Security — entry 004 of 30

Censys

Verified Jul 2026

Censys grew out of the University of Michigan's ZMap internet-scanning research and now re-scans the full public IPv4 space multiple times a day, fingerprinting open ports, services, and TLS certificates. Its Search API exposes that host and certificate-transparency dataset for asset discovery, exposure monitoring, and threat hunting, and underpins Censys's own attack-surface-management product. Access is account-scoped through an API key, with a limited free community tier and metered paid plans for higher query volume.

attack-surfacethreat-intelinternet-scanningcertificate-transparencyasset-discovery
AuthenticationAPI KeySign up with the provider to obtain credentials.
HTTPSSupportedTraffic is encrypted in transit.
CORSEnabledCallable directly from browser JavaScript.
PricingFreemiumA usable free tier exists, with paid plans for more volume.
FormatsJSONResponses can be requested as JSON.

GreatAPIs Score

Score61out of 100
Authentication15/25API key required
Pricing17/20Freemium tier available
Docs0/20No docs or spec available
Formats9/15Single response format
Freshness20/20Verified within 6 months

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Scored 61 on greatapis.com
<a href="https://greatapis.com/api/censys/"><img src="https://greatapis.com/badge/censys.svg" alt="Scored 61 on greatapis.com"></a>

Auth quickstart

  1. Sign up with the provider to get an API key.
  2. Send it on every request as a headerAuthorization: <key>
  3. The exact header isn't documented — Authorization is a common default; confirm in the provider's docs.
Stored keyNo key stored

Your key is stored only in this browser (localStorage) and sent directly to the API — never to greatapis.