7 Best Penetration Testing Service Providers in 2024 Compared

Penetration testing services hunt for vulnerabilities in business IT environments using tactics and approaches that threat actors would employ. The top pentesting service providers examine networks, web applications, mobile applications, cloud, and disparate devices to determine where your business is vulnerable and how you should protect it. This guide covers industry-leading pentesting services and their key features.

Here are the seven best pentesting service providers:

• BreachLock: Best comprehensive suite of pentesting services
• ScienceSoft: Best for custom penetration testing
• SecureWorks: Best for experienced pentesting and security consulting
• Raxis: Best for web application security pentesting
• Software Secured: Best for application and code security testing
• Astra Security: Best for small and mid-sized businesses
• Intruder: Best for web and cloud pentesting

Pentesting Service Providers Comparison

The table below provides a brief overview of penetration testing service providers, including their pricing options and standout features.

BreachLock – Best Comprehensive Suite of Pentesting Tools & Services

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BreachLock combines automation, AI, certified ethical hackers and a cloud-based pentesting and vulnerability management platform to prepare customers for audits. BreachLock offers penetration testing as a service (PTaaS), covering cloud, network, application, API, mobile, social engineering and third-party partner tests. It can help your business comply with SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 regulatory requirements.

Visit BreachLock

Pros

• Comprehensive coverage across on-premises, mobile and cloud
• Hybrid approach potentially offers cost savings
• Scalability
• AI-powered automation
• Ease of use
• Comprehensive platform with a 360-degree view of vulnerabilities

Cons

• More hands-on approaches and dedicated pentesters will cost more
• No pricing transparency

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free live demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• Social engineering testing: BreachLock’s experts can launch a spear phishing campaign to test your employees’ cyber readiness.
• Automated and manual scans: You have the choice to scan your environments both automatically and manually, depending on which works better for a given scenario.
• One-click retest vulnerabilities: Once the customer has remediated all discovered issues, BreachLock retests to confirm that they’ve been fixed.
• Service dashboard: Customers receive a high-level view of their pentesting results, including vulnerabilities grouped by risk and an overall trend chart.

ScienceSoft – Best for Custom Penetration Testing

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ScienceSoft offers a range of pentesting services, covering applications, networks, remote access, wireless, open source intelligence (OSINT), social engineering, and red teaming. Like BreachLock, ScienceSoft offers a mix of manual and automated testing. It examines employees’ security posture and awareness, identifying behavior from individual contributors, executives, and contractors that compromises your business.

Visit ScienceSoft

Pros

• Software development expertise adds insight for application security testing
• Pricing appears to be on the lower end of industry averages

Cons

• Others might offer more comprehensive pentesting services, but ScienceSoft customers are generally positive about the service they received and the value

Pricing

• Custom pricing available: Contact for quote; pricing calculator tool available to estimate costs

Key Features

• Code review: ScienceSoft checks for code injection vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, and buffer overflows.
• Vulnerability assessments: Experts and automated scanners analyze networks, web applications, email services, and mobile apps for vulnerabilities.
• Compliance assessments: Aside from pentesting, ScienceSoft also assesses your business’s regulatory stance for standards like HIPAA.
• Infrastructure audit: Another testing service includes checking physical access controls, existing configuration management procedures, and IT version control.

SecureWorks – Best for Extensive Experience in Pentesting & Security Consulting

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SecureWorks is a top managed security services provider (MSSP) with expertise that naturally extends to other security services, such as penetration testing, threat hunting and incident response. SecureWorks’ pentesting services are aimed at sophisticated enterprise security concerns such as mimicking adversaries, exposing the kill chain, ransomware attack simulations, physical security, and insider threats.

Visit SecureWorks

Pros

• Comprehensive coverage
• High-quality services and expertise
• Strong reputation

Cons

• More expensive than some competitors, but there’s value in that extra expense

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available

Key Features

• Supported devices: SecureWorks tests Internet of Things devices, medical devices and robots, firmware, and operational technology (OT).
• Vehicle system testing: Your business can find vulnerabilities in automotive environments, autonomous vessels like cargo ships, and aircraft.
• Remote work assessment: SecureWorks examines your remote access systems for vulnerabilities.
• Insider threat assessment: Pentesters receive insider information like credentials and see how far they can compromise your systems.

