HackerOne vs Pentera comparison

HackerOne and Pentera are both solutions in the Penetration Testing Services category. HackerOne is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while Pentera is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.9. HackerOne holds a 21.0% mindshare in PTS, compared to Pentera’s 13.4% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of HackerOne users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Pentera users who would recommend it.

HackerOne

Read 5 HackerOne reviews

2,946 Views
1,650 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Pentera

Read 10 Pentera reviews

7,612 Views
1,294 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HackerOne

Pentera

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

HackerOne and Pentera are both focused on cybersecurity, with HackerOne emphasizing crowdsourced security through bug bounty programs and Pentera specializing in automated penetration testing. HackerOne holds an advantage in community engagement and reporting capabilities, while Pentera offers robust automation features, providing a comprehensive security validation process.

Features: HackerOne's most notable features include a large ethical hacker community, comprehensive security reports, and flexible program management. Pentera stands out with its automated penetration testing capabilities, detailed attack simulations, and in-depth risk assessments.

Room for Improvement: HackerOne could enhance its integration options, streamline its interface for easier navigation, and expand its reporting templates. Pentera could improve its user onboarding process, increase third-party integrations, and refine its customer feedback systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HackerOne provides cloud-based deployment with strong support channels, including workshops and community forums. Pentera offers both on-premise and SaaS options, with a focus on direct customer interaction and dedicated support teams.

Pricing and ROI: HackerOne offers a pay-per-bug model, which can be cost-effective depending on the volume of discoveries but may present variable costs. Pentera requires a higher initial investment for its technology platform, yet promises reliable ROI through comprehensive and continuous assessments, reducing the need for frequent external audits.

To learn more, read our detailed HackerOne vs. Pentera Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HackerOne vs. Pentera

June 2025

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Helped 861,490 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

HackerOne

Ranking in Penetration Testing Services

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (29th), Vulnerability Management (40th), Bug Bounty Platforms (1st), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (15th)

Pentera

Ranking in Penetration Testing Services

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Penetration Testing Services category, the mindshare of HackerOne is 21.0%, up from 19.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pentera is 13.4%, down from 15.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Penetration Testing Services

Featured Reviews

Faizan Nehal

dApp Auditor at Hacken

Platform supports skill development with effective vulnerability reporting

Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer. The same goes for real-life events, where the same people are invited repeatedly. There are no clear guidelines for being invited to programs and conferences, and the process for receiving invitations appears arbitrary.

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Sabbir Ahmed

Director at Infosonik Systems Ltd

Comprehensive attack surface coverage and real-world threat emulation strengthen security while licensing models need improvement

Comprehensive Attack Surface includes several features. Omni Attack Surface discovers, assesses, and exploits vulnerabilities across both internal networks and external assets, including cloud environments from a single platform. External Attack Surface Management (EASM) and Internal Network Validation test internal security controls and identify weaknesses within the internal network. Automated Penetration Testing features are provided through the Pentera Surface module. Surface provides automated validation and penetration testing features with a proactive, continuous, and highly realistic approach to cybersecurity validation, helping organizations understand and reduce their true cyber exposure. They have AI-based reporting that leverages AI to identify patterns of exploitability over time, aggregate results across sites, and highlight recurring weaknesses. They offer two types of reports: an elaborate technical report for CTOs and an Executive Summary for management. When customers see the reports after completing the POC, they are impressed by how detailed the technical report is, while management can understand what actions need to be taken to protect their network and infrastructure. Recent Gartner reports indicate that traditional VAPT companies perform vulnerability testing at specific times, which creates security gaps. Pentera provides continuous validation, running 24/7 in the infrastructure. This means when any vulnerability appears due to firmware upgrades, OS updates, or software changes, it can be automatically identified in real-time.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Apart from getting all the bug bounty opportunities, we also get the chance to practice in a safe environment, like a demo setup. These features are great for beginners who want to explore bug bounties in the future."

"It helps me to get new sales, profits, and other benefits."

"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."

"The most valuable feature of HackerOne is its variety of programs. These programs provide depth into various areas, such as mobile, API, and websites."

"Maybe there are some remediation steps on the website, we can mask sensitive information on the website better."

"The tool showed us that our ransomware protection wasn’t working on some machines."

"Pentera has many authentic features."

"The solution is SaaS-based. From a cloud perspective, it has Pentera Surface and Pentera Core. The Core is the on-prem deployed solution, while the Surface is the cloud-hosted solution that scans your public infrastructure. From the Surface perspective, the most valuable feature so far has been the attack surface mapping."

