Hack The Box Academy is changing its prices on October 12, 2026, and the change is bigger than a price bump. The cube-based monthly plans that everyone complained about are gone: every monthly plan now unlocks a whole range of module tiers, and the annual plans go up to $550 and $1,400. If you are budgeting for HTB Academy or the CPTS exam, the numbers you read last year no longer apply.
Below is every current plan, what the cubes are still for, what each certification costs, and the cheapest realistic route to CPTS. If you would rather see what a full foothold-to-root box feels like before paying anyone, our free Nmap to privilege escalation lab runs a private target in your browser, no VPN needed.
TL;DR: From October 12, 2026, HTB Academy costs $10/month for students, $30/month (Silver), $95/month (Gold) or $125/month (Platinum), with no more monthly cube allowances. The annual plans are $550 (Silver) and $1,400 (Gold) and each includes two exam vouchers. The cheapest serious route to CPTS is Silver Annual, which bundles the CPTS voucher. HTB Academy and HTB Labs remain separate subscriptions.
How Much Does HTB Academy Cost in 2026?
HTB Academy pricing from October 12, 2026 starts at $10/month for verified students and $30/month for everyone else, rising to $125/month for access to every tier. Annual plans cost $550 (Silver) or $1,400 (Gold) and include two exam vouchers. Tier 0 fundamentals modules stay free.
HTB announced the change on September 3, 2026 in its Academy pricing update. All prices are in USD before VAT or sales tax (HTB also lists EUR and GBP prices).
| Plan | New price (from Oct 12, 2026) | Old price | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student | $10/month | $8/month | Tier 0 to II modules, unlimited. Needs an academic email. |
| Silver monthly | $30/month | $18/month (200 cubes) | Tier 0 to II modules, unlimited |
| Gold monthly | $95/month | $38/month (500 cubes) | Tier 0 to III modules, unlimited |
| Platinum monthly | $125/month | $68/month (1,000 cubes) | Tier 0 to IV modules, unlimited |
| Silver Annual | $550/year | $490/year | Tier 0 to II + 2 exam vouchers (CJCA + one Specialist exam such as CPTS) |
| Gold Annual | $1,400/year | $1,260/year | Tier 0 to III + 2 exam vouchers (CJCA + one exam of your choice, including the Expert certs) |
The headline for learners: the old monthly plans handed you a fixed pile of cubes, and a single Tier III module could swallow a whole month of Gold. Now a monthly plan simply opens every module up to its tier. That fixes the most common complaint about HTB Academy, at the cost of a much higher sticker price.
What Cubes Are Still For
Cubes survive as the pay-as-you-go option: you buy a pack and unlock individual modules permanently. From October 12 a cube costs $0.20 (50 cubes for $10, up to 5,000 for $1,000), and HTB's Academy FAQ lists module costs by tier:
- Tier 0: 10 cubes, marked free. You get 30 cubes when you sign up.
- Tier I: 50 cubes (about $10)
- Tier II: 100 cubes (about $20)
- Tier III: 500 cubes (about $100)
- Tier IV: 1,000 cubes (about $200)
Unused cubes never expire, and modules you already unlocked stay unlocked. Buying cubes makes sense for one or two specific modules. For a whole job-role path, a subscription is far cheaper.
Already subscribed? Monthly subscribers get one more month at the old rate. Annual subscribers keep the legacy price for their next renewal; the new price applies from the renewal after that.
Is HTB Academy Free?
Partly. Creating an account is free, and the Tier 0 fundamentals modules (Linux Fundamentals, Introduction to Networking, Web Requests and similar) cost nothing. Everything from Tier I upward needs a subscription or cubes, and certification exams always need a voucher.
One thing surprises a lot of people: HTB Academy and HTB Labs are separate products with separate subscriptions. Paying for Academy does not give you retired machines on the main platform, and a Labs VIP+ plan ($25/month or $223/year) does not unlock Academy modules. The new HTB PRO plan launched on September 30, 2026 ($49/month or $490/year) bundles VIP+ with ten Pro Labs; Academy is still billed on its own. Our guide to how Hack The Box works covers the Labs side in detail.
