Two years ago, you hired a pentester and waited three weeks for a PDF. Now an AI model finds 10,000 zero-days before lunch. But if you're an indie dev, most of these tools aren't built for you.
Here's how the security tool market actually breaks down right now, and where you fit in.
Tier 1: Enterprise — Mythos and Glasswing
Anthropic's Mythos is the most powerful security AI ever built. It finds zero-day vulnerabilities in hardened enterprise code. It writes working exploits. It discovered thousands of bugs that the best human researchers missed. Access is through Project Glasswing -- a closed consortium of 40+ companies including AWS, Apple, Google, and CrowdStrike.
What it catches: Kernel zero-days, memory corruption bugs, complex logic flaws in compiled binaries, novel attack chains across multiple systems.
What it costs: Not publicly priced. Enterprise contracts only. If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Who it's for: Fortune 500 security teams, defense contractors, critical infrastructure operators. Our Mythos deep dive
Tier 2: Professional — Snyk, Burp Suite, Traditional DAST/SAST
This is where most "real" security tooling lives. Snyk scans your dependencies for known CVEs. Burp Suite lets you manually probe web apps for vulnerabilities. Tools like SonarQube do static analysis on your source code. Some newer players use AI to enhance traditional scanning.
What they catch: Known CVEs in dependencies, OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, SQL injection, XSS, authentication bypasses, insecure configurations.
What they cost: $50 to $500 per month. Burp Suite Pro is $449/year. Snyk starts free but useful features are paid. Enterprise SAST tools run $10k+ annually.
Who they're for: Professional development teams with at least one person who understands DevSecOps. You need to know what a finding means, how to triage it, and how to fix it. These tools generate reports, not solutions.
The problem for indie devs: you need to set up CI/CD integrations, configure scan profiles, understand severity ratings, and know which findings are false positives. If you've never done a pentest, a Burp Suite report is going to be overwhelming.
Tier 3: Indie — vibeAudit
This is where we sit, and we built it this way on purpose. vibeAudit is a security scanner for people who build apps with AI tools and don't have a security background.
What it catches: Leaked API keys in JS bundles, disabled Supabase RLS, open Firebase databases, missing security headers, unauthenticated API routes, exposed .env files, basic XSS and injection vectors, CORS misconfigurations, open redirects.
What it costs: Free scan covers 10 findings with a vibeAudit Score. Deep Scan is $4.99 one-time per URL for the full report.
Who it's for: Solo developers, indie hackers, weekend builders, anyone who shipped an app with Lovable, Cursor, Bolt, or Replit and never ran a security check.
What Each Tier Actually Catches
Here's an honest comparison:
- Stripe secret key in client JS — Tier 1: overkill. Tier 2: yes, if configured. Tier 3 (vibeAudit): yes, automatically.
- Supabase RLS disabled — Tier 1: not its focus. Tier 2: maybe, with custom rules. Tier 3 (vibeAudit): yes, first thing we check.
- Missing CSP headers — Tier 1: no. Tier 2: yes. Tier 3 (vibeAudit): yes.
- Kernel zero-day in compiled binary — Tier 1: yes. Tier 2: no. Tier 3 (vibeAudit): no.
- Open Firebase database — Tier 1: not its focus. Tier 2: requires manual testing. Tier 3 (vibeAudit): yes, automatically.
Tier 1: million-dollar contract. Tier 2: $500/month. Tier 3: paste your URL, free. Which tier are you?
vibeAudit won't find kernel zero-days. But it'll find the open database that gets you hacked tomorrow.
The Real Problem: Nobody Scans
Go to any indie dev Discord and search for 'security'. The same message comes up every time:
"I know I should do security testing, but I don't know where to start. Snyk is confusing. Burp Suite looks like it's for professionals. I don't even know what DAST means."
So they ship blind. The tools weren't built for them. Tier 1 is inaccessible. Tier 2 is complex. So they do nothing.
That's the gap vibeAudit fills. Paste a URL. Get results in 30 seconds. No setup, no configuration, no security expertise required. The free scan tells you the biggest risks. The Deep Scan gives you everything with fix instructions.
FAQ
Q: What's the difference between Mythos, Snyk, and vibeAudit?
Mythos is enterprise-only for zero-day hunting. Snyk is for professional DevSecOps teams at $50-500/month. vibeAudit is free for indie developers, paste your URL and scan in 30 seconds.
Q: Do indie developers need security scanning?
Yes. 73% of vibe-coded apps have at least one critical vulnerability. Most go undetected until someone exploits them.
Skip the enterprise tools. You need one thing: to know if your app is exposed. Paste your URL into vibeAudit. Free, 30 seconds. Read-only scan, your app is never modified.