CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

StackHawk vs Upwind

StackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications. Upwind sells security for cloud workloads, APIs and agents, combining their context with runtime intelligence to identify critical risks and catch new attacks in real time. CISO Tribune files both under API security. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • StackHawk
  • Upwind
StackHawk vs Upwind: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
StackHawkStackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications.stackhawk.comUpwindUpwind sells security for cloud workloads, APIs and agents, combining their context with runtime intelligence to identify critical risks and catch new attacks in real time.upwind.io
What it sells
  • Wingman[15][16]Runs inside a coding agent and tests the running app.
  • StackHawk Scale[15][16]The plan for security teams covering every app in the organization.
  • HawkScan[3][15]The runtime testing engine that tests the running application with real requests.
  • Cloud Security[1]A CNAPP that combines posture, workload and runtime signals to find and prioritize cloud risks.
  • AI Security[8]Monitors AI workloads and agents within the cloud environment to identify risky configurations and behaviour.
  • Agentic Security[1][7]Watches autonomous AI agents and their skills or MCP connections for malicious or high-risk activity.
  • Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)[1]Checks cloud account and resource configuration against security policy on an ongoing basis.
  • Cloud Infrastructure Entitlements Management (CIEM)[1]Analyses identity permissions across cloud platforms to reduce excess access.
  • Cloud Detection & Response (CDR)[1]Correlates runtime signals and cloud activity logs to detect and respond to threats as they occur.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pages2022[2][4]
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesPrivately held[4][11]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • April 30, 2026StackHawk connected its scan findings to Wiz, where they are synced automatically and shown as enrichment data on the Attack Surface Findings page.[12]
  • December 16, 2025StackHawk launched Business Logic Testing, automated multi-user authorization testing aimed at BOLA, BFLA and privilege escalation vulnerabilities.[14]
  • November 20, 2025StackHawk announced an integration that correlates findings from Endor Labs' SAST with StackHawk DAST findings.[13]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[11]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Application security and product security teams that need coverage across every app and API are named as buyers, and the Scale plan is for security teams covering every app in the organization. The industries named are financial services, health tech, insurance, media, transportation, education technology, and cloud analytics. Scans are described as fitting into any pipeline and any environment, with no vendor cloud.Upwind's API offering is aimed at organizations that run APIs in the cloud. Upwind's AI security offering is aimed at organizations that run AI applications on cloud infrastructure. Upwind's code security features address teams practising shift-left security in AI-native development.
Last verified
November 2, 2026November 5, 2026

Where they overlap

  • StackHawk and Upwind are both filed under API security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • StackHawk's primary category is Dynamic application security testing; Upwind's is Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP).
  • Upwind is also filed under Cloud security posture management and Cloud detection and response.
  • StackHawk lists Wingman, StackHawk Scale and HawkScan. Upwind lists Cloud Security, AI Security, Agentic Security, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlements Management (CIEM) and 1 more.
  • Upwind was founded in 2022.
  • Upwind is privately held.

What it sells: StackHawk

What Wingman does[15][16]
Wingman runs inside the coding agent that engineers already use. When the agent finishes a feature, Wingman tests the running app with HawkScan, hands the findings to the same agent, and rescans after the fix.
What StackHawk Scale does[15][16]
StackHawk Scale adds attack surface discovery and program reporting for security teams. StackHawk Scale is priced by team, not by usage.
What HawkScan does[3][15]
HawkScan tests the running application with real requests. StackHawk scans run as a CLI or Docker container that spins up and shuts down per scan. StackHawk scan configuration is YAML config-as-code, versioned alongside the app.

Questions about StackHawk and Upwind

What do StackHawk and Upwind sell?
StackHawk sells Wingman, StackHawk Scale and HawkScan. Upwind sells Cloud Security, AI Security, Agentic Security, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlements Management (CIEM) and 1 more.
Are StackHawk and Upwind in the same category?
They share API security. StackHawk's primary category is Dynamic application security testing and Upwind's is Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP).
When were StackHawk and Upwind founded?
Upwind was founded in 2022.
Who owns StackHawk and Upwind?
Upwind is privately held.
Who are StackHawk and Upwind sold to?
Application security and product security teams that need coverage across every app and API are named as buyers, and the Scale plan is for security teams covering every app in the organization. Upwind's API offering is aimed at organizations that run APIs in the cloud.
What have StackHawk and Upwind announced recently?
April 30, 2026: StackHawk connected its scan findings to Wiz, where they are synced automatically and shown as enrichment data on the Attack Surface Findings page.

