If you’ve had a penetration test performed for your business, you likely know that not all pentesting vendors are created equal. It can be difficult to find the best vendor for your specific business type, delivery speed needs, and one whose strengths fit your environment. This is why I’ve compiled this list of the top penetration testing vendors and what each of their strengths are, who they’re the best fit for, and how fast they can deliver your report. Read this blog to get the detailed information you need to pick the best pen testing vendor for your unique needs. Green Flags You Should Look For When Choosing a Pen Test Vendor Green Flag #1: An In-Depth Scoping Call Some penetration testing vendors don’t take the initial scoping process seriously, which ends up costing you more money and more time. Remember, your penetration test is paid for by an allotment of hours or days; you don’t want to eat up that time discussing what should have been discussed in your initial scoping call. A green flag would be a vendor who asks about where your sensitive data lives so they can prioritize those attack vectors instead of just casting a wide net on your network. Green Flag #2: Proof of Manual Exploitation Some penetration testing vendors use clever marketing speech to hide that they actually only offer an automated test (e.g., vulnerability scan). You might be tempted to choose an automated test; they are, after all, much cheaper, but this is because they lack human intelligence and decision-making. Manual pen testers think creatively, reducing false positives and finding complex business logic flaws. Automated tools may produce high false positives and miss unique, complex scenarios. Automated tools may produce high false positives and miss unique, complex scenarios. Since your business is up against actual hackers, having a pen tester that knows how they think and what to look for can make a massive difference. A green flag when choosing a pen testing vendor would be a vendor who isn’t afraid to share past examples (redacted of sensitive information) that show manual exploitation of environments similar to yours. Green Flag #3: Detailed Remediation Advice and Reporting Your pen test is only as valuable as the report it produces, so you want to make sure that your vendor gives you all the nitty-gritty details of how they exploited your environment. In addition to how they were exploited, you will want detailed advice on how to fix your vulnerabilities. Screenshots, curl commands, and code snippets can make the whole remediation process much easier for you. Ask your pentesting vendor for an example of their typical report to make sure it’s as precise as you want. See if they offer a complimentary retest within a 30 to 90-day window, so you can see if you’ve actually improved your security. Ask your pentesting vendor for an example of their typical report A green flag when choosing a pen tester is one who gives comprehensive reports and complementary retests. Top Penetration Testing Vendors: Pros and Costs Every pentest vendor is going to have specific things they excel at, and of course, their own pricing model. It’s important to understand that many vendors offer a credit-based model, meaning they charge by the day. Other vendors that specialize in large and high security environments are less clear about their pricing because they only offer customized quotes. 1. SecurityMetrics Best For: Mid-size retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and financial service providers. They offer a wide variety of tests and adapt to varying organization sizes and the complexity of environments.
Pros:

Competitive pricing: Expert testers with competitive pricing
Prioritized recommendations: To remediate and prevent additional vulnerabilities
System-friendly test: From testers who go above and beyond to reduce business impact
Bundled packages: For assessments and testing needed for compliance
Free retesting: Unlimited, 90 days of retesting included in the initial price
Detailed reporting: Expert, tailored remediation advice


Estimated Cost: $5,000 – $25,000 (depending on size and complexity) Best For: Mid-size retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and financial service providers. They offer a wide variety of tests and adapt to varying organization sizes and the complexity of environments. Pros:

Competitive pricing: Expert testers with competitive pricing
Prioritized recommendations: To remediate and prevent additional vulnerabilities
System-friendly test: From testers who go above and beyond to reduce business impact
Bundled packages: For assessments and testing needed for compliance
Free retesting: Unlimited, 90 days of retesting included in the initial price
Detailed reporting: Expert, tailored remediation advice Competitive pricing: Expert testers with competitive pricing
Prioritized recommendations: To remediate and prevent additional vulnerabilities
System-friendly test: From testers who go above and beyond to reduce business impact
Bundled packages: For assessments and testing needed for compliance
Free retesting: Unlimited, 90 days of retesting included in the initial price
Detailed reporting: Expert, tailored remediation advice Competitive pricing: Expert testers with competitive pricing Prioritized recommendations: To remediate and prevent additional vulnerabilities System-friendly test: From testers who go above and beyond to reduce business impact Bundled packages: For assessments and testing needed for compliance Free retesting: Unlimited, 90 days of retesting included in the initial price Detailed reporting: Expert, tailored remediation advice Estimated Cost: $5,000 – $25,000 (depending on size and complexity) 2. Cobalt: Best For: Agile SaaS teams and startups that need speed and DevOps integration.
Pros:

