How to Audit Your Web3 Project Without Spending $10,000

I used to spend tens of thousands of dollars on audits for our smart contracts and dapps, sometimes waiting weeks — or even months — for them to be completed.

The process just felt outdated, inefficient, and painful.

But here’s the thing: security is non-negotiable in Web3. Every founder knows this. Audits are necessary to ensure your dapp or smart contract doesn’t fall victim to exploits or vulnerabilities.

But the harsh reality? Most founders avoid them altogether because of the crazy costs and timelines

Why should securing your project be this hard?

Then something clicked for me.

With the rise of AI, I realized there could be a faster, more cost-effective way to conduct audits. And so I sat at the computer for days in a row until I cracked it.

Now with the right workflow and tools, I was even able to conduct my own audit for FREE.

Here’s exactly how we do it — and how you can, too.

1) Quick & Easy Feedback

Before diving into a full audit, start with easy-to-use tools for a preliminary analysis. These tools provide functional feedback and uncover common issues quickly.

For Smart Contracts:

• Slither: A static analysis tool that identifies vulnerabilities, gas optimizations, and coding inefficiencies in Solidity smart contracts. It’s a go-to for catching issues before deeper reviews.
• Remix IDE Plugins: Use built-in plugins like the Solidity Static Analysis plugin to flag basic security issues, unused variables, and coding patterns.
• MythX Free Tier: A cloud-based security analysis service for Ethereum smart contracts that checks for security risks like reentrancy attacks and overflows.

For Dapps:

• Lighthouse: Analyze your dapp’s performance, accessibility, and best practices directly from the browser.
• Burp Suite (Community Edition): For identifying vulnerabilities in your web app, particularly common weaknesses like injection attacks and XSS.
• OWASP ZAP: An open-source web application scanner that helps uncover vulnerabilities in the frontend and backend of your dapp.
• ESLint with Security Plugins: A popular linter for JavaScript, can be enhanced with plugins like eslint-plugin-security or eslint-plugin-node-security to catch potential vulnerabilities such as unsafe code patterns.

2) AI Maxxing

You can literally have the equivalent of a Senior Auditor by your side reviewing your project with the power of AI. Here are the steps

1. Create a Functionality Checklist

List the functionalities your smart contract or dapp is supposed to have. These should include:

• Core business logic (e.g., token minting, staking, transaction flows).
• Expected security features (e.g., reentrancy protection, gas optimization).
• Usability expectations (e.g., wallet connections, responsiveness).

2. Borrow a Professional Audit Framework

Download a reference audit report from industry-leading auditors like:

• Certik
• Hashlock
• Trail of Bits

These frameworks outline the structure and depth of a professional audit, including what to look for in code review, testing, and documentation.

3. Let AI Do It’s Magic

Use tools like OpenAI Codex or other specialized AI auditing platforms to emulate a senior smart contract auditor:

1. Feed the reference audit document into the AI, instructing it to follow the same structure and standards.
2. Paste your code (smart contract or dapp) into the AI and ask it to:

• Verify that all desired functionalities exist in the code.
• Identify any bugs or inefficiencies.
• Highlight deviations from best practices.

Example Prompt:

“Act as a senior smart contract auditor. Using this audit framework, analyze the code provided, ensuring all desired functionalities are present and identifying potential vulnerabilities.”

3) Is It Enough Though?

AI can work wonders, but it’s not infallible. It can misinterpret context, provide incorrect recommendations, or miss complex security nuances.

If you ever have played around with AI before you have probably seen it hallucinate and provide some crazy responses at times. Some people get so frustrated they write “please” or write in all caps “NO, THAT’S WRONG” as if the AI were human.

This is why AI-aided audits need human oversight.

Our Solution? EAAIA (Expert-Aided AI Audits)

1. AI for Speed: AI handles the repetitive and time-consuming tasks like code analysis, functionality checks, and documentation structuring.
2. Human Review for Accuracy: Experienced auditors and developers review the AI’s findings to ensure no detail is overlooked.

With our hybrid approach, you get:

• A full-scale report covering vulnerabilities, optimizations, and functionality checks.
• Expert-reviewed findings for maximum reliability.
• Pricing that’s 90% lower than traditional audit firms.

And this exactly how we have been handling audits for our clients ever since. Charging up to a few thousand dollars, not $10k–$100k.

So if you’re a Web3 founder that can’t wait for weeks or doesn’t want to stupidly spending a fortune on an audit -

shoot me a message on TG or book a free discovery call to see if we are the right fit.

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