Raxis – Best for Web Application Security Testing

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Raxis is a cybersecurity company that offers a wide range of services, such as penetration testing, security consultancy, and managed security. Raxis offers a number of pentesting and vulnerability services, including red team services, pentesting as a service (PTaaS), breach and attack simulation, social engineering, and more. Services are available on a one-time, multi-year, or continuous basis.

Visit Raxis

Pros

• Comprehensive offerings
• High-quality services
• Strong reputation

Cons

• Perhaps more expensive than the lowest-cost options, but users seem content with what they get.

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available

Key Features

• Time Travel: Raxis allows you to view your security posture at a specific time period in your business’s history so you can visualize security improvement.
• Retesting: After you implement Raxis’s findings, a retest will determine whether the implementation was successful.
• Automatic or manual scheduling: Your business can request an on-demand pentest or have scans performed consistently over time.
• API penetration testing: Available only on-demand, this service scans API calls to find anomalies.

Software Secured – Best for Application & Code Security Testing

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Software Secured offers a range of penetration testing services, including manual pentests, one-time comprehensive compliance assessments, PTaaS, and even secure code training for developers and engineers. The company’s emphasis on human pentesters means they’re not the cheapest company on this list, but they promise above-average results and testing frequency, and customers seem pleased with their services.

Visit Software Secured

Pros

• Deep understanding of software security
• Ability to integrate with SDLC processes
• Strong reputation

Cons

• Not the cheapest company on this list, but they claim 4X better results than competitors

Pricing

• Pentest Essentials: Starts from $5,000
• Pentest 360: Starts from $10,000

Key Features

• Unlimited retesting: Customers who pay for the service receive quarterly or biannual pentesting and can retest whenever they want.
• Augmented security services: Software Secured offers additional services, including private training sessions for developer groups based on OWASP best practices.
• Framework mapping: Software Secured maps to five major industry frameworks, including OWASP Top 10, SANS Top 25, and NIST.
• Dashboard: Your customer portal shows you alerts for new vulnerabilities, their severity rating and type, and any overdue vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.

Astra Security – Best for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses

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Astra Security tests web apps, mobile apps, APIs, and public cloud environments like AWS and Microsoft Azure. It offers a vulnerability scanner solution, which offers integrations with tools like Slack and Jira, and a pentesting solution with annual tests, compliance reports, and cloud security reviews. Astra’s prices fall below multiple competitors, and it also has the most transparent pricing on this list.

Visit Astra Security

Pros

• Astra Pentest and Enterprise plans essentially throw in free unlimited scanning with the cost of an entry-level pentest
• Customers are generally satisfied with the service and value

Cons

• Might not be enough for companies with high security needs, but will be better than many customers could otherwise afford

Pricing

• Scanner (for web apps): $1,999 per year with one target
• Pentest (for web apps): $5,999 per year with one target
• Enterprise (for web apps): Starts at $9,999 per year; ideal for infrastructures with diverse targets
• Pentest (for mobile apps): $2,499 per year for one target
• Enterprise (for mobile app): $3,999 per year for one target
• AWS cloud security Basic and Elite: Contact for quote

Key Features

• Vulnerability scanner: Astra’s scanner dashboard shows you the status of each vulnerability, its CVSS rating, and its severity.
• Compliance checks: Astra tests help your business comply with ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC2, and GDPR standards.
• App scans: Scanning progressive web apps (PWA) and Single Page Apps (SPAs) helps secure more flexible web server environments.
• Over 8,000 tests: Astra scans your infrastructure for known CVEs and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities. 

Intruder – Best for Web & Cloud Pentesting

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Intruder is best known for its quality vulnerability scanning tools, but the company offers pentesting services, too. Intruder’s pentests cover web apps, APIs, and cloud configurations. Your business has the option to perform continuous pentesting using Intruder Vanguard, a vulnerability management solution led by Intruder experts. While Intruder doesn’t have a mobile pentesting solution, it’s a good choice for teams focusing on thorough vulnerability scans.