HTB Academy Certifications
HTB Academy runs eight certifications. Every exam is practical: you get a multi-day window to attack a simulated environment, then submit a professional report, and each voucher includes two attempts. To unlock an exam you must first complete its job-role path.
| Certification | Focus | Exam window | Voucher included with |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTB CJCA (Certified Junior Cybersecurity Associate) | Entry level, offensive and defensive basics | 5 days | Silver and Gold Annual |
| HTB CPTS (Certified Penetration Testing Specialist) | Full internal penetration test, including Active Directory | 10 days | Silver and Gold Annual |
| HTB CWES (Certified Web Exploitation Specialist, formerly CBBH) | Web application and API testing | 7 days | Silver and Gold Annual |
| HTB CDSA (Certified Defensive Security Analyst) | SOC analysis, detection, incident response | 7 days | Silver and Gold Annual |
| HTB COAE (Certified Offensive AI Expert) | Attacking AI and ML systems (AI Red Teamer path) | 7 days | Silver and Gold Annual |
| HTB CWEE (Certified Web Exploitation Expert) | Advanced web exploitation, white-box code review | 10 days | Gold Annual |
| HTB CAPE (Certified Active Directory Pentesting Expert) | Advanced Active Directory attacks | 10 days | Gold Annual |
| HTB CWPE (Certified Wi-Fi Pentesting Expert) | Wireless penetration testing | 7 days | Gold Annual |
Exam windows come from HTB's certification help page, and the report has to be submitted inside that window. Bought on their own, vouchers have run roughly $105 for CJCA, about $210 for the Specialist exams (CPTS, CWES, CDSA) and about $350 for the Expert exams, before tax. HTB's September announcement does not list new voucher prices, so check the billing page before you buy.
What CPTS Really Costs
CPTS is the certification most people come to HTB Academy for, and "cpts price" is one of the most searched questions about it. You need the 28-module Penetration Tester path plus an exam voucher. Three realistic routes:
- Silver Annual: $550 (from October 12) A year of Tier 0 to II access, the CPTS voucher with two attempts, and a CJCA voucher on top. The simplest route, and the one we recommend.
- Student plan + voucher: about $270 Six months at $10 plus a standalone voucher at around $210. The cheapest route if you have an academic email and study consistently.
- Silver monthly + voucher: about $390 for six months Only worth it if you are confident you will finish the path in under a year; past roughly eleven months, Silver Annual is cheaper and includes the voucher.
How long does the path take? HTB estimates around 340 hours for the Penetration Tester path. In practice, that is three to six months for someone studying ten to twenty hours a week; people who already root Easy and Medium boxes move faster.
CPTS vs OSCP
The exam formats are very different. OSCP+ is a 24-hour proctored exam followed by a report; CPTS gives you 10 days to capture at least 12 of 14 flags in an enterprise-style network and deliver a commercial-grade report. Many candidates find CPTS the more technically demanding of the two.
Price is the other gap: OffSec's PEN-200 course and exam bundle costs $1,749 with a single attempt, while Silver Annual gets you CPTS training plus two attempts for $550. OSCP still wins on HR recognition, especially in job postings that name it explicitly. A common plan is CPTS first for the skills, OSCP later for the filter. Our OSCP+ preparation guide covers that side.
Learning Paths and Content
Academy is organised into modules (text-heavy lessons with exercises and a live target you can spawn) grouped into job-role paths. Modules are rated Tier 0 (fundamentals) to Tier IV (expert), which is why the plans are sold by tier. These are the job-role paths that end in a certification:
- Junior Cybersecurity Analyst - CJCA
- Penetration Tester - CPTS
- Web Penetration Tester (formerly Bug Bounty Hunter) - CWES
- SOC Analyst - CDSA
- AI Red Teamer (built with Google) - COAE
- Senior Web Penetration Tester - CWEE
- Active Directory Penetration Tester - CAPE
- Wi-Fi Penetration Tester - CWPE
Paid plans include unlimited Pwnbox, HTB's browser-based attack VM, so you do not need a local Kali install. The content itself is the strongest part of the product: detailed, written by practitioners, and full of the command-line detail you need for real engagements. The trade-off is that it is mostly reading. If you learn better by doing first and reading second, test that before you pay for a year.
