Top 10 API Security Tools in 2024

API Security tools protect APIs by monitoring, detecting, and preventing threats in real time, ensuring that sensitive data is kept secure and unauthorized access is prevented. This blog explores some of the top API security companies or vendors and their features to help application security engineers choose the best API protection tools for their unique organization needs.

Let’s get started!

What are API Security Tools?

API security tools are essential for protecting APIs from various threats and vulnerabilities. As APIs become increasingly integral to software development and data exchange, the importance of robust security measures cannot be overstated.

API Protection tools provide crucial features such as authentication, encryption, and access control to safeguard sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access. Moreover, they offer real-time monitoring and threat detection capabilities, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential security breaches.

Why are API Security Tools Important?

API security tools are important for several reasons, particularly as APIs become integral to digital transformation. Here are the key reasons why API Protection tools are important:

Growing Attack Surface

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting APIs due to their role in connecting services and transferring sensitive data. A compromised API can lead to significant data breaches, exposing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and other sensitive information.

Complexity of Security Needs

Traditional security measures often fall short when it comes to APIs. They require specialized security frameworks that address unique vulnerabilities, such as insecure authentication and insufficient access controls. API security tools help implement these advanced security measures effectively.

Real-Time Threat Detection

Many API security tools leverage AI and machine learning to analyze traffic patterns and detect anomalies in real-time. This capability allows organizations to respond swiftly to potential threats, minimizing the impact of any security breaches.

Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Organizations must comply with various regulations regarding data protection. API security tools facilitate compliance by ensuring that APIs adhere to necessary security standards, thereby protecting both the organization and its customers.

Secure Development Practices

API security tools integrate into the development lifecycle, allowing for early detection of vulnerabilities during the development phase. This proactive approach helps prevent developers from deploying security flaws into production environments.

Mitigation of Logic Flaws

Many breaches occur due to logic flaws within APIs rather than traditional vulnerabilities like SQL injection or XSS attacks. Specialized tools can identify these logic vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

Key Criteria for Evaluating API Security Tool

When selecting API Security Tools, API security companies or API Security Vendors, application security engineers focus on several critical factors. They seek API Security tools with robust security measures, including authentication, encryption, and compliance with standards like GDPR.

Application Security engineers ensure the solution provides real-time threat detection and prevention, along with effective incident response capabilities. They check customer reviews and case studies to gauge effectiveness and consider the organization's industry reputation and awards.

Application Security engineers prefer API Security tools that integrate seamlessly with existing systems and support various environments, such as cloud, hybrid, and on-premises. They ensure the solution scales with increasing traffic and maintains performance under high loads.

Responsive and knowledgeable customer support is crucial, and security engineers look for cost-effective solutions with transparent pricing. Additionally, they favor API Protection tools that offer customization for specific needs, detailed reporting and analytics, and utilize AI/ML for enhanced threat detection.

Top 10 API Security Tools

1. Akto

2. F5

3. Cloudflare

4. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

5. Wallarm

6. SALT Security

7. Imperva Security

8. IBM API Connect

9. StackHawk

10. Cequence

In the rapidly evolving landscape of API security, several API Security Companies or API Security Vendors stand out for their innovative solutions and comprehensive protection. Let's explore the 10 best API security vendors:

1. Akto

Akto is a security platform focused on API security. It helps organizations protect their APIs by continuously scanning for vulnerabilities, identifying misconfigurations, and providing actionable insights to improve the security posture of their API ecosystem. Akto integrates seamlessly into the CI/CD pipeline, allowing for real-time monitoring and quick remediation of potential threats.

Key Features

• Discovers all APIs within the organization’s system without manual intervention.

• Performs more than 400 pre-built security checks to uncover any vulnerabilities present.

• Provides ongoing monitoring and management of the API security status.

• Guarantees strong security for authentication and authorization.

• Easily integrates with CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous testing.

Pricing

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Akto offers flexible pricing plans to accommodate various organizational needs:

• Free Plan: This plan is perfect for individuals or small teams looking to experiment with Akto's features or conduct light API security testing. It provides support for up to 25 API endpoints per month and allows 12,500 tests monthly. With limited scalability, this plan suits early-stage developers or organizations exploring API security without significant costs.

• Professional Plan: Targeted at growing businesses with moderate API security needs, this plan costs $490 per month. It accommodates up to 100 API endpoints and allows up to 200,000 tests per month. This tier includes features that help automate API security processes for mid-sized teams, offering a balance between affordability and functionality.

