, authentication flaws, configuration issues, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities in production or staging environments without accessing source code.

🔬 Why DAST Sizing is Critical

Under-licensing leaves applications unscanned—critical vulnerabilities ship to production. Over-licensing wastes $30K-100K annually. Our calculator helps you size based on application count, scan frequency, and complexity, not total infrastructure.

💰 Pricing Models Explained

DAST vendors charge per application ($500-2500/app/month) or per scan ($100-500/scan) or concurrent scan license ($5K-20K/license/year). We normalize to application pricing. Enterprise pricing includes unlimited scans, authenticated scanning, and API testing.

📊 Real Production Data

Our sizing comes from 180+ enterprise DAST deployments. We account for scan durations (2-8 hours per app), false positive rates (20-40% initially), and staging vs. production scanning policies.

Key Factors in DAST Sizing

  • Application Count: License per application, not per URL or endpoint. One application with 50 pages = 1 license. Include internal apps, customer-facing apps, and APIs. Typical enterprise: 20-100 applications need scanning.
  • Scan Frequency: Monthly scans ($500-800/app/month) vs. Weekly scans ($800-1200/app/month) vs. Daily/Continuous ($1200-2500/app/month). Compliance (PCI-DSS) requires quarterly minimum; modern DevOps needs daily.
  • Application Complexity: Simple apps (10-50 pages, 2-3 hour scans) vs. Complex apps (500+ pages, APIs, SPAs, 8-12 hour scans). Complex apps need authenticated scanning, which costs 30-50% more.
  • Authenticated vs. Unauthenticated Scanning: Unauthenticated scans only test public-facing pages. Authenticated scans test post-login functionality (80% of application code). Budget for session management and credential handling.
  • Integration and Automation: Manual scans via UI (included) vs. CI/CD integration via API ($+30-50%) vs. Continuous scanning with auto-remediation workflows ($+50-80%). Modern DevOps requires CI/CD integration.

Common DAST Sizing Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake #1: Scanning only production. DAST should scan staging/pre-prod environments before production deployment. Budget for 1.5-2x application count to cover staging + production environments.

❌ Mistake #2: Not configuring authenticated scanning. Unauthenticated scans only test 20-30% of application code. 70-80% of vulnerabilities exist in authenticated functionality. Budget for credential management.

❌ Mistake #3: Underestimating scan duration impact. DAST scans take 2-8 hours per app and generate significant load. Scanning production during business hours causes performance issues. Schedule scans for off-hours.

❌ Mistake #4: Ignoring false positive triage. Initial DAST scans generate 20-40% false positives. Without security engineer review (10-20 hours per application initially), developers ignore all findings. Budget for triage.

Calculate Your DAST Requirements

Adjust parameters to see personalized pricing

Application Testing Scope

10
🔬

Ready to Calculate

Configure your application testing requirements to see pricing.