01 / LANDSCAPE
Not another lab catalogue. A tool for running a complete course.
These platforms solve different problems. This comparison shows their natural focus rather than pretending to be a feature ranking.
| Approach | Environment | Curriculum control | Natural use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| PentestCampsemester-first | An evolving catalogue of application labs with new scenarios added regularly and an isolated instance for every participant | Curriculum, custom labs, groups and deadlines controlled by the lecturer | Recurring practical classes, assessment and group development |
| CTFdevent-first | CTF platform with challenge hosting and deployment | Custom challenges, scoring and event format | Workshops, competitions and CTF events |
| HTB / TryHackMecatalog-first | Large libraries of ready-made labs and learning paths | Selection from the provider catalogue, paths and team dashboards | Self-directed skills development and team training |
| CDeXsimulation-first | Complete IT/OT networks, digital twins and red/blue team exercises | Cyber-range scenarios and infrastructure replication | Operational readiness, complex simulations and organisation-wide exercises |
Based on public vendor materials, verified 14 October 2026: CTFd, Hack The Box, TryHackMe and CDeX.
02 / IN BRIEF
Key answers about PentestCamp.
- What is PentestCamp?
- PentestCamp is a platform for recurring, hands-on penetration-testing courses. It combines the curriculum, isolated labs, groups, deadlines and progress history.
- Who is PentestCamp for?
- Universities, lecturers and training teams that want to run their own lab programme and retain control of the curriculum.
- Does PentestCamp run in the cloud and on-premise?
- Yes. PentestCamp can run as a cloud service or within an organisation’s own infrastructure.