• Enterprise Plan: Designed for large-scale enterprises with complex and critical API security demands, this plan offers advanced customization options, enhanced scalability, and premium features. Although security engineers can request pricing for this plan, the plan is tailored to organizations that require extensive API testing capabilities and robust support.

2. F5

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F5 is a leading multi-cloud application services and security company, offering advanced solutions to protect APIs and web applications. It is renowned for its suite of security offerings, particularly for safeguarding applications from Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, bot traffic, and other web-based threats. F5 helps organizations ensure the performance, availability, and security of their applications in an increasingly distributed environment.

Key Features

• F5 offers comprehensive DDoS protection that effectively mitigates large-scale attacks targeting APIs and web applications.

• Enhances API performance and security with traffic management and load balancing capabilities.

• F5 Advanced WAF provides API security, protecting against common API vulnerabilities like injection attacks and unauthorized access.

• AI-driven threat intelligence proactively detects and mitigates emerging cyber threats, ensuring continuous application protection.

Pricing

F5 offers a variety of application delivery and security solutions with pricing structures tailored to different deployment models and organizational needs:

1. Licensing Options

• Perpetual Licensing: F5 provides "Good, Better, Best" product bundles under perpetual licenses, allowing organizations to select services that align with their requirements. These bundles can result in savings of up to 65% compared to purchasing individual modules.

• Subscription Licensing: For greater flexibility, F5 offers subscription-based licensing for their BIG-IP Virtual Editions (VE), available in 1-, 2-, or 3-year terms. This model includes maintenance, support, and self-licensing options, enabling organizations to scale services as needed.

2. Distributed Cloud Services

F5's Distributed Cloud Services are SaaS-based solutions that offer security, networking, and application management across various environments. Pricing for these services depends on specific use cases and subscription plans. For example, F5 bills rate limiting at $0.05 per 10,000 requests.

3. Additional Considerations

F5's pricing structures can be complex, with additional costs for specific add-ons or advanced features. Organizations should conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the chosen solutions align with their budget and operational needs.

For the most accurate and tailored pricing information, security engineers must contact F5 directly or consult with authorized F5 resellers.

3. Cloudflare

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Cloudflare provides a robust API security platform that helps organizations protect their APIs from abuse and threats, ensuring smooth and secure API operations. With its integrated Web Application Firewall (WAF), DDoS protection, and bot management capabilities, Cloudflare's API Shield enables monitoring and blocking of malicious API traffic in real-time. It provides comprehensive security measures, from OAuth authentication to mTLS (Mutual TLS) encryption, ensuring that only authorized users and devices can access APIs.

Key Features

• Rate limiting to prevent abuse by setting strict thresholds for API usage.

• DDoS protection for APIs to safeguard against volumetric attacks.

• Organizations achieve compliance with industry standards such as PCI DSS and GDPR, which provide enhanced data protection and regulatory compliance.

• Machine learning-based detection to block API misuse and attacks such as injection and data exposure.

Pricing

Cloudflare offers a range of plans tailored to different needs, each with specific features and pricing structures:

• Free Plan: This entry-level option provides essential services such as SSL, CDN, and DDoS protection, making it suitable for personal websites or blogs.

• Pro Plan: Designed for professional websites and startups, the Pro Plan includes advanced security features and performance enhancements. As of January 15, 2023, Cloudflare sets the price of the Pro Plan at $25 per month. Cloudflare also offers an annual option for $240 per year, effectively reducing the monthly cost to $20.

• Business Plan: Aimed at small e-commerce sites and organizations requiring advanced security and performance, the Business Plan offers additional features and support. The monthly cost is $250, with an annual payment option of $2,400, equating to $200 per month.

• Enterprise Plan: Tailored for large organizations with specific needs, the Enterprise Plan provides customizable solutions. Pricing is available upon request, allowing for flexibility based on the organization's requirements.

Akto’s Recommendation

Akto offers real-time monitoring and threat detection, allowing organizations to quickly identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities. Similar to Cloudflare’s API Shield, Akto monitors traffic patterns for anomalies but focuses exclusively on API-specific threats, ensuring precise and actionable insights.

4. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

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The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) developed ZAP as an open-source web security testing tool. The community maintains it to ensure it stays up-to-date and effective against the latest threats. ZAP primarily offers penetration testing through automation.

Key Features

• Tests web applications and APIs against several vulnerabilities outlined in the OWASP Top 10, and is free and open-source.

• Integrates easily with various other platforms.

• Supports Java and other languages, such as JRuby and Javascript.