Rapid Kickoff: Often starts within 24–48 hours
Direct Access: Developers can chat directly with researchers via the platform
Integration: Native Jira/GitHub integrations push vulnerabilities directly into dev workflows


Cost Model: Credit-based (approx. $8,500 – $25,000 per engagement) Best For: Agile SaaS teams and startups that need speed and DevOps integration. Pros:

Rapid Kickoff: Often starts within 24–48 hours
Direct Access: Developers can chat directly with researchers via the platform
Integration: Native Jira/GitHub integrations push vulnerabilities directly into dev workflows Rapid Kickoff: Often starts within 24–48 hours
Direct Access: Developers can chat directly with researchers via the platform
Integration: Native Jira/GitHub integrations push vulnerabilities directly into dev workflows Rapid Kickoff: Often starts within 24–48 hours Direct Access: Developers can chat directly with researchers via the platform Integration: Native Jira/GitHub integrations push vulnerabilities directly into dev workflows Cost Model: Credit-based (approx. $8,500 – $25,000 per engagement) 3. Rapid7 Best For: Large enterprises already using the InsightVM or Metasploit ecosystem
Pros:

Elite Research: Backed by the team behind Metasploit; exceptional manual exploit depth
Holistic View: Findings integrate with their broader vulnerability management platform
Adversary Simulation: Stronger focus on "Red Teaming" than standard compliance vendors


Cost Model: Premium/Custom (approx. $25,000 – $75,000+) Best For: Large enterprises already using the InsightVM or Metasploit ecosystem Pros:

Elite Research: Backed by the team behind Metasploit; exceptional manual exploit depth
Holistic View: Findings integrate with their broader vulnerability management platform
Adversary Simulation: Stronger focus on "Red Teaming" than standard compliance vendors Elite Research: Backed by the team behind Metasploit; exceptional manual exploit depth
Holistic View: Findings integrate with their broader vulnerability management platform
Adversary Simulation: Stronger focus on "Red Teaming" than standard compliance vendors Elite Research: Backed by the team behind Metasploit; exceptional manual exploit depth Holistic View: Findings integrate with their broader vulnerability management platform Adversary Simulation: Stronger focus on "Red Teaming" than standard compliance vendors Cost Model: Premium/Custom (approx. $25,000 – $75,000+) 4. Bishop Fox Best For: High-security environments (FinTech, Crypto, Defense) requiring deep manual analysis
Pros:

Unrivaled Depth: Known for finding "unfindable" logic flaws in complex architectures
Continuous Offensive Security: Offers "Cosmos," a platform for continuous attack surface management
Custom Scoping: Highly tailored engagements for non-standard tech stacks (IoT, Blockchain)
Cost Model: High-end boutique pricing (custom quotes, typically $30,000+) Best For: High-security environments (FinTech, Crypto, Defense) requiring deep manual analysis Pros:

Unrivaled Depth: Known for finding "unfindable" logic flaws in complex architectures
Continuous Offensive Security: Offers "Cosmos," a platform for continuous attack surface management
Custom Scoping: Highly tailored engagements for non-standard tech stacks (IoT, Blockchain)
Cost Model: High-end boutique pricing (custom quotes, typically $30,000+) Unrivaled Depth: Known for finding "unfindable" logic flaws in complex architectures
Continuous Offensive Security: Offers "Cosmos," a platform for continuous attack surface management
Custom Scoping: Highly tailored engagements for non-standard tech stacks (IoT, Blockchain)
Cost Model: High-end boutique pricing (custom quotes, typically $30,000+) Unrivaled Depth: Known for finding "unfindable" logic flaws in complex architectures Continuous Offensive Security: Offers "Cosmos," a platform for continuous attack surface management Custom Scoping: Highly tailored engagements for non-standard tech stacks (IoT, Blockchain) Cost Model: High-end boutique pricing (custom quotes, typically $30,000+) 5. NetSPI Best For: Fortune 500 companies needing a "white-glove" managed service.
Pros:

In-House Talent: Unlike crowdsourced models, they use 350+ full-time expert testers
The Resolve Platform: A world-class dashboard for tracking remediation and retesting
Specialized Testing: Industry leaders in Mainframe, ATM, and thick-client testing


Cost Model: Enterprise-scale (custom quotes, varies by asset count) Best For: Fortune 500 companies needing a "white-glove" managed service. Pros:

