middleBrick vs Detectify

middleBrick is a black-box API security scanner that submits requests to a reachable endpoint and analyzes responses. It does not require agents, SDKs, or access to source code, and supports any language or framework. Scans use read-only methods (GET and HEAD) plus text-only POST for LLM probes, complete in under a minute, and do not modify server state.

Detectify focuses on infrastructure and application security testing, including vulnerability scanning with authenticated checks and configuration review. Its public documentation emphasizes broad protocol and server fingerprinting, SSL/TLS checks, and web application scanning.

For API coverage, middleBrick maps findings to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), covering areas such as authentication bypass, IDOR, privilege escalation, input validation, and SSRF. Detectify provides broad vulnerability detection for web applications and APIs, with published checks for common web classes; specific API coverage depth and mapping to the OWASP API Top 10 are not detailed in public materials.

Both tools perform non-intrusive scanning by design, avoiding destructive payloads. middleBrick explicitly excludes active SQL injection, command injection, blind SSRF, and business logic exploits, noting that these require intrusive testing outside its scope.

Target users differ: middleBrick suits teams needing a focused API scanner with minimal setup, while Detectify targets broader application security programs that include network and infrastructure checks alongside API testing.

middleBrick requires only a URL to start a scan, with no installation or code changes. The CLI is installed via an npm package, and the web dashboard is available after account creation. There are no on-premises agents or sidecars to deploy, and scan results appear in minutes.

Detectify offers both a SaaS platform and an on-premises appliance. Public documentation describes agent-based scanning for continuous monitoring, which requires installation and maintenance of software within the target environment.

Integration footprint for middleBrick is minimal, with a GitHub Action for CI/CD gates, an MCP server for AI-assisted workflows, and a programmatic API for custom tooling. The CLI supports JSON and text output for scripting. Detectify integrates with CI/CD and ticketing systems via agents and API keys, which implies a larger operational footprint.

middleBrick supports authenticated scanning for Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies, with domain verification to ensure credentials are only sent to the intended owner. Only a limited set of headers is forwarded to reduce side effects.

For teams seeking low-friction onboarding, middleBrick lowers setup cost, while Detectify’s on-premises option may appeal to environments with strict data residency requirements, at the cost of additional deployment effort.

middleBrick detects issues across 12 API security categories aligned to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), including authentication weaknesses, IDOR, privilege escalation, over-exposed properties, CORS misconfigurations, rate limiting, data exposure patterns, encryption issues, SSRF indicators, inventory problems, unsafe consumption surfaces, and LLM/AI security probes. Each finding includes prioritized remediation guidance.

Detectify reports vulnerabilities mapped to common standards such as OWASP Top 10 for web applications, CWE, and CVE references. Public materials do not specify a dedicated OWASP API Top 10 mapping for its API-related findings.

middleBrick maps findings directly to compliance frameworks including PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023). For other regulations, it supports audit evidence collection and helps prepare documentation, but it does not claim certification or compliance guarantees.

Detectify positions itself as a general vulnerability scanner that can feed evidence into compliance workflows, though it does not publish specific mappings to API-focused standards.

Organizations focused on API-specific risk will find middleBrick’s structured coverage aligned to the OWASP API Top 10 valuable for tracking and reporting, while Detectify serves broader vulnerability management needs.

middleBrick offers a free tier with 3 scans per month and CLI access, a Starter plan at 99 dollars per month for 15 APIs with dashboard, email alerts, and MCP server, a Pro plan at 499 dollars per month for 100 APIs with continuous monitoring, GitHub Action gates, and compliance reports, and an Enterprise plan at 2000 dollars per month for unlimited APIs, custom rules, SSO, and dedicated support. All paid tiers include domain verification for authenticated scans and header allowlists.

Detectify’s public pricing is not detailed on this comparison page. Typical SaaS vulnerability scanners operate on subscription models with per-scanner or per-asset pricing; exact parity with middleBrick tiers cannot be confirmed without current Detectify price lists.

Continuous monitoring in middleBrick Pro includes scheduled rescans at intervals from 6 hours to monthly, diff detection for new and resolved findings, email alerts rate-limited to one per hour per API, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks with auto-disable after 5 consecutive failures.

middleBrick does not claim to fix, patch, or block issues; it reports findings with remediation advice. This keeps the tool in the assessment layer, avoiding overreach into runtime protection.

For teams evaluating total cost of ownership, middleBrick’s transparent per-API pricing and included compliance reporting provide predictable budgeting, whereas Detectify’s model remains to be verified against current public documentation.

middleBrick does not perform active SQL injection or command injection testing, does not detect business logic vulnerabilities, and does not perform blind SSRF testing that requires out-of-band infrastructure. It also does not replace a human pentester for high-stakes audits.

Detectify similarly omits certain intrusive tests in its public documentation, though specific exclusions are not enumerated here. Users should review each tool’s methodology to understand coverage gaps.

Safety measures in middleBrick include read-only methods only, blocking of private IPs, localhost, and cloud metadata endpoints at multiple layers, and strict data handling: scan data is deletable on demand, purged within 30 days of cancellation, never sold, and not used for model training.

For authenticated scans, middleBrick enforces domain verification so that credentials are only accepted when the scanner can prove ownership via DNS TXT record or HTTP well-known file. A limited header allowlist is enforced to prevent unintended side effects.

Organizations should treat both tools as assessment aids and incorporate findings into broader risk management processes, recognizing that no scanner can fully replicate a contextual human review of API security.