"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."

"What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach."

"The most valuable feature of Pentera is that you can do continuous vulnerability assessment, which is automated."

"The product is easy to use."

More Pentera pros

Cons

"Everything has become slower on HackerOne."

"The ability to view the conversation between the triagers and the programs will be really good."

"One issue I've experienced is traffic. Many people try to participate when an opportunity with a bounty of around 1,000-15,000 dollars comes up. In this case, the first person to report the vulnerability gets the bounty. If a second person reports the same vulnerability, they are marked as duplicated instead of receiving some recognition. The second person also invested time finding the issue, so I think this can be improved."

"Response time can be improved. The HackerOne Trust team can be slow to respond sometimes. They're not using AI, which could help reduce the number of duplicate reports."

"Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer."

"The automated penetration testing features must be improved."

"One area for product improvement could be the inclusion of a dashboard to cover multiple branches and subsidiaries, allowing for centralized monitoring."

"Maybe scalability. I know that the Pentera right now is high level in order to scan big deals over 500 IPs and not less, and not less. That can be more granular. This will be useful."

"One of the big issues we have is that the tool has an additional license for compromised credentials. Suppose compromised credentials for any of your domains appear in leaks, dumps, or are being sold. In that case, they try to aggregate that data and highlight that, for example, ten users appeared in recent dumps as compromised credentials. However, they don't provide much information about where those compromises came from or their source information, probably to protect their sources."

"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."

"The licensing and IP management need improvement. When the IP is imported into a system, we cannot withdraw or revoke the license."

"Pentera's general dashboards could be improved and made more specific in terms of vulnerabilities that I'm discovering."

"The licensing and IP management need improvement."

More Pentera cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free."

"The tool is open-source and free for bug bounty hunters."

"The product's cost is reasonable. I rate the pricing a three out of ten."

"It's not that expensive, but it could be more cost-effective."

"The tool is relatively cheap."

"We have to pay a yearly licensing cost for Pentera."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HackerOne?

The cost is rated as one since there is no need to pay anything, not even a fee or commission.

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What needs improvement with HackerOne?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HackerOne?

My use case is similar to DuckTron. The processes I use for DuckTron are exactly the same for HackerOne. Therefore, there isn't much of a difference. I use HackerOne for finding vulnerabilities and...

See all answers

What do you like most about Pentera?

What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pentera?

The licensing and IP management need improvement. When the IP is imported into a system, we cannot withdraw or revoke the license.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Pentera?

I am using the OpenIntra solution for pentesting and managing candidates in my environment. I also use this solution for house customers.

See all answers

Comparisons

Bugcrowd vs HackerOne

Compared 45% of the time

Intigriti vs HackerOne

Compared 17% of the time

Synack vs HackerOne

Compared 14% of the time

YesWeHack vs HackerOne

Compared 10% of the time

NCC Group Penetration Testing Services vs HackerOne

Compared 2% of the time

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Cymulate vs Pentera

Compared 20% of the time

The NodeZero Platform vs Pentera

Compared 15% of the time

Picus Security vs Pentera

Compared 12% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Pentera

Compared 10% of the time

Wiz vs Pentera

Compared 1% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HackerOne

July 2025

Download HackerOne product report

Buyer's Guide

Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)

July 2025

Download Pentera product report

Also Known As

HackerOne Assets, HackerOne Pentesting Services, HackerOne Security Assessments, HackerOne Vulnerability Management

No data available

Overview

HackerOne becomes your partner who executes all aspects of your bug bounty program, including triage, bounty pricing, and hacker relations, allowing you to fully focus on fixing vulnerabilities.

HackerOne

Pentera is the category leader for Automated Security Validation, allowing every organization to evaluate its security readiness, to know its real security risk at any given moment. Test all cybersecurity layers across the attack surface – inside and out – by safely emulating attacks & prioritize patching with a risk-based remediation roadmap.

Thousands of security professionals and service providers around the world use Pentera to guide remediation and close security gaps before they are exploited. For more info visit: pentera.io

Pentera

Sample Customers

Zenefits, Adobe, Yelp

Blackstone Group Caterpillar Apria Healthcare Taylor Vinters Sandler Capital Management Drawbridge BNP Paribas British Red Cross

Buyer's Guide

HackerOne vs. Pentera

June 2025

Free Report: HackerOne vs. Pentera

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