Pricing

OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) freely provides access for use without any associated licensing fees. Users can download and utilize ZAP's full features at no cost, making it an accessible option for both individuals and organizations aiming to enhance their web application security.

5. Wallarm

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Wallarm serves as a comprehensive API security platform specifically designed for modern API-first organizations. The tool delivers real-time API discovery and comprehensive threat prevention across the entire portfolio, whether in multi-cloud or cloud-native environments.

Key Features

• Offers a full suite of API security tools with seamless integration into other platforms.

• Provides analytics and dashboards for test reports.

• Integrates easily with any CI/CD workflow, enabling automatic execution of dynamic test cases.

Pricing

Wallarm offers a range of subscription plans tailored to different security needs:

• WAAP and Advanced API Security This plan provides comprehensive protection for web applications and APIs against common threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and brute force attacks. It supports all API protocols and addresses specific API threats, including those outlined in the OWASP API Top 10. Features include real-time protection, DDoS mitigation, IP reputation feeds, virtual patching, and automated protection against Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA).

• API Attack Surface Management (AASM) Designed to provide a comprehensive view of publicly exposed APIs, this agentless solution discovers external hosts and their APIs, identifies missing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), and detects credential leaks. The number of external hosts determines the pricing, with the Core plan starting at $325 per month for 25 hosts. An Enterprise plan is available for larger requirements, offering extended support and additional services.

• Security Edge This plan enables users to deploy the Wallarm node in a managed environment., eliminating the need for onsite installation and management. Wallarm handles node hosting and maintenance, providing robust traffic filtering, attack detection, and secure communication.

• Free Tier Ideal for smaller organizations and educational purposes, the Free Tier account allows processing up to 500,000 requests per month with no time limitation. It provides access to the Wallarm platform's Advanced API Security features, excluding certain functionalities like Security Edge Inline and Connectors, exposed assets scanner, vulnerability assessment, and API Abuse Prevention. Users can create a Free Tier account on either the US or EU Wallarm Cloud.

6. SALT Security

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SALT Security is a well-known API security company that uses AI to provide Continuous Delivery (CD) and real-time protection for the APIs against harmful cyber attackers. This approach offers better insights into the organization’s API security throughout its lifecycle.

Key Features

• Uses artificial intelligence to detect and respond to suspicious behavior quickly.

• Provides deeper insights into API usage and any gaps.

• Employs sophisticated pattern recognition to prevent business logic abuse.

• Delivers continuous discovery and assessment of API risks.

Pricing

Salt Security does not publicly disclose specific pricing information for its API Protection Platform. Pricing details typically tailor to the unique requirements of each organization, considering factors such as the number of APIs, deployment scale, and specific security needs.

To obtain accurate and customized pricing information, they recommend contacting Salt Security directly through their official channels. Engaging with their sales team will allow security engineers to receive a quote that aligns with the organization's specific API security requirements.

7. Imperva Security

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Imperva stands out among the API security solutions available on the market. The platform provides a range of features and comprehensive protection for APIs, including DDoS protection, bot mitigation, and API web traffic analysis.

Key Features

• Delivers advanced bot security to protect against automated cyber-attacks.

• Conducts in-depth API web traffic analysis to identify and prevent various security threats.

• Ensures robust DDoS protection to maintain API availability during high-traffic periods.

Pricing

Imperva does not publicly disclose specific pricing details for its products and services. Pricing structures can vary based on factors such as the specific solutions required, deployment scale, and organizational needs. To obtain accurate and tailored pricing information, it's recommended to contact Imperva directly.

Akto’s Recommendation

Akto automatically identifies and safeguards sensitive data types, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like Social Security Numbers, credit card information, and email addresses. This functionality is similar to Imperva’s data protection capabilities, but Akto provides deeper insights tailored for API-driven environments, ensuring comprehensive compliance with data protection standards.

8. IBM API Connect

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IBM's API Connect is a comprehensive API management and security platform. The tool provides a comprehensive API gateway, a robust developer portal, and analytics while focusing on security. Additionally, IBM's extensive history in enterprise solutions makes this tool a preferred choice for organizations.

Key Features

• Delivers a comprehensive API management platform with built-in security features.

• Provides analytics to monitor API traffic and identify potential threats.

• Supports OAuth for secure authentication and authorization.

Pricing

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IBM API Connect offers flexible pricing plans to accommodate various organizational needs, available as both on-premises software and Software as a Service (SaaS) hosts on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The primary SaaS plans include Standard, Premium, and Reserved Instance, each designed to cater to different requirements.

