A securityheaders.com alternative that checks TLS and CVEs too
securityheaders.com is a fast, well-built check for HTTP response headers. Paste a URL, get a grade from A+ down to F, and see which headers you are missing. It is free and needs no signup. For a quick header grade it is hard to beat.
What it does not do is look at anything outside those response headers. Your TLS setup, the software you are running, and the known vulnerabilities in that software are all out of scope. SecureMonk checks headers the same way, then adds TLS and a CVE scan on top, rolls the result into a single 0-100 score, and tells you how to fix each finding in plain language. Free, no signup.
securityheaders.com vs SecureMonk
| Capability | securityheaders.com | SecureMonk |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP security headers | Yes, graded A+ to F | Yes, scored, with fixes |
| TLS / SSL configuration | No | Yes, protocols, ciphers, certificate |
| Technology fingerprint and known CVEs | No | Yes, vulnerability scan |
| Plain-language remediation for each finding | Short notes per header | Yes, specific fixes |
| Single score across TLS and headers | Header grade only | Yes, 0-100 unified score |
| AI assistant to explain findings | No | Yes, Ask Monk |
| Free, no signup | Yes | Yes |
When to use which
Use securityheaders.com when you want a header grade in five seconds and nothing else. It is quick, the grade is widely recognized, and the letter is easy to hand to someone as a target to beat.
Use SecureMonk when the headers are only part of what you are checking. A site can earn an A on headers while running an outdated TLS version or a web framework with a published CVE. Headers alone will not surface either of those. SecureMonk covers all three in one pass and gives you the remediation with it.
The headers both tools check
The core set is the same, and it is the set that matters: Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, and Permissions-Policy. Where SecureMonk differs is what happens after the finding. Each one comes with the specific fix, the config line to add, and an AI assistant you can ask follow-up questions.
If you want to understand the headers themselves rather than just score them, we wrote the four security headers worth fighting for and Content-Security-Policy from scratch.
Common questions
Is SecureMonk free? Yes. No account, no payment, no trial. Enter a URL and you get the full report.
Does it grade headers A+ to F? No. Headers are scored out of 50 and combined with a TLS score out of 50 for a single 0-100 number. See how the score works for every penalty value.
Can I use both? Yes, and some people do. They measure overlapping things in different ways, and a second opinion on a header grade costs you nothing.