Proxy and Manual Testing Features

Manual testing through intercepting proxies represents core functionality for both tools. ZAP's proxy features include comprehensive request/response interception, modification capabilities, and WebSocket support. The break point functionality allows conditional interception based on various criteria. Message editing uses syntax highlighting for different content types. All proxy features operate without restrictions in the free version.

Burp Suite's proxy, even in the Community edition, provides excellent manual testing capabilities. The Repeater tool for replaying and modifying requests is particularly well-designed. Intruder, Burp's fuzzing tool, is severely throttled in the Community edition but excels in the Professional version. The proxy history search and filter capabilities slightly edge out ZAP's implementation for finding specific requests in large sessions.

Advanced proxy features show interesting contrasts. ZAP's Fuzzer provides powerful payload generation and result analysis without restrictions. Burp's Intruder offers more attack types and payload processing options but becomes practically unusable in the Community edition due to rate limiting. For manual testing workflows, both tools prove capable, but ZAP provides full functionality while Burp reserves advanced features for paying customers.