15 Best Cybersecurity Labs (2026): 7 Free, Prices Compared

What Are Cybersecurity Labs?

Cybersecurity labs are practice environments where you can legally use hacking techniques, penetration testing tools and defensive skills against systems built to be attacked. They range from a single vulnerable web app on your laptop to full corporate networks hosted in the cloud. Think of them as flight simulators for security work.

Types of Cybersecurity Practice Labs

• CTF platforms Capture the flag puzzles that isolate one technique at a time. See our CTF for beginners guide.
• Vulnerable VMs Virtual machines you download and run locally. Realistic, but you handle the setup.
• Guided learning platforms Courses with a lab attached to each lesson. Best for beginners who need direction. Examples include TryHackMe and HTB Academy.
• Cyber ranges Enterprise-grade simulations of whole networks, mostly sold to companies and government teams.

Reading about a vulnerability and exploiting one are different skills. In practice, the first time you tamper with a real session cookie and watch a guest account turn into an admin, the concept sticks in a way no article can match.

How We Evaluated These Cybersecurity Labs

We assessed each platform on five criteria:

• Skill level: does it fit beginners, intermediate or advanced learners?
• Cost and value: what do you get for free, and what does the paid tier add?
• Content quality: are the labs realistic and well maintained?
• Community and support: can you get help when stuck?
• Career relevance: does it prepare you for real jobs and certifications?

Disclosure: HackerDNA is our platform. We included it because we think it earns its place, and we list its limitations alongside everyone else's. All prices are in USD for individual plans and were checked on the official pricing pages in September 2026.

Best Cybersecurity Labs for Beginners

The best cybersecurity labs for beginners are TryHackMe, HackerDNA, picoCTF and OverTheWire. All four have a free way in, explain concepts before asking you to exploit them, and need little or no setup.

1. TryHackMe

TryHackMe popularized browser-based cybersecurity labs with guided learning paths. Its "rooms" walk you through a concept step by step with questions along the way, and the in-browser AttackBox means no VPN or local VM. Looking for savings? Our TryHackMe discount guide covers the student discount and legitimate promo codes.

• Best for: complete beginners who need structure
• Pricing: free tier (free rooms, 1 hour of AttackBox per day); Premium $16.99/month or $126/year; students get 20% off the annual plan
• Focus: broad cybersecurity fundamentals, offensive and defensive

Pros:

• Clear learning paths from zero to job-ready topics
• Active community and Discord
• Runs entirely in the browser

Cons:

• Can feel hand-holdy once you have the basics
• Most paths need Premium
• Less realistic than standalone machines

2. HackerDNA

HackerDNA runs hands-on labs in your browser, with no VPN and no local VM. Labs cover web attacks, network scanning, privilege escalation, password cracking, cryptography and forensics, and guided courses explain the theory behind them. An AI coach inside each lab gives hints when you are stuck, on the free and Pro plans alike, and a free Daily Hack puzzle keeps the habit going.

• Best for: beginners and intermediates who want realistic labs without setup
• Pricing: free tier, no credit card required; Pro $16.99/month or $10.19/month billed yearly
• Focus: web application security, network pentesting, privilege escalation

Pros:

• Everything runs in the browser, including the target machines
• AI coach for hints instead of jumping straight to a writeup
• Free labs that teach real techniques, not just trivia

Cons:

• Smaller lab library than TryHackMe or Hack The Box
• Younger platform with a smaller community

3. picoCTF

Created by Carnegie Mellon University, picoCTF is an educational CTF platform built for students. Challenges progress from trivially easy to genuinely tricky across web, crypto, forensics, reversing and binary exploitation, and a practice gym stays open all year.

• Best for: students and CTF newcomers
• Pricing: completely free
• Focus: educational CTF challenges

Pros:

• 100% free, no paywalls
• Gentle difficulty curve with hints
• Annual competition that looks good on a resume

Cons:

• Puzzle format, less realistic than full pentest labs
• Some challenges feel academic

4. OverTheWire

OverTheWire offers command-line wargames played over SSH. Its Bandit wargame is where countless security professionals learned their way around a Linux terminal, one password per level. Our OverTheWire wargames guide explains which game to play in which order.

