Cobalt vs Probely: PTaaS Depth vs Continuous DAST
Choose Cobalt when you need a human-led pentest platform (PTaaS) with exploit proof and auditor-ready engagements. Choose Probely when you need continuous automated web and API DAST between releases.
A mid-market AppSec week has two clocks. One is the release train: every push can open a new web or API path, and teams want a scanner that can re-hit those targets without waiting for a kickoff call. The other is the attestation clock: SOC 2, PCI, and customer questionnaires still ask for a human-led pentest with proof, retesting, and a report an auditor will accept. Mixing those clocks into one "DAST buy" is how programs stall.
Walk the workflow in order. Between ships, continuous automated web and API DAST is the painful queue Probely productizes: discover targets, scan on a schedule or via API, and push fixable findings to developers. When the gate is depth, business logic, exploit proof, or a signed engagement, Cobalt productizes agentic PTaaS: Cobalt Core pentesters plus Autonomous Pentest on a credit platform, with real-time collaboration and retest SLAs. Cobalt also lists DAST and ASM as coverage between engagements. Between these two, the centers still differ.
Related AppSec coverage lives under Application Security; the compare index is at Compare.
| Job | Agentic PTaaS: human-led and autonomous pentests with exploit proof on a credit platform | Continuous automated DAST for web apps and APIs, plus asset discovery |
|---|---|---|
| How a risk closes | Engagement findings with proof of exploit, live pentester collaboration, retest SLA, auditor-ready reports | Scanner findings with fix guidance; recurring or API-driven scans; developer-owned remediation |
| CI fail | Not a classic PR SAST gate; pentest and Autonomous results feed AppSec and compliance queues | Scan results and API integrations feed developer / AppSec backlogs; Free and Enterprise scanning cadence |
| Deploy | SaaS Offensive Security Platform plus Cobalt Core pentesters; credits and Autonomous promo | SaaS DAST; Free self-serve or Enterprise; optional agent for internal targets |
| License/pricing | Annual credits (quote); Autonomous Pentest promotional $3,500/test thru 31 Dec 2026 (checked 9 Sep 2026) | Free $0 (5 scan hours/month); Enterprise Contact Sales (checked 9 Sep 2026) |
| Who operates it | AppSec and compliance owning pentest cadence and attestation | AppSec and developers owning continuous web and API scanning |
Ownership changed on the Probely side in late 2024. Snyk announced it acquired Probely on 12 November 2024; help materials now brand the product as Snyk API & Web while probely.com still sells the DAST workflow. That acquisition is about platform packaging, not a rewrite of the job split on this page.
That cadence gap is why the workflow has two seats. Cobalt hires the engagement and attestation queue. Probely hires the continuous automated scan queue between releases.
We reviewed first-party documentation, pricing pages, acquisition notices, and live community threads. We did not test the products in paid production environments, so this is not a hands-on benchmark. This page does not include exploit proofs of concept.
Cobalt
Probely
Editions and pricing
Cobalt sells annual credit packages and a public Autonomous promo. Probely publishes a Free tier and routes larger programs to Enterprise sales. Do not treat Cobalt’s $3,500 Autonomous line as Probely’s monthly Free plan; the units are different jobs.
| Owner (2026) | Independent PTaaS / offensive security platform; Cobalt Core community of vetted pentesters | Acquired by Snyk (announced 12 Nov 2024); marketed as Probely / Snyk API & Web |
|---|---|---|
| How you buy it now | Standard, Premium, Enterprise credit tiers (quote); Autonomous Pentest at $3,500 per test promo if initiated and completed by 31 Dec 2026 | Free self-serve ($0, 5 scan hours/month) or Enterprise Contact Sales; 14-day fully-featured trial |
| Public units | 1 Cobalt Credit = 8 pentesting hours; Autonomous promo dollar published; tier dollars not published | Free $0 / 5 scan hours/month; Enterprise custom; targets = scoped URLs |
| What the invoice covers | Scoping, testing, retesting, platform access, human and autonomous engagements across asset types | Web and API scanning hours/targets; Enterprise adds discovery, SSO, internal agent, compliance reports |
If procurement needs a published monthly DAST line, Probely’s Free tier is the public starting point. If procurement needs a published per-pentest dollar with human oversight, Cobalt’s Autonomous promo is the public starting point (confirm end date on the pricing page).
