Most "best VAPT" listicles are SEO spam from the same firm pretending to be neutral. This isn't.
We compare Bachao.AI against Astra, CyberNX, Kratikal, SecureLayer7 on speed, cost, depth, and compliance — and tell you which one wins per use case.
This page is for Indian SaaS startups, fintech (sub-Series-B), e-commerce, SMBs, and product companies trying to pick a VAPT firm in 2026. If you're a scheduled commercial bank, an exchange, or a Significant Data Fiduciary requiring an annual CERT-In empanelled manual audit, this comparison isn't your shortlist — you need a manual-firm relationship for that engagement. Bachao.AI can run continuous AI-driven scanning on top, but won't substitute for the annual mandate.
Speed: manual firms quote 4-6 week turnaround per engagement; Bachao.AI runs a full automated scan in under 2 hours, with manual retesting scoped to 7 business days when needed. Cost: manual market uses enterprise-bracket per-engagement fees (Astra, CyberNX, SecureLayer7, Kratikal, Progressive — publicly listed); Bachao.AI is pay-per-use, materially lower TCO. Depth: same OWASP Top 10 + API Top 10 + business-logic + auth-flow + infra CVE coverage; AI-validated findings ensure under 3% false positives. Compliance: every Bachao.AI report ships CERT-In alignment, DPDP Act 2023 Schedule I mapping, and CVSS v3.1 scoring by default — most manual firms charge separately for compliance mapping.
Astra Security: strongest productised UX in the Indian market; annual subscription per target (getastra.com/pricing). Kratikal: deep compliance and audit experience; per-engagement fee (kratikal.com). CyberNX: enterprise relationships and BFSI-heavy track record; per-engagement fee (cybernx.com). SecureLayer7: hybrid manual+automated model; per-engagement fee (securelayer7.net). Bachao.AI: AI-native, continuous scanning, India-first compliance defaults; pay-per-use — materially lower TCO, first scan free.
Seed-stage SaaS / pre-Series-A: optimise for speed-to-customer-questionnaire-satisfaction. Pick a firm that can ship a CERT-In aligned report in days, not weeks, and offers a continuous mode for monthly scans. Series-A/B SaaS: optimise for CI/CD integration and DPDP/SOC 2 readiness. Pick a platform with API + webhook + SBOM. Regulated entities (NBFC, payments, SEBI-registered): pick a CERT-In empanelled manual firm for the annual audit, plus a continuous automated platform on top.
Run a free scan against a target you control. Compare the executive summary to whatever you'd pay an alternative firm to produce. Decide on the strength of the artefact, not the brochure.
There is no single 'best' VAPT company for every business — the right choice depends on your stack, compliance needs (CERT-In, SEBI, RBI, DPDP), budget, and turnaround. Bachao.AI is the fastest and most affordable option for Indian SMBs and startups: an AI-driven scan of 441 security tests with a CERT-In-aligned report in ~24 hours, first scan free. For large enterprises needing deep manual red-teaming, pair automated scanning with a manual pentest firm.
Compare four things on your own target, not on a listicle: (1) actual report quality — ask each firm to scan your app and read the real findings; (2) CERT-In empanelment / alignment for regulatory acceptance; (3) turnaround time and re-test policy after you fix issues; (4) total cost including retests. The cheapest way to start comparing is a free scan.
Automated VAPT (like Bachao.AI) covers the OWASP Top 10, API security, SSL/TLS, DNS and infrastructure in hours at a fraction of the cost — ideal for continuous coverage and compliance. Manual pentesting adds human-driven business-logic and chained-exploit testing. Most Indian SMBs get 80% of the value from automated VAPT and add manual testing before a major launch or audit.
Run a real scan on your target with each shortlisted firm and compare the actual reports. The cheapest one to start is Bachao.AI — first scan free.
Bachao.AI covers your entire security surface — from code to cloud to compliance.