# Synack vs Astra Security: which do AI models recommend for ptaas, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Penetration testing as a service. Zero of fourteen models named Synack first on the direct prompt; zero named Astra Security. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/penetration-testing-as-a-service/synack-vs-astra-security/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synack | 4% | #3 of 10 | 10% | 29 | 14 of 14 |
| Astra Security | 4% | #4 of 10 | 0% | 17 | 11 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: BreachLock, Cobalt) (alternatives: NetSPI, Stingrai, Synack)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Red Siege Security) (alternatives: Astra Security, BreachLock, Lumina.io, Netragard)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: BreachLock, UnderDefense) (alternatives: Raxis, Synack)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Cobalt) (alternatives: Astra Security, HackerOne, Netragard, Red Siege, UnderDefense)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: BreachLock, Cobalt) (alternatives: Packetlabs, Raxis, Stingrai)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Cobalt) (alternatives: Cognisys, Trava Security)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Cobalt) (alternatives: BreachLock, NetSPI, UnderDefense)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: BreachLock) (alternatives: Cobalt, Raxis, Stingrai)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: BreachLock) (alternatives: Bright Defense, NetSPI, Packetlabs, Prescient Security)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Cobalt, Raxis) (alternatives: BreachLock, Packetlabs, UnderDefense)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Cobalt) (alternatives: BreachLock, Coalfire, Praetorian)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Cobalt, UnderDefense) (alternatives: BreachLock, NetSPI, Packetlabs)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Cobalt) (alternatives: Bishop Fox, NetSPI)

## What the models said about Synack

- "Choose Synack if you want a crowdsourced model and are willing to validate scope and pricing more carefully" (Perplexity Sonar, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "often more suited to larger enterprises or those with more complex needs" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "More enterprise-focused, higher cost/complexity." (Grok 4.1 Fast, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "The best penetration testing service for a company with a limited budget is Synack, which offers penetration testing as a service starting at $119/month." (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Offers continuous AI-driven penetration testing starting at $119/month, making it one of the most affordable options" (Mistral Small, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Synack tops the list because it combines an elite human red team with agentic AI inside a single platform" (Claude Haiku 4.5, comparative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Astra Security

- "like vPenTest or Astra Pentest. These are generally cheaper than fully manual consulting and are designed for SMBs." (GPT-5.4 mini, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Astra Security – Best overall, offering web and mobile applications, cloud infrastructure, API, and network testing." (Mistral Small, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "1. Astra Security - Price: Starting at ~$1,999/year ... expert remediation included, strong compliance support" (Kimi K2, comparative prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.