Looking for a Bearer alternative?
Bearer is a capable, open-source-rooted SAST built around data-flow analysis — it shines at discovering and classifying sensitive data (PII/PHI) and supporting privacy and GDPR-style compliance work, and it covers more languages than we do. It's general-purpose, not specialized for AI-generated code. XploitScan is the lighter alternative: a focused scanner tuned for the vulnerability patterns that Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Replit, and Claude Code ship by default, in JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python, run in a single command. If your problem is privacy and sensitive-data mapping across a polyglot codebase, Bearer is likely the better fit. If your problem is shipping AI-generated app code without obvious security holes, that's what we're built for.
We benchmark against Bearer — and publish the numbers
On a held-out third-party test set (OWASP NodeGoat, Juice Shop, DVNA, and lodash, with hint comments stripped so no scanner can pattern-match on them), XploitScan caught 15 of 15 issues and Bearer caught 9 of 15. Semgrep caught 8 of 15 on the same set. This isn't our own fixture corpus — it's external code we didn't tune against.
We also keep a self-authored benchmark of 230+ labeled fixtures, regenerated on every commit, that currently sits at 100% precision (zero false positives) and about 98.7% recall. Both are public at xploitscan.com/benchmark so you can check the work rather than take our word for it. Detection here is regex plus AST plus a light taint pass — not CodeQL-grade semantic analysis — and we'd rather say that plainly than oversell it.
When each one fits
Bearer is the right choice when
- → You need to discover and map sensitive-data flows — where PII/PHI moves through your code and out to third parties
- → Your driver is privacy and compliance (GDPR-style data inventory), not just generic app vulnerabilities
- → You want open, auditable, community-readable rules you can inspect and extend yourself
- → Your codebase spans languages we don't cover — Ruby, Java, PHP, and more alongside JS/TS
- → You want a data-security lens on the codebase, classifying data types rather than only flagging code-level bugs
XploitScan is the right choice when
- → You're shipping code written mostly with Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Replit, or Claude Code and want the failure modes those tools introduce caught
- → Your stack is JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python and you want depth there over breadth everywhere
- → You want to run one command — npx xploitscan scan . — with no signup and code that never leaves your machine
- → You'd rather see detection quality measured publicly, including a head-to-head against Bearer, than take it on faith
- → You want flat, self-serve pricing from $9 to $99/mo with a free tier, not a quote process
Side-by-side
| Dimension | Bearer | XploitScan |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Sensitive-data flow + privacy/compliance (PII/PHI), general-purpose SAST | App-security bugs in AI-generated code (Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Claude Code) |
| Detection approach | Data-flow analysis with open, rules-based engine | Regex + AST + a light taint pass (honestly: not CodeQL-grade semantic analysis) |
| Languages | Broad — JS/TS, Ruby, Java, PHP, and more | JavaScript, TypeScript, Python only |
| Rules | Open, auditable rule set you can read and extend | 210 rules (30 free, 180 Pro) |
| Held-out third-party benchmark | 9 / 15 (NodeGoat, Juice Shop, DVNA, lodash; hints stripped) | 15 / 15 on the same set — live at xploitscan.com/benchmark |
| CLI | Dev-friendly open-source CLI | npx xploitscan scan . — no signup, runs locally, code never leaves your machine |
| Pricing | Open-source core plus a commercial offering (acquired by Cycode in 2024) | Flat, self-serve: Free $0 / Indie $9 / Pro $19 / Team $99 per month (annual cheaper) |
| Compliance | Strong privacy/GDPR-style data discovery angle | Maps findings to SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / OWASP Top 10 / CWE (informational mapping, not certification) |
Where Bearer legitimately wins
- Sensitive-data flow and PII/PHI classification. This is Bearer's core strength and a genuinely different job than ours. It traces where personal and health data moves through your application and out to third parties, and classifies the data types along the way. XploitScan does not do data-flow inventory or PII classification — if that's your need, Bearer is the better tool, full stop.
- Open, auditable rules. Bearer's open-source roots mean you can read, audit, and extend the rules directly. If you need full transparency into detection logic or want to write your own rules against your conventions, that openness is a real advantage we don't match.
- Broader language coverage. Bearer supports more languages than we do — Ruby, Java, PHP, and others alongside JS/TS. XploitScan is deliberately limited to JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python, so a polyglot codebase outside those three is better served elsewhere.
- Privacy and compliance positioning. Bearer is built for the data-security and privacy/compliance (GDPR-style) use case. If your program is driven by data-protection requirements rather than catching code-level app vulnerabilities, that framing fits Bearer far better than us.
Try XploitScan on your code
Free, 5 scans a day, no account required. Run one command — npx xploitscan scan . — and your code never leaves your machine. See what the scanner finds in your actual project before you decide.
XploitScan maps findings to SOC 2, ISO 27001, OWASP Top 10, and CWE for reference — informational mapping to help organize remediation, not a certification. XploitScan is built by Cipherline LLC, Fairfield CT.