Who this comparison is for
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.
How we compare on speed, cost, depth, compliance
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, 30-65% 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.
What each major firm is good at
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 — 30-65% lower TCO, first scan free.
How to pick the right VAPT firm for your stage
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.
Get started with Bachao.AI
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.