Hack The Box: Competitive Penetration Testing Labs
Practice Lab Tools
Contact Us
Not sure which tool or platform to start with? Send us your background and goals and a specialist will personally reply within one business day.
What Is Hack The Box?
Hack The Box, commonly abbreviated HTB, is an online platform offering realistic, unguided penetration testing labs built around individual machines, virtual targets designed to be compromised using the same methodology a real assessment would require. Where TryHackMe holds your hand through each step, Hack The Box gives you a target and expects you to work out the entire path to compromise yourself.
This unguided format is deliberate, and it is exactly why the platform is respected by employers in a way few training platforms are. Completing machines on Hack The Box, particularly higher-difficulty ones, signals that you can independently perform reconnaissance, identify a vulnerability, exploit it, and often escalate privileges afterward, the same core loop as a real penetration test.
Beyond individual machines, Hack The Box also runs Pro Labs, larger simulated corporate networks with multiple interconnected machines, and seasonal competitive events, giving experienced users a path to keep progressing well beyond entry-level content.
How Hack The Box Differs From Guided Platforms
Machines are split between active and retired. Active machines are current challenges, and sharing write-ups or spoilers for them violates platform rules while they remain live. Retired machines have been taken out of active rotation and have official and community write-ups, along with video walkthroughs, publicly available, making them ideal for learning after you have genuinely attempted them yourself.
A ranking and points system tracks progress publicly on your profile, moving from Noob through ranks like Hacker, Pro Hacker, and Elite Hacker as you complete increasingly difficult machines. This visible progression is part of why the platform carries weight with employers: your rank is a continuously updated, verifiable record rather than a one-time certificate.
Unlike TryHackMe, there is no built-in hint system on standard machines. You are expected to bring your own enumeration methodology, typically starting with Nmap, then following up with manual investigation using tools like Wireshark, Burp Suite, or Metasploit depending on what the initial scan reveals.
- Unguided machines that closely mirror real-world systems
- Ranking and points system publicly visible and recognised by employers
- Active machines updated regularly, retired machines with public write-ups
- Pro Labs simulate full multi-machine corporate networks
- Covers a wide range of operating systems and vulnerability classes
- Free tier plus a paid VIP tier for additional machines and features
- Seasonal competitive events for experienced users
- A strong, continuously updated signal of practical skill
When to Move to Hack The Box
Move to Hack The Box once you have finished TryHackMe’s guided beginner paths and feel comfortable running Nmap and basic enumeration without step-by-step instructions. A reasonable readiness check is whether you can, unaided, take a fresh IP address and work out what services are running and what might be worth investigating further.
Many people also use Hack The Box as direct preparation for certifications like OSCP or PNPT, both of which expect the same self-directed methodology HTB requires. Starting on easy-difficulty machines and working upward, rather than jumping straight to harder ones, keeps the learning curve manageable while still building genuine independent skill.
Step-by-Step: Approaching Your First HTB Machine
This sequence is a reasonable starting approach for any new machine.
- Connect to the HTB network through the provided VPN configuration file.
- Start with a machine tagged easy to keep the difficulty manageable.
- Run a full Nmap scan against the target’s IP address to identify open ports and services.
- Investigate each open service manually, looking up known vulnerabilities for the specific software version identified.
- Only consult a write-up after a genuine, extended attempt, and read it to understand the reasoning, not just to copy the commands.
This same sequence, scan, research, exploit, understand, is the methodology you will repeat on every machine, and it is the exact loop a real penetration test follows in the field.
It can be challenging for complete beginners since there is minimal guidance. Most people benefit from starting with TryHackMe first and moving to Hack The Box once they are comfortable with basic enumeration.
Yes. HTB's ranking system and completed machines are commonly referenced on resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and many employers in offensive security recognise the platform directly.
Active machines are current challenges with no public write-ups allowed. Retired machines have been taken out of rotation and have community write-ups and walkthroughs publicly available.
Hack The Box offers a free tier with access to a limited set of machines, and a paid VIP tier that unlocks the full machine library and additional features.
Start with TryHackMe if you are new to security, since its guided structure builds foundational skills. Move to Hack The Box once you are comfortable working through a machine without step-by-step instructions.
Pro Labs are larger, paid environments simulating a full corporate network with multiple interconnected machines, designed to be worked through as a single extended engagement rather than one machine at a time.
Ranks progress from Noob through tiers including Hacker, Pro Hacker, and Elite Hacker, based on points earned from completing machines and challenges of increasing difficulty, visible publicly on your profile.
No. Sharing write-ups, solutions, or spoilers for active machines violates Hack The Box's rules. Write-ups are only permitted once a machine has been officially retired from rotation.
Kali Linux is the most common choice since its pre-installed tools match what most machines require, but any Linux distribution with the necessary tools installed, or the official Pwnbox provided in-browser by HTB, will work.