Larascan Alternative for Laravel Security: StackShield vs Larascan Compared
Larascan is a free Go CLI that fingerprints and probes a live Laravel app. StackShield scans the same way and then keeps doing it. Compare one-off black-box recon against continuous external monitoring.
Quick Summary
StackShield
- Laravel-specific external monitoring
- 30+ security checks, zero installation
- From $29/mo with 14-day free trial
Larascan
- Black-box CLI Scanner
- Larascan is an open-source black-box vulnerability scanner for Laravel applications, written in Go and released under GP...
- Free (open source, GPL-3.0)
The Bottom Line
Choose StackShield if the application is yours and you need to know the moment its posture changes. Larascan tells you what a target looks like today. StackShield watches the same surface continuously, grades it, alerts you when a deploy re-enables debug mode or exposes a dashboard, and hands you the exact Laravel config change that fixes each finding. It also covers the configuration layer Larascan leaves out: security headers, SSL and TLS, CORS, and session cookie flags.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature |
StackShield
|
Larascan |
|---|---|---|
| Scan type | External (attacker perspective) | External (attacker perspective) |
| Laravel-specific | Yes (30+ checks) | Yes (7 modules) |
| Framework and version fingerprinting | Yes | Yes |
| Livewire v2 vs v3 detection | No | Yes |
| Subdomain enumeration | No (checks takeover risk, does not enumerate) | Yes |
| Host Header Injection | No | Yes |
| Debug mode detection | Yes | Yes |
| Telescope, Horizon, Ignition exposure | Yes | Yes (Debugbar, Telescope, Horizon) |
| Exposed .env detection | Yes | Partial (reads exposed composer files) |
| Security headers check | Yes | No |
| SSL/TLS validation | Yes | No |
| CORS configuration | Yes | No |
| Session cookie flags | Yes | No |
| Continuous monitoring | Yes (scheduled scans, alerts) | No (manual CLI runs) |
| Fix guidance | Yes (Laravel-specific fix guides) | No |
| Team dashboard | Yes | No |
| Setup | Enter a URL | Clone, build with Go, run binary |
| Price | From $29/mo | Free |
Where Larascan Excels
- Free and open source under GPL-3.0
- Genuinely black-box, the same external perspective StackShield uses, so findings reflect what is actually reachable
- Subdomain enumeration, which StackShield does not perform
- Host Header Injection testing, which is not in the StackShield check set
- Livewire fingerprinting down to v2 versus v3
- Runs entirely on your machine with nothing sent to a third party
- Can be pointed at any authorised target, which suits engagement work where a hosted scanner is awkward
- Configurable concurrency via a threads flag
Where Larascan Falls Short
- Early-stage project, 41 stars and 2 commits as of 7 September 2026, so maintenance cadence is unproven
- Point-in-time only, with no scheduling, monitoring, or history between runs
- No alerting when a previously clean application regresses after a deploy
- No machine-readable report format documented, which makes CI gating awkward
- Requires the Go toolchain and a manual build step rather than a single install command
- Recon-oriented. Strong on fingerprinting, but does not cover security headers, SSL and TLS posture, CORS policy, session cookie flags, or directory listing
- Reports findings without Laravel-specific remediation guidance
- GPL-3.0 can be a constraint if you intend to embed it in a commercial product
Choose StackShield if...
Choose StackShield if the application is yours and you need to know the moment its posture changes. Larascan tells you what a target looks like today. StackShield watches the same surface continuously, grades it, alerts you when a deploy re-enables debug mode or exposes a dashboard, and hands you the exact Laravel config change that fixes each finding. It also covers the configuration layer Larascan leaves out: security headers, SSL and TLS, CORS, and session cookie flags.
Choose Larascan if...
Choose Larascan if you are assessing an application you do not operate, which is the case it is built for. It is free, runs locally, sends nothing to a third party, and can be pointed at any authorised target. For reconnaissance during a pentest, its subdomain enumeration, Livewire version fingerprinting, and Host Header Injection check give you things StackShield genuinely does not. If you are doing engagement work rather than monitoring your own production app, it is the better fit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Larascan a direct competitor to StackShield?
More directly than most tools on this site. Static analysers like Ward and Enlightn read your source code, so they answer a different question. Larascan uses the same black-box method StackShield does, probing a live URL from the outside without access to your code. The real difference is not method, it is continuity and coverage. Larascan is a scanner you run. StackShield is a service that keeps running, grades the result over time, and covers the configuration checks Larascan does not implement.
What does Larascan find that StackShield does not?
Three things, honestly. It enumerates common subdomains, where StackShield checks takeover risk on records it already knows about rather than discovering new hosts. It tests for Host Header Injection, which is not in the StackShield check set. And it fingerprints whether an application runs Livewire v2 or v3. If any of those matter to you, run it alongside StackShield rather than instead of it.
Why pay for StackShield when Larascan is free?
You are not paying for the scan, you are paying for the second, third and hundredth scan. Most Laravel security incidents are regressions rather than discoveries: debug mode re-enabled during an incident and never turned off, Telescope left reachable after a deploy, a server change that starts serving .env. A one-off scan cannot catch a regression by definition. StackShield also covers security headers, SSL and TLS, CORS and session cookie configuration, none of which Larascan currently implements.
Can I use both?
Yes, and for engagement work you probably should. Larascan is a good reconnaissance pass on a target you have permission to test. StackShield is the monitoring layer for applications you operate. They overlap on debug mode and exposed dashboards, and diverge everywhere else.
How actively maintained is Larascan?
As of 7 September 2026 the public repository showed 41 stars and 2 commits, so it is early. That is not a criticism of the code, which does what it says, but it is worth knowing before you build a process around it. Check the repository yourself for current activity, since this page reflects a point in time.
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