<!-- https://penthera.org/docs/compare/snyk.md: a copy of https://github.com/danoszz/penthera/blob/main/docs/compare/snyk.md, built from Penthera 1.9.0. -->

# Penthera and Snyk

> **Pro.** For "how does Penthera compare to Snyk, and how do I run both?"

*Last checked: 2026-10-19 against Snyk's public docs, pricing page and GitHub.*

## Use them together

[Snyk](https://snyk.io) is a developer security platform built around a curated
vulnerability database: it tells you which of your dependencies, containers and
infrastructure files have known issues, across many languages, and opens fix
pull requests. Penthera asks different questions: what can a package do (not
only which CVEs it has), how does the running app behave, and what is in your
AI tooling config. It does this offline and without an account.

A reasonable setup: Snyk for known-vulnerability coverage across your stack.
Penthera for the behavior diff on lockfile changes, the scan of your preview
URL before a deploy, and the agent-config audit.

## Side by side

| | Penthera | Snyk |
|---|---|---|
| Dependencies | What each npm and Python package can do (install scripts, shell, network, env, obfuscation), what an upgrade added, typosquats, licenses | Known vulnerabilities and licenses across 13+ package ecosystems ([supported languages](https://docs.snyk.io/supported-languages/supported-languages-package-managers-and-frameworks)) |
| Your code | Route discovery, trust boundaries and secrets for JS/TS frameworks | Snyk Code static analysis in 16 languages ([supported languages](https://docs.snyk.io/supported-languages/supported-languages-package-managers-and-frameworks)) |
| Running app | URL scan (headers, TLS, CORS, auth, JWT, IDOR, OAuth, OpenAPI; opt-in injection and fuzzing) | Snyk API & Web, a DAST product on Enterprise plans ([plans](https://snyk.io/plans/)) |
| Containers, IaC | No | Yes ([CLI](https://docs.snyk.io/developer-tools/snyk-cli)) |
| AI tooling | `penthera agents`: skills, MCP servers, hooks, permissions, plugins, rule files, checked locally | Snyk Agent Scan: MCP servers and skills, sends component metadata to Snyk's API and needs a token ([agent-scan](https://github.com/snyk/agent-scan)) |
| Account | None | Required for the CLI ([authenticate](https://docs.snyk.io/developer-tools/snyk-cli/authenticate-to-use-the-cli)) |
| Fixes | Deterministic recipes as local diffs, re-scanned to verify; never pushes | Fix pull requests through SCM integrations ([fix PRs](https://docs.snyk.io/scan-with-snyk/pull-requests/snyk-fix-pull-or-merge-requests)) |
| Editor | Through your coding agent (Agent Skill) | Plugins for VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Eclipse ([IDE](https://docs.snyk.io/developer-tools/snyk-ide-plugins-and-extensions)) |
| License | MIT | CLI is Apache-2.0 ([repo](https://github.com/snyk/cli)); the platform is commercial |
| Cost | Free | Free plan with 5 projects and 100 Snyk Code tests a month; Team from $25 a month ([plans](https://snyk.io/plans/)) |

## Where Snyk goes further

- **Curated vulnerability data** across many languages, with advisories written
  and maintained by a research team. Penthera does not track CVEs for your
  dependencies beyond the vendored Retire.js database for front-end scripts.
- **Breadth**: containers, infrastructure as code, many more languages.
- **Reachability analysis** to cut a CVE list down to what you call.
- **Organization features**: dashboards, policies across many repos, reporting.

## Where Penthera adds something

- **Behavior, not only known issues.** A new install script or a package that
  suddenly reads your whole environment shows up even when no CVE exists yet.
- **The running app**, free, on localhost.
- **Fully local.** No account and no vendor API. Nothing about your code leaves
  the machine, and `--offline` limits traffic to the scan target. The AI-tooling
  audit is local too.
- **EU evidence**: NIS2 readiness, CRA report drafts, SBOM and AI-BOM, and a
  signable evidence bundle.

## Run both

```bash
snyk test                               # known vulnerabilities in dependencies
npx penthera deps --base origin/main    # what the new packages can do
npx penthera http://localhost:3000 --repo .
```

Both write SARIF, so both can upload to GitHub code scanning.

[All comparisons](https://penthera.org/docs/compare/README.md) · [Back to the README](https://penthera.org/README.md)