Mobile app security is essential for modern development teams and businesses. Mobile applications handle sensitive user data, interact with backend services, and integrate with third-party systems. A single vulnerability can expose data, damage brand trust, and create compliance risks. To mitigate these risks, organisations use Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST) tools that combine static analysis, dynamic testing, API security scanning, runtime protection, and continuous monitoring.
This blog provides a practical comparison of four leading mobile app security platforms: Quixxi, Appknox, ImmuniWeb, and NowSecure, focusing on their features, integrations, and value for developers and business stakeholders.
Why Mobile App Security Tools Matter
MAST tools help teams identify vulnerabilities early in development and manage risks throughout the app lifecycle.
Key capabilities typically include:
- Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
- Mobile App Security Testing (MAST)
- API security testing
- Runtime protection and app shielding
- CI/CD and DevSecOps integration
- Compliance reporting and dashboards
- Expert manual penetration testing services
Platform Feature Comparison
Quixxi
- Designed around mobile app security with both static and dynamic scanning and compliance scoring
- Includes real-time app threat monitoring
- CI/CD support is less clearly documented compared with some competitors
Appknox
- Strong mobile-focused security with SAST, DAST, API testing and SBOM
- Good DevSecOps/CI/CD pipeline integration and compliance reporting
- No explicit RASP protection, more of a test and assess platform
ImmuniWeb
- Broad AppSec platform: combines AI-driven SAST/DAST and continuous scanning
- Strong CI/CD integrations and compliance support, suited for enterprise context
- Focuses on penetration testing/threat-led testing, not RASP
NowSecure
- Very mature mobile app security testing suite with SAST, DAST, IAST and automated/risk-driven analysis
- Excellent CI/CD/DevSecOps support with CLI & integrations
- Strong compliance/reporting toolkit
- Doesn’t primarily market classic RASP (inline runtime threat blocking)
| Features/Capability | Quixxi | Appknox | ImmuniWeb | NowSecure |
| SAST (Static Analysis) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DAST (Dynamic Runtime) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RASP (Runtime Protection) | Yes | No | No | No |
| MAST (Mobile App Security Testing) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API Security Testing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CI/CD Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Compliance (OWASP,GDPR, PCI-DSS, etc) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Differences
- Quixxi and Appknox are more mobile-app security centric, focusing on automated scans and compliance scoring with some overlap into runtime detection
- ImmuniWeb leans into AI-driven continuous and expert-backet testing with broader attack surface visibility and integration in regulated environments
- NowSecure offers one of the most comprehensive automated mobile app testing engines with deep runtime and interactive analysis and strong DevSecOps support, though not RASP in the strict sense.
While all four mobile application security platforms, Quixxi, Appknox, ImmuniWeb, and NowSecure deliver essential Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST) capabilities like static and dynamic analysis, API security testing, and compliance reporting, Quixxi distinguishes itself as an optimal choice for teams that want both robust security and operational simplicity without sacrificing modern protection.
What sets Quixxi apart is its real-time threat monitoring and runtime protection, moving beyond traditional scanning toward active defense. Where other platforms focus predominantly on identifying vulnerabilities in static or test environments, Quixxi continually watches applications in production for emerging risks, an increasingly critical capability as threats become more dynamic and persistent.
This proactive service helps organisations close the detection gap between development and live environments, reducing time-to-response and materially strengthening an app’s security posture.
Moreover, Quixxi’s design emphasises mobile-first security rather than retrofitting enterprise AppSec frameworks. This means:
- Integrated runtime protection (RASP) — Quixxi is one of the few tools in this set to offer protection that operates live with the app, not just assessments, giving developers and security teams an immediate defensive layer that others lack.
- Actionable compliance scoring — beyond checkbox compliance, Quixxi translates findings into business-centric scoring that aligns with regulatory and risk frameworks without overwhelming developers.
- Practical insights over noise — instead of dumping raw alerts, Quixxi focuses on prioritized risk reduction, helping teams fix what matters fastest.
In contrast, while Appknox and ImmuniWeb provide solid pipelines and enterprise features, and NowSecure delivers deep automated testing sophistication, their offerings tend to emphasise analysis over active protection in production. For organisations facing real-world threats especially those in fast release cycles or mobile-centric product portfolios, Quixxi’s approach provides a balanced, future-ready security model combining early detection, continuous monitoring, and live defense.
In summary, Quixxi is not just another MAST tool, it reflects a next-generation mobile security philosophy that integrates build-time analysis with run-time resilience, making it particularly compelling for organisations that want to stop threats before they cause damage rather than merely cataloguing vulnerabilities after the fact.
Conclusion
Choosing a mobile application security platform is about identifying a single “best” tool and more about aligning capabilities with an organisation’s security maturity, risk, and development workflow. While Quixxi, Appknox, ImmuniWeb, and NowSecure all deliver core MAST foundations such as SAST, DAST, API Testing, and compliance visibility, their differentiation lies in philosophy and operational fit rather than feature checklists alone.
Quixxi stands out for teams seeking a mobile-native approach that blends automated testing with real-time runtime protection, making it particularly attractive for organisations prioritizing active threat defence and continuous app monitoring beyond periodic scans. Appknox offers a s tructured, DevSecOps friendly model with strong pipeline integrations and compliance reporting, well suited for teams that want predictable, automated assessment embedded directly into development cycles.
ImmuniWeb takes a broader, enterprises-grade AppSec perspective, combining AI-driven automation with expert-led penetration testing, which makes it ideal for regulated industries requiring deeper assurance and expanded attack-surface coverage. Meanwhile, NowSecure delivers one of the most technically mature and comprehensive testing engines, offering granular runtime and interactive analysis that appeals to security-driven engineering teams seeking depth, precision, and scalable automation.
In practice, these platforms represent different strategic approaches to mobile security: prevention through runtime protection, efficiency through DevSecOps automation, assurance through expert testing, or depth through advanced analysis.
The right choice depends on whether an organisation values continuous protection, seamless CI/CD integration, enterprise compliance readiness, or forensic-level testing insight. As mobile ecosystems grow more complex and threat landscapes evolve, the most effective strategy may even involve combining automated tools with human expertise rather than relying on a single solution.