Which HTB Academy Plan Should You Choose?
- Just exploring Stay on the free account and do the Tier 0 modules. You will know within a week whether the written style works for you.
- Student with an academic email The Student plan at $10/month opens the same Tier 0 to II content as Silver. Add a voucher when you are ready for the exam.
- Going for CPTS, CWES, CDSA or COAE Silver Annual. The bundled voucher alone covers a big chunk of the price.
- Going for CWEE, CAPE or CWPE Gold Annual. At $95/month, Gold monthly only makes sense for a short, intense sprint.
- Need Tier IV modules Platinum monthly is the only plan that unlocks them all; buying single Tier IV modules with cubes ($200 each) is the alternative.
Pros and Cons
What HTB Academy Does Well
- Deep, practitioner-written modules with live targets inside the lessons
- Practical certifications that test real engagements, not multiple choice
- Clear job-role paths, so you always know what to study next
- Exam vouchers bundled into both annual plans
- Simpler pricing since October 2026: monthly plans no longer run out of cubes
Where It Falls Short
- Much pricier monthly plans: Gold went from $38 to $95 a month
- Separate from HTB Labs: learning and machine practice are two subscriptions
- Reading-heavy: less suited to people who learn by doing first
- Recognition still trails OSCP with recruiters, although it is growing
HTB Academy Alternatives Worth Comparing
If what you need is fundamentals plus plenty of hands-on practice rather than an HTB certificate, compare a few options before committing:
- HackerDNA Courses, bite-size lessons and hands-on labs in one subscription, all in the browser with no VPN. There is a free tier with no credit card, an AI coach inside every lab (identical on Free and Pro), and Pro costs $16.99/month or $10.19/month billed yearly.
- TryHackMe The most guided option, good for absolute beginners. See our TryHackMe vs Hack The Box comparison.
- OffSec The route to OSCP+, at a much higher price. Best when that specific credential is the goal.
Looking to pay less for HTB itself? Our round-up of working Hack The Box discounts lists the student pricing and seasonal sales that actually apply.
HTB Academy FAQ
Does an HTB Academy subscription include HTB Labs?
No. Academy (modules and certifications) and Labs (machines, challenges, Pro Labs) are billed separately. HTB PRO and VIP+ are Labs plans.
Do HTB Academy cubes expire?
No. HTB states that unused cubes stay in your account and will not expire or lose value after the October 2026 pricing change.
How many attempts does an HTB exam voucher include?
Two. Each voucher, bought alone or bundled with an annual plan, includes two exam attempts.
Who qualifies for the HTB Academy student plan?
Students and teaching staff at high schools, universities and trade schools who can verify an academic email address.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Critical reminder: Only practice on systems you own or have explicit written authorization to test. HTB Academy, HackerDNA and similar platforms exist so you can learn these techniques legally.
- Never test without permission. "Practising" on a random website is unauthorized access, whatever your intent.
- Disclose responsibly. If you find a real vulnerability during authorized work, follow responsible disclosure practices.
- Keep exams and flags private. Sharing exam content or active-machine flags breaks platform rules and spoils learning for others.
Last verified: September 2026, against HTB's Academy pricing announcement, help center and FAQ. Prices change often; check HTB's billing page before you buy.
Is HTB Academy Worth It in 2026?
For CPTS and the other HTB certifications, yes: Silver Annual at $550 with a bundled voucher is still one of the best-value practical pentest certifications around, and students get the same content for $10 a month. The October 2026 change also removes the cube frustration that made monthly plans a trap.
If you do not need an HTB certificate, the calculation changes. $30 to $125 a month is a lot for reading-heavy modules when you still need a second subscription for machine practice.
Our take: Want the certificate? Pick Silver Annual. Want the skills first? Build them where courses and labs share one subscription, then decide on a certification.
Start with the free Nmap lab, work through the network penetration testing course that covers the same ground as the CPTS path, and upgrade to HackerDNA Pro only when you want the full lab catalogue. The free tier needs no credit card.
