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Pentera vs Picus Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

Pentera
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Penetration Testing Services (4th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (1st)
Picus Security
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) category, the mindshare of Pentera is 23.2%, down from 30.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Picus Security is 12.8%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Pentera23.2%
Picus Security12.8%
Other64.0%
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
 

Featured Reviews

Sabbir Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Ronald Paz - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Systems Engineer at Boomslang Tech
Continuous validation has improved detection coverage and now provides evidence-based security decisions
The best feature Picus Security offers in my experience is automated attack simulation plus MITRE mapping. It provides real evidence of control effectiveness, standardized validation using the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and enables risk-based prioritizations. For example, before Picus Security, we thought EDR was working, but after working with Picus Security, EDR detects 72% of credential access techniques. The automation and use of the MITRE ATT&CK framework have helped me significantly in my day-to-day work. For example, as I mentioned before, we thought EDR was working, but after the test with Picus Security, we detected that EDR detects 72% of credential access techniques. This changed decision-making from our opinion to metrics-driven security. The impact on the organization from using Picus Security was important because it increased visibility of security gaps, reduced a false sense of security, improved SOC detection accuracy, and supported audit and compliance in frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and CIS Controls. In my project specifically, the positive impact of Picus Security was to improve our organization's security validation maturity from a reactive posture to a continuous evidence-driven validation model. We improved detection capability, reduced security gaps, and experienced faster validation of security controls. Specific outcomes or metrics showing these improvements include detection coverage based on MITRE ATT&CK. The metric is simulated techniques successfully detected. Before Picus Security, it was 57% to 75%. After tuning with Picus Security, it was 80% to 95%. Additionally, for prevention effectiveness, represented by control efficacy, the metric is the percentage of attacks blocked before execution. Before it was 40% to 55%. After tuning with Picus Security, it reached 70% to 90%.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."
"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."
"Pentera has many authentic features."
"The product is easy to use."
"The platform's most valuable features are credential management and vulnerability management."
"What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach."
"Maybe there are some remediation steps on the website, we can mask sensitive information on the website better."
"Pentera has many authentic features."
"It provides good reports and offers signature-based solutions."
"The most valuable feature of Picus Security is its threat intelligence, providing suggestions to block and prevent attacks by identifying malicious files and providing threat IDs."
"You have the liberty of physically executing a specific set of rules in your environment."
"One of the most valuable features would be the detection capability, specifically the ability to detect alarms and logs collected from SIEM tools."
"It's very useful software because the customer mostly configures their IPS and manages their firewalls, WAF, and the DBS according to the latest update, latest news, or according to the situation."
"The impact on the organization from using Picus Security was important because it increased visibility of security gaps, reduced a false sense of security, improved SOC detection accuracy, and supported audit and compliance in frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and CIS Controls."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its integration capabilities with the other security tools."
 

Cons

"The automated penetration testing features must be improved."
"The licensing and IP management need improvement. When the IP is imported into a system, we cannot withdraw or revoke the license."
"The price could be improved."
"Pentera's general dashboards could be improved and made more specific in terms of vulnerabilities that I'm discovering."
"The vulnerability scanner, exploit achievements, and remediation actions are all great."
"There is room for improvement in virtualization compatibility."
"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."
"To improve, Picus Security could consider establishing a data center in India to address trust issues and increase interest from Indian customers."
"The reporting and data analysis could be improved. Specifically, the analysis of the results."
"From a real-world perspective, Picus Security could be improved with more native integration with LATAM-used tools, improved report customization for executive-level dashboards, and enhanced automation in remediation workflows, ideally with SOAR-like capabilities."
"According to the attack vectors, you cannot specify which product is failing or which product is working well because there's no agent."
"There is room for improvement in the response rate provided by customer support."
"The amount of integrations that the product can handle is an area of concern, making it one of the aspects where improvements are required."
"Let's say if a customer's environment has 10 security devices and they need to know that there is an attack that has bypassed their devices, they cannot go and inspect every device and every rule in their security devices."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to pay a yearly licensing cost for Pentera."
"The product's cost is reasonable. I rate the pricing a three out of ten."
"The tool is relatively cheap."
"It's not that expensive, but it could be more cost-effective."
"There is a yearly license according to the number of vectors. The pricing is moderate."
"They have certain price ranges for their products, depending upon the use cases, and the number of applications the customer wants to try."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pentera?
What I like the most about Pentera is its solution-oriented approach.
What needs improvement with Pentera?
The licensing model has changed from earlier versions. Previously, there was a 500 IP cap, and customers needed to buy a minimum of 500 IP and consider 500 domains. In Bangladesh, many large organi...
What is your primary use case for Pentera?
Common use cases include several features. The POC is completed before any customer goes for procurement. Once the POC is done, customers appreciate features such as comprehensive attack surface co...
What do you like most about Picus Security?
The most valuable feature of Picus Security is its threat intelligence, providing suggestions to block and prevent attacks by identifying malicious files and providing threat IDs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Picus Security?
The pricing of Picus Security is average, and it offers a good value for money.
What needs improvement with Picus Security?
There is room for improvement in the response rate provided by customer support. Picus Security could improve the response time.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blackstone Group Caterpillar Apria Healthcare Taylor Vinters Sandler Capital Management Drawbridge BNP Paribas British Red Cross
Akbank, Exclusive Networks, Garanti, ING Bank, QNB Finansbank, Turkcell, Vodafone, Yapı Kredi
Find out what your peers are saying about Pentera vs. Picus Security and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.