# Nikto: how AI models rank it, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Named in 8 judge labels across 2 categories by 7 of 14 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/nikto/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic application security testing | 0% | 56 | 57% | 7 |
| Attack surface management | 0% | 72 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "Other free/open options often paired with ZAP for a budget stack are Nuclei, Dastardly, Wapiti and Nikto" (Muse Glimmer 30B, DAST)
- "A lightweight, open-source web server scanner that's simple to use and requires minimal resources." (Claude Haiku 4.5, DAST)

## And against it

- "These are often OWASP ZAP or Nikto wrapped in a custom UI, sold at enterprise prices." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, DAST)
- "Nikto is a *web server* scanner, not a true application-level DAST tool." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, DAST)
- "Nikto is not a modern web application scanner... If you try to use it as your primary DAST, you will have a massive blindspot." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, DAST)
- "Nikto or Nuclei as your *only* DAST tool. They can be useful for server-level checks or targeted, template-based tests" (GPT-6 Luna, DAST)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.