Overview
Censys
Internet Intelligence and Attack Surface Platform
Censys delivers internet-wide scanning, certificate intelligence, and external attack surface discovery for security teams and researchers.
Community tier with limited monthly queriesNetlas
Internet-wide scanning, DNS, SSL, and WHOIS datasets
Netlas combines search, internet-wide scan data, DNS records, SSL certificates, IP WHOIS, and domain WHOIS through structured APIs and bulk datasets.
Free plan availablePricing Comparison
| Pricing | Censys | Netlas |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Community tier with limited monthly queries | Free plan available |
| Paid Plans | Individual plans from $100/month | Paid API and dataset plans |
| Enterprise | Custom team and enterprise plans | Bulk and streaming options |
| TLD Coverage | Full IPv4/IPv6 coverage | Large DNS, SSL, and WHOIS collections |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Censys | Netlas |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Limited | Limited |
| API Access | Included | Included |
| Bulk Operations | Included | Included |
| Real-time Data | Included | Included |
| WHOIS Data | Limited | Included |
| DNS Lookup | Included | Included |
| Domain Valuation | Not Included | Not Included |
| Brand Monitoring | Not Included | Limited |
| MCP/AI Integration | Not Included | Not Included |
Which is Better?
Choose Censys if you need
- Comprehensive internet scanning
- Certificate and asset intelligence
- External attack surface discovery
Choose Netlas if you need
- Very broad internet-scan, DNS, SSL, and WHOIS coverage
- Structured datasets are strong for security research
- Useful alternative to scan-first tools like Shodan or Censys
Consider DomScan Instead
DomScan offers the best of both worlds with comprehensive features and developer-friendly pricing.
- ✓ Free tier: 10,000 credits/month (no credit card)
- ✓ 1,500+ TLDs supported
- ✓ MCP integration for AI assistants
- ✓ Domain valuation, brand monitoring, OSINT
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