In-House Talent: Unlike crowdsourced models, they use 350+ full-time expert testers
The Resolve Platform: A world-class dashboard for tracking remediation and retesting
Specialized Testing: Industry leaders in Mainframe, ATM, and thick-client testing In-House Talent: Unlike crowdsourced models, they use 350+ full-time expert testers
The Resolve Platform: A world-class dashboard for tracking remediation and retesting
Specialized Testing: Industry leaders in Mainframe, ATM, and thick-client testing In-House Talent: Unlike crowdsourced models, they use 350+ full-time expert testers The Resolve Platform: A world-class dashboard for tracking remediation and retesting Specialized Testing: Industry leaders in Mainframe, ATM, and thick-client testing Cost Model: Enterprise-scale (custom quotes, varies by asset count) Comparison Table: Pen Test Providers At-a-Glance Here’s a breakdown of each vendor's strengths, speed, ideal user, and price: Vendor

Primary Strength

Delivery Speed

Ideal User

Price



SecurityMetrics

Expert analysts for an affordable price

Fast

Financial / Retail / Mid-size

$5,000 – $25,000



Cobalt

Speed

Fast

SaaS / Startups

$8,500 – $25,000



Rapid7

Threat Intel & Ecosystem

Moderate

Large Enterprises

$25,000 – $75,000+



Bishop Fox

Technical Depth for Boutique Prices

Slow (Custom)

High-Risk Tech

$30,000+



NetSPI

Scalability

Moderate

Fortune 500

Custom Quotes Vendor

Primary Strength

Delivery Speed

Ideal User

Price



SecurityMetrics

Expert analysts for an affordable price

Fast

Financial / Retail / Mid-size

$5,000 – $25,000



Cobalt

Speed

Fast

SaaS / Startups

$8,500 – $25,000



Rapid7

Threat Intel & Ecosystem

Moderate

Large Enterprises

$25,000 – $75,000+



Bishop Fox

Technical Depth for Boutique Prices

Slow (Custom)

High-Risk Tech

$30,000+



NetSPI

Scalability

Moderate

Fortune 500

Custom Quotes Vendor

Primary Strength

Delivery Speed

Ideal User

Price Vendor Vendor Vendor Primary Strength Primary Strength Primary Strength Delivery Speed Delivery Speed Delivery Speed Ideal User Ideal User Ideal User Price Price Price SecurityMetrics

Expert analysts for an affordable price

Fast

Financial / Retail / Mid-size

$5,000 – $25,000 SecurityMetrics SecurityMetrics Expert analysts for an affordable price Expert analysts for an affordable price Fast Fast Financial / Retail / Mid-size Financial / Retail / Mid-size $5,000 – $25,000 $5,000 – $25,000 Cobalt

Speed

Fast

SaaS / Startups

$8,500 – $25,000 Cobalt Cobalt Speed Speed Fast Fast SaaS / Startups SaaS / Startups $8,500 – $25,000 $8,500 – $25,000 Rapid7

Threat Intel & Ecosystem

Moderate

Large Enterprises

$25,000 – $75,000+ Rapid7 Rapid7 Threat Intel & Ecosystem Threat Intel & Ecosystem Moderate Moderate Large Enterprises Large Enterprises $25,000 – $75,000+ $25,000 – $75,000+ Bishop Fox

Technical Depth for Boutique Prices

Slow (Custom)

High-Risk Tech

$30,000+ Bishop Fox Bishop Fox Technical Depth for Boutique Prices Technical Depth for Boutique Prices Slow (Custom) Slow (Custom) High-Risk Tech High-Risk Tech $30,000+ $30,000+ NetSPI

Scalability

Moderate

Fortune 500

Custom Quotes NetSPI NetSPI Scalability Scalability Moderate Moderate Fortune 500 Fortune 500 Custom Quotes Custom Quotes TL;DR How To Choose A Penetration Testing Vendor? If you’re still not sure who’s the best fit for you, here’s how I view each vendor: Choose SecurityMetrics if: You need an expert, affordable test that fits your budget and compliance needs.
Choose Cobalt if: Your developers are shipping code weekly and need a real-time feedback loop.
Choose Bishop Fox or Rapid7 if: You are a primary target for nation-state actors. Choose SecurityMetrics if: You need an expert, affordable test that fits your budget and compliance needs. Choose Cobalt if: Your developers are shipping code weekly and need a real-time feedback loop. Choose Bishop Fox or Rapid7 if: You are a primary target for nation-state actors. Ready to talk to a SecurityMetrics penetration test expert? Start here. penetration test penetration test Start here. Start here.

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Penetration Testing Companies: Comparing The Top 5 Vendors

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