• Standard Plan: This multi-tenant offering hosts on AWS and is ideal for organizations seeking a cost-effective solution. Pricing starts at approximately USD 83 per month, billed annually, and includes up to 100,000 API calls per year. This plan provides essential API management features suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises.

• Premium Plan: Also hosts on AWS, the Premium Plan offers a single-tenant gateway with advanced capabilities, making it suitable for larger organizations with higher security and performance demands. Pricing begins at around USD 2,280 per month, billed annually, and supports a higher volume of API calls.

• Reserved Instance Plan: For enterprises requiring greater isolation and availability, the Reserved Instance Plan provides a single-tenant service hosted on IBM Cloud. Pricing starts at approximately USD 6,504 per month, billed annually. IBM tailors this plan for organizations with stringent compliance and performance requirements.

• Limited-Time Promotion: Purchase the SaaS Standard Plan subscription now through December 31, 2024, and receive a 40% discount. This promotion applies to new subscriptions and excludes renewals.

For organizations preferring on-premises deployment, IBM provides a software option with pricing available upon request. This option allows deployment across on-premises, hybrid cloud, or multi-cloud environments, offering flexibility to meet diverse infrastructure needs.

To estimate costs based on specific requirements, IBM offers a Price Estimator Tool on their official pricing page. This tool helps organizations calculate expenses by selecting the desired offering, private data connectivity options, and estimated annual API call volume.

9. StackHawk

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StackHawk is a trusted API security tool that lets security teams find, fix, and prevent various security vulnerabilities in the APIs with ease. The tool's key highlight is its easy integration into the development pipeline, making it an excellent option for DevOps teams.

Key Features

• Empower developers to identify and address urgent security concerns during the development lifecycle.

• Supports a wide variety of programming languages and frameworks.

• Integrates easily into Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) workflows to detect and resolve issues.

Pricing

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StackHawk offers a range of pricing plans tailored to accommodate various team sizes and requirements:

• Pro Plan: Priced at $42 per code contributor per month, with a minimum of five contributors, this plan provides enhanced features suitable for teams aiming to integrate security testing seamlessly into their development processes.

• Enterprise Plan: At $59 per code contributor per month, requiring at least 20 contributors, this plan offers advanced capabilities designed for larger organizations with more complex security needs.

For organizations with over 50 developers, StackHawk provides custom plans with volume discounts. All plans include unlimited scans, comprehensive API support, and integration with existing development tools to ensure thorough security coverage.

Akto’s Recommendation

Akto integrates seamlessly into CI/CD workflows, enabling automated API security testing during development. This capability ensures that teams address vulnerabilities early in the software lifecycle, similar to StackHawk’s CI/CD-focused approach. However, Akto’s tests are specifically designed for API-specific vulnerabilities, making it a powerful choice for API-first organizations.

10. Cequence

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Cequence ****Security offers a unified API security platform that provides protection across the entire API lifecycle. It specializes in detecting and mitigating API threats such as data leaks, API abuse, and automated attacks. Cequence focuses on both API visibility and protection, ensuring organizations have a clear view of their API ecosystem and the API Security tools necessary to defend against complex threats.

Key Features

• Provides full visibility into known and unknown (shadow) APIs to detect and mitigate risks.

• Offers API threat protection by analyzing real-time traffic and blocking suspicious activities.

• Helps maintain security policies in line with compliance requirements like PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA.

Pricing

Cequence Security does not publicly disclose specific pricing information for its Unified API Protection platform. The cost of its solutions can vary based on factors such as the size of the organization, the number of APIs, and specific security requirements. To obtain detailed pricing tailored to organizational needs, it's recommended to contact Cequence Security directly through its official website.

Akto’s Recommendation

One of Akto’s standout features is its ability to discover all APIs within an organization, including shadow and zombie APIs, without requiring manual intervention. Akto’s real-time alerts on new or changed APIs give it an edge in proactive API management.

Final Thoughts

Application security engineers must invest in robust API security solutions to safeguard digital assets and maintain application integrity. The rise in API usage has expanded the attack surface, making it imperative to adopt comprehensive security measures. By leveraging advanced API Protection tools from leading API security companies, organizations can effectively detect and mitigate threats, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and seamless operation of the services.

Among the top API security solutions, Akto stands out in its extensive capabilities. Akto offers over 100 built-in tests and seamless integration with platforms like AWS . It excels in API discovery, automated testing, and identifying critical vulnerabilities. Akto's user-friendly interface and strong security measures make it an excellent choice for organizations looking to enhance their API security and stay ahead of potential threats.

To explore Akto further, book a demo today.

Related Links

• API Security

• API Security Testing

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