Visit Intruder

Pros

• Combines pentesting expertise with top-notch vulnerability scanning product knowledge
• Perhaps best for external, web app and cloud pen testing

Cons

• Lacks transparent pricing; there may be cheaper competitors

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free trial: 14 days

Key Features

• API scanner: Intruder follows OWASP guidelines while testing your APIs for injection attack vulnerabilities and insufficient controls.
• Cloud configuration checks: Pentesters search for misconfigurations in your cloud environments and suggest improvements.
• Perimeter checks: Intruder examines your external IT infrastructure for potential internet exposure.
• Intruder Vanguard: This vulnerability management service provides ongoing testing over time. 

Learn more about the differences between vulnerability scanning and pentesting in our guide to the two solutions.

Key Features of Penetration Testing Services

Penetration testing services assess IT infrastructures for vulnerabilities, follow legitimate attack methods, report on their findings, support multiple environments, and perform post-exploit tests.

Vulnerability Assessments

Penetration testing services check systems for possible flaws. They look for obsolete software, misconfigurations, and other vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit. Often, pentesting service providers also offer vulnerability scanning solutions.

Real-World Simulations

Pentesters replicate real-world cyber attacks and adversaries in order to determine how effectively a system can survive different hacking efforts. This helps businesses better understand their current security posture.

Reporting

Following a completed test, service providers create extensive reports. These reports include the vulnerabilities discovered, the techniques used to exploit them, and security suggestions. For organizations to recognize risks and take proper action, clear and comprehensive reporting is critical.

Support for a Wide Range of Systems

Businesses use penetration testing to evaluate online applications, networks, mobile apps and devices, cloud-based services, and other environments. Extensive platform support is critical for modern organizations operating across numerous platforms.

Post-Exploitation Testing

Some sophisticated technologies enable testers to estimate the level of harm that could be done once a hacker has access. This helps organizations comprehend the potential consequences of a security breach. Pentesting services can (and should) also test the effectiveness of any patches and mitigations applied as a result of the test.

How We Evaluated Pentesting Service Providers

For this list, we analyzed a number of penetration testing service providers and included a range of choices to cover a wide variety of use cases, from small businesses, startups, and dev teams up to complex enterprises with high security needs. We examined services offered, expertise, specializations, pricing, value, and customer feedback.

We also considered some vendors where human pentests aren’t central and are thus more like automated pentesting tools — Hexway and ImmuniWeb are two good examples. Those are good PTaaS options, but here we’ve kept the focus on human pentesting services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What Is a Penetration Test?

A penetration test mimics cyber attacks on your systems in order to find flaws. It is critically important to check your IT systems and assets on a regular basis in order to safeguard your company from any intrusions, and using an intruder’s perspective helps find shielded backdoors and vulnerabilities.

Who Are Penetration Testers?

Penetration testers are security experts and ethical hackers who know their way around IT systems and have experience finding vulnerabilities. Reputable testers adhere to stringent ethical standards. Throughout the testing process, they utilize non-destructive procedures to assure your data and system confidentiality, integrity, and availability. They remove any back doors and other process vulnerabilities when finished.

Why Do You Need Outside Pentesting?

External penetration testing is important because it reduces the risk of unnoticed blind spots. As hard as your security and IT teams try to protect your infrastructure, they might miss something. A second pair of eyes is always useful for locating particularly sneaky vulnerabilities.

Bottom Line: Penetration Testing Services Boost Cybersecurity

Penetration testing is a critically important cybersecurity practice for securing your IT environment. For organizations that lack the expertise to do their own pentesting, penetration testing services offer a great opportunity. Getting a real-world test of your cybersecurity defenses helps reduce data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage, while also helping you comply with regulations. A penetration test may not be cheap, but it’s worthwhile.

Read more about setting up a pentesting program in your organization, including budgeting and developing a team.