TL;DR
Choose Aikido if: you want one platform that covers SAST, SCA, container scanning, cloud posture, pentesting, and runtime protection — and the $350/mo platform fee fits your budget.
Choose vul.ninja if: cloud security is your primary concern, you don't need a full AppSec suite, and you'd rather pay $49/mo for focused cloud coverage with an AI investigation agent built in.
Aikido is good software. If you genuinely use all the modules, the bundle is reasonable. Most teams at our size don't.
The quick verdict
Aikido is better when…
- →You want code + cloud + runtime from one vendor
- →You'll actually use SAST, SCA, container, and cloud modules
- →$350–$1,050/mo platform fees fit your budget
- →Your priority is consolidation over best-of-breed
- →You want pentesting and runtime protection in the bundle
vul.ninja is better when…
- →Cloud posture is your actual problem, not code scanning
- →You already use Dependabot / GitHub for dependencies
- →You want to start at $49/mo, not $350/mo
- →An AI agent that investigates findings matters to you
- →You'd rather buy focused tools than a bundle you'll underuse
Side-by-side
| Feature | vul.ninja | Aikido |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (paid) | $49/mo | $350/mo (Basic, 10 users) |
| Pricing model | Per environment, flat | Platform fee + per-user |
| Free tier | ✓ Generous | ✓ Developer plan |
| Cloud posture (CSPM) | ✓ Core focus | ✓ One module |
| Cloud vulnerability scanning | ✓ Core focus | ✓ Included |
| Compliance gap analysis (SOC2, ISO) | ✓ Core focus | ✓ Included |
| AI investigation agent | ✓ Core feature | AI triage & autofix |
| SAST (code scanning) | Not the focus | ✓ Included |
| SCA (dependency scanning) | Not the focus | ✓ Included |
| Continuous pentesting | No | ✓ Included |
| Runtime protection / in-app firewall | No | ✓ Included |
| Focused vs all-in-one | Focused on cloud | All-in-one bundle |
| MCP server for AI coding agents | ✓ First in market — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf | No |
| Best fit company size | 1–150 employees | 10–500 employees |
Starting price at a glance
Basic plan (10 users). Platform fee applies whether you use one module or all of them.
Two scenarios
A 10-person SaaS chasing SOC2vul.ninja
Situation: Already using GitHub Dependabot and code review for dependency and SAST coverage. What they actually need: cloud posture, IAM hygiene, compliance evidence for their AWS account.
Why vul.ninja: $49/mo gets them the cloud coverage they're actually missing. Paying $350/mo for Aikido to use 30% of the modules is a bad deal. The AI investigation agent does the triage work a small team doesn't have time for.
A 40-person dev-heavy product companyAikido
Situation: 20 engineers shipping multiple services, custom code is the biggest attack surface, they've been stitching together 4 different tools (Dependabot, Semgrep, Trivy, homemade cloud scripts).
Why Aikido: Consolidation pays here. One vendor, one bill, one UI for SAST + SCA + container + IaC + cloud. If they'll genuinely use most of the modules, $700–$1,050/mo is fair. vul.ninja only solves one of their five problems.
Where Aikido genuinely wins
We respect what Aikido has built. Honestly:
- —Consolidation done well. SAST + SCA + container + IaC + cloud + pentesting + runtime in one UI is a genuine value prop if you need all of it.
- —Developer-first UX. Like us, they've invested in not making you feel stupid. The dashboard and autofix features are strong.
- —Transparent pricing. Flat monthly fees with no "contact sales" wall is a welcome change from enterprise CNAPPs.
- —Noise reduction. Their AI triage cuts false positives well — a real problem in this space.
If you need the whole AppSec toolkit in one place, Aikido is a defensible choice. We just do a different job.
Thinking about switching from Aikido?
The most common reason we hear: "We signed up for Aikido because we needed cloud posture for SOC2. We're paying $350/mo and using the cloud module and basically nothing else."
If that's you, the math is simple:
- Connect your cloud accounts to vul.ninja (read-only, minutes)
- Check our cloud findings cover what you need for SOC2 and day-to-day
- If yes, pocket $300+/mo. If no, stay on Aikido.
- Keep Dependabot / GitHub for dependency scanning — it's free and good enough for most teams
We're not trying to win the full AppSec bundle fight. We're just the better pick if cloud is what you actually need.
Not sure which is right?
Get a free AI-generated security assessment of your cloud in about 2 minutes. No call, no card, no commitment. If you really need the full Aikido bundle, we'll tell you that.
See other comparisons
vul.ninja vs Wiz
Enterprise-grade CNAPP at enterprise-grade prices. Right tool, wrong budget for most startups.
vul.ninja vs Orca Security
Pioneer of agentless cloud security, sold through annual enterprise contracts with a reseller required.
vul.ninja vs Snyk
The category leader in developer code security. Solves a different problem than cloud posture.
Aikido is a trademark of Aikido Security. This page reflects our independent analysis based on publicly available information. We are not affiliated with Aikido.