Human-led and agentic pentest engagements
| Engagement model | Agentic PTaaS: scope in-platform, Core pentesters lead validation, Autonomous for 24-hour proof-backed tests | No Cobalt-style human PTaaS engagement; product center is automated scanning |
|---|---|---|
| Proof style | Proof of exploit on Autonomous findings; real-time collaboration; free retesting within a seven-day SLA | Scanner evidence and fix guidance; not a human-signed pentest letter of attestation |
| Surfaces in scope | Web, API, mobile, network, cloud, AI/LLM, red team, plus DAST/ASM between engagements | Web applications and APIs as DAST targets; Discovery for inventory |
| What teams argue about | Whether Autonomous plus Core depth replaces a boutique firm for the compliance job | Whether continuous DAST alone satisfies auditors who still ask for a human-led pentest |
Between these two, Cobalt owns the painful pentest queue: kickoff without weeks of procurement theater, findings while the engagement is live, and reports mapped to common frameworks. Probely does not sell that job.
Continuous automated web and API DAST
| Primary surface | DAST/ASM offered as coverage between human-led engagements; center remains PTaaS | Automated web and API vulnerability scanning with Discovery to inventory unknowns |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence | On-demand and recurring pentest cadences; Autonomous for fast portfolio passes | Continuous / scheduled / API-driven scans; Free monthly hours or Enterprise unlimited on included targets |
| Developer path | Findings route through 50+ integrations after engagements | Developer-first DAST UX; Free trial and Free tier lower the start cost |
| What teams argue about | Whether Cobalt DAST between tests is enough without a dedicated DAST SKU | Whether API-aware automated DAST covers SPA-heavy apps without human follow-up |
That complaint is why API coverage and discovery matter on the Probely side, and why human-led depth still closes gaps scanners miss. Probely’s Discovery writeup frames inventory plus DAST as one workflow: find the unknown web and API assets, then probe them. Between these two, buy Probely for that continuous automated loop; buy Cobalt when the next ticket is a pentest engagement.
Where they overlap
Both talk about web and API risk, remediation integrations, and moving past once-a-year PDFs. Cobalt’s platform even lists DAST and ASM beside PTaaS. Overlap is vocabulary and adjacent modules, not identical centers. Treating them as one interchangeable "AppSec testing" line item usually under-funds either continuous scanning or attestation depth.
When to use both
Running both works when jobs stay separate: Probely (or Snyk API & Web) for continuous automated web and API DAST on the release train, Cobalt for human-led and Autonomous pentests when auditors, customers, or high-risk assets need exploit-proof engagements. Keep ownership clear so scanner noise and pentest criticals do not share one undifferentiated backlog.
Skip Cobalt for this pair if the only open pain is continuous DAST hours and a pentest firm is already contracted. Skip Probely for this pair if the buying committee standardized on Cobalt’s platform DAST between engagements and continuous scanner SKU is not the open queue.
Decide the job first. If the product must run continuous automated web and API DAST between releases, that is Probely. If the product must deliver human-led and agentic pentests with exploit proof on a PTaaS platform, that is Cobalt. Only then book the demos.
FAQs
Are Cobalt and Probely the same DAST product?
No. Between these two, Cobalt leads with agentic PTaaS and human-led / Autonomous pentests. Probely leads with continuous automated web and API DAST. Cobalt can add DAST between engagements; that does not make the centers identical.
What public prices should buyers note?
As of 9 Sep 2026, Cobalt publishes an Autonomous Pentest promotional price of $3,500 per test (complete by 31 Dec 2026) and sells annual credits without public tier dollars. Probely publishes Free at $0 with 5 scan hours/month and Enterprise via Contact Sales.
Did Snyk buy Probely?
Yes. Snyk announced the acquisition on 12 November 2024. Help materials brand the product as Snyk API & Web; the DAST job on this page still maps to Probely’s scanning workflow.
Does this page include exploit how-tos?
No. SecureCoding compare pages do not publish exploit proofs of concept or attack construction steps.
Is this a scored bake-off?
No. Order is editorial.