About StackHawk

StackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications. StackHawk calls itself the security feedback layer for coding agents. StackHawk integrates into the agent loop to test the running app. The same AI coding agent that builds a feature calls StackHawk to scan the app, fix issues, and verify them before a push. StackHawk was founded in 2019 by Joni Klippert and Scott Gerlach. StackHawk is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. In July 2019 the StackHawk founding team came together to fix a problem: application security testing ran quarterly while software shipped daily.[1][3]

Wingman runs inside the coding agent that engineers already use, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, and Antigravity. When the agent finishes a feature, Wingman tests the running app with HawkScan, hands the findings to the same agent, and rescans after the fix. Wingman auto-configures and boots the app, then tests it the way an attacker would. Wingman finds and fixes vulnerabilities in the same session, then rescans to verify the fix held. StackHawk provides a clean signal for CI and an attestation tied to each commit.[16]

StackHawk Scale is the plan for security teams covering every app in the organization. StackHawk Scale adds attack surface discovery and program reporting for security teams. StackHawk Scale is priced by team, not by usage, and unlimited apps and unlimited agentic scans are included.[16]

HawkScan tests the running application with real requests. StackHawk scans run as a CLI or Docker container that spins up and shuts down per scan. StackHawk scan configuration is YAML config-as-code, versioned alongside the app. StackHawk scans execute directly in GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, and CircleCI. StackHawk runs scans with no vendor cloud and no traffic traversing the internet to reach the apps. StackHawk supports incremental testing on code changes rather than full-app rescans. StackHawk delivers results in PR comments, Slack, Jira, and Datadog.[7][17]

StackHawk tests REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and gRPC APIs with real requests, auth flows, and attack scenarios. StackHawk tests LLM interfaces for prompt injection, data leakage, and unvalidated model outputs at runtime. StackHawk coverage runs from SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and remote code execution to sensitive data exposure, broken access control, and LLM risks such as prompt injection.[8][17]

The StackHawk platform extends the DAST testing engine with visibility from code and oversight across an AppSec program. Once a source code management system is integrated, StackHawk maps every API and app component from the code, including shadow APIs and AI/LLM interfaces. StackHawk uses risk insights from code to focus testing on the repositories and applications that carry the most exposure. StackHawk has native connections to GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Datadog, and SIEM and ticketing tools. StackHawk has native integrations with Jira, ServiceNow, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.[2][5][9][17][18]

With the HawkScan skill, the agent runs security tests against the running app, and vulnerabilities are identified, remediated, and verified post-commit and pre-PR. StackHawk agent skills install into Cursor via .cursor/rules/. StackHawk agent skills ship as a Codex plugin, and after install Codex can configure scans, test the local app, and remediate findings. Copilot discovers StackHawk skills from a repository.[1][3]

StackHawk names engineering teams shipping with AI coding agents among the teams that use it. StackHawk serves regulated and high-volume industries: financial services, health tech, insurance, media, transportation, education technology, and cloud analytics. StackHawk has SOC 2 Type II certification and role-based access control. StackHawk reached general availability in September 2020. StackHawk raised a $10 million Series A led by Sapphire Ventures in October 2020 and a $20.7 million Series B co-led by Sapphire and Costanoa Ventures in May 2022. In September 2026 StackHawk launched Wingman, which moves the find, fix, and verify loop inside the coding agent.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][11][16][17][18]

StackHawk on the record

Sources

StackHawk full record

  1. [1]stackhawk.comStackHawk · stackhawk.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Stackhawk launches sensitive data identification to help security teams protect high risk apis 302476776StackHawk via PR Newswire · prnewswire.com · published June 12, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]AI Coding Agent Security Platform | StackHawk, Inc.StackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]AI Coding Agent Security for Modern Security Teams | StackHawk, Inc.StackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]API Security Testing Trusted by HealthTechStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]API Security that keeps pace with FinTech InnovationStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Getting Started | Delivering Secure Applications, SimplifiedStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]OWASP Top 10 Solution Page with StackHawk InsightsStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]StackHawk: Your AppSec Intelligence PlatformStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Secure Vibe Coding with StackHawkStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Runtime Application Business Logic Testing for API-Driven AppsStackHawk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]StackHawk and Wiz: One Risk Picture Across the Application and Cloud LayerStackHawk · published April 30, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]StackHawk + Endor Labs: Correlating and Prioritizing SAST and DAST FindingsStackHawk · published November 20, 2025 · Tier A
  14. [14]Introducing Intelligent Business Logic Testing: Find Authorization Flaws Pre-ProductionStackHawk · published December 16, 2025 · Tier A
  15. [15]About StackHawk | Security Feedback for Coding AgentsStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Pricing for StackHawk's AI Coding Agent Security PlatformStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Modern DAST | StackHawk Dynamic Application Security TestingStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]The Developer-First Alternative to Bright SecurityStackHawk · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

Upwind full record

  1. [1]upwind.ioUpwind · upwind.io · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]NewsroomUpwind · upwind.io · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Upwind Security: Cloud & AI Security for the Realtime EraUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]About - UpwindUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Upwind Case Studies: Real-World Cloud Security Success StoriesUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Run - UpwindUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Agentic Security - UpwindUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]AI Security Platform - UpwindUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Runtime API Security: Discover and Protect APIs in Real TimeUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Build - UpwindUpwind · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Upwind Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & FeaturesG2 · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier C

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