Wappalyzer vs Hoverify for checking a site's stack
Wappalyzer's free extension answers 'what is this built with' and answers it well. Hoverify's Site Stack asks a few more questions of the same site: who signs its certificate, where its DNS points and which WordPress plugins it runs. Hoverify is ours, which you should keep in mind while reading.
Where each tool wins
These two overlap on one feature and then walk off in different directions. Picking is easier once you see whose direction is yours.
Install Wappalyzer if
You want free technology detection with no account, you work in Safari, or you're in sales. Company data, lead lists and CRM enrichment are what its paid plans sell, and Hoverify has no answer to them. Its detection also draws on a private ruleset it has refined since 2023.
Pick Hoverify if
You're a developer sizing up a site you might inherit. The same panel that names the stack reads the DNS records, the SSL certificate and the exact WordPress theme and plugins, then exports the lot as a PDF for the client thread. And it arrives with eight other tools you'll use between audits.
Wappalyzer vs Hoverify compared
Where a row says 'not in the extension', the feature may exist in Wappalyzer's paid APIs; the row describes what you get in the browser.
| Feature | Wappalyzer | Hoverify |
|---|---|---|
| Technology detection | Free, 8,000+ technologies | Included, open-source fingerprint set |
| Extension price | Free | Part of the $30/year toolkit |
| DNS records | Not in the extension | A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and NS |
| SSL certificate details | Not in the extension | Yes |
| WordPress themes and plugins | Detected as technologies | Named, with versions from wordpress.org |
| Company and contact data | Paid plans, from $250/month | No |
| Bulk lookups, lead lists and APIs | Paid plans | No |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari | Chrome, Chromium browsers and Firefox |
| Export | CSV | PDF or JSON |
| GEO audit for AI search | No | Grades a page for AI search, 16 weighted categories |
| Other developer tools | No | Eight more, from an inspector to a screenshot editor |
Wappalyzer facts checked against wappalyzer.com, its Chrome Web Store listing and github.com/enthec/webappanalyzer on 8 Aug 2026. If a row is out of date, hello@tryhoverify.com reaches the person who maintains it.
When Hoverify works as a Wappalyzer alternative
The two products share more history than a comparison table can show, and knowing that story helps you decide.
Wappalyzer's detection rules were open source for years, until the company took them private in August 2023 and turned toward sales intelligence. The community kept the last public ruleset going as the GPL-licensed webappanalyzer project, which contributors still update. Hoverify's Site Stack runs on that open set.
What that means in practice: for detecting what a site is built with, Hoverify gives you the open continuation of the same engine, inside a toolkit that also covers DNS, SSL and WordPress specifics. What it doesn't mean: a free ride to everything Wappalyzer does today. Their paid lookups, traffic data and contact enrichment have no equivalent here, and their private rules have had three years of work the open set hasn't seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question we haven't answered? Get in touch.
Know what you're inheriting before you quote
Open a prospect's site, read its stack, DNS and WordPress setup in one panel and walk into the call with a PDF of the answer. It ships alongside eight other tools.
- 3 browsers per license
- 14-day refund
- No auto-renewal
Hoverify
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