• Best for: Linux fundamentals and command-line fluency
• Pricing: completely free
• Focus: command line, then binary exploitation in later games

Pros:

• The best free way to get comfortable in a terminal
• Self-paced, no time pressure
• Teaches skills every other platform assumes

Cons:

• Pure command line, no graphical interface
• Minimal guidance: you are on your own

Best Cybersecurity Labs for Intermediate Users

Ready to move beyond guided tutorials? These platforms drop you in front of realistic targets with far less hand-holding.

5. Hack The Box

Hack The Box is the reference for realistic penetration testing practice. Its machines chain several weaknesses together and give you almost no guidance, which is exactly what makes them good preparation for OSCP-style exams. A solid HTB profile is also a recognizable signal on a security resume.

• Best for: OSCP preparation and pentesting practice
• Pricing: free tier (20 active machines, 80+ active challenges); VIP+ $25/month or $223/year; HTB PRO (VIP+ plus Pro Labs) $49/month
• Focus: realistic penetration testing

Pros:

• Huge community and regular new machine releases
• Machines that mirror real corporate weaknesses
• Retired machines come with official writeups on VIP+

Cons:

• Frustrating for beginners: minimal guidance
• Free users connect over VPN; the in-browser Pwnbox is unlimited only on VIP+
• Some machines are brutally hard

6. PortSwigger Web Security Academy

Built by the makers of Burp Suite, the Web Security Academy is the best free web application security training available. Every vulnerability class comes with written material and interactive labs graded Apprentice, Practitioner and Expert.

• Best for: anyone serious about web application security
• Pricing: completely free
• Focus: web application vulnerabilities

Pros:

• Best-in-class web security content
• Covers advanced techniques you rarely find elsewhere
• Completely free

Cons:

• Web only, no network pentesting
• Some labs need Burp Collaborator, which requires Burp Suite Professional
• Steep for complete beginners

7. VulnHub

VulnHub hosts hundreds of downloadable vulnerable virtual machines created by the community. Each VM is a self-contained challenge you run locally. No new machines have been published since July 2022, but the archive still works, and OffSec's free Proving Grounds Play hosts a selection of VulnHub machines online if you would rather skip the setup.

• Best for: offline practice and home lab building
• Pricing: completely free
• Focus: varies by VM

Pros:

• Large archive of full machines
• Works completely offline
• Great practice for building a home lab

Cons:

• Needs VirtualBox or VMware and some networking knowledge
• No new content since 2022, and quality varies

8. Root-Me

Root-Me is a French platform with hundreds of challenges across web, network, cryptography, forensics, programming and more, plus a set of realistic virtual environments. If you are new to it, our Root-Me beginner guide picks the first ten challenges to solve.

• Best for: broad skill development
• Pricing: free, with an optional premium membership for exclusive content
• Focus: multi-category challenges

Pros:

• Wide variety of challenge categories
• Active international community
• Most of the catalog is free

Cons:

• Interface less polished than competitors
• Some resources are only in French

Best Cybersecurity Labs for Advanced Users

These platforms target experienced practitioners preparing for advanced certifications or building specialist skills.

9. OffSec Proving Grounds

Proving Grounds is built by OffSec, the company behind the OSCP. Proving Grounds Practice offers 200+ lab environments, including Linux and Windows machines designed by OffSec's own team, which makes it the closest thing to the exam's style.

• Best for: OSCP preparation
• Pricing: PG Play free (50+ community Linux machines, time-limited sessions); PG Practice $19/month or $199/year
• Focus: penetration testing certification prep

Pros:

• Built by the OSCP's creators
• Linux and Windows machines in exam style
• Cheap compared to most exam prep

Cons:

• Assumes existing penetration testing knowledge
• Little teaching: it is practice, not a course

10. INE Skill Dive (formerly Pentester Academy)

Pentester Academy's AttackDefense labs now live in INE's Skill Dive, a large library of browser-based lab collections covering pentesting, cloud, networking and more. The old attackdefense.com address redirects there.

• Best for: red team and specialist skill development
• Pricing: paid subscription, see INE's pricing page
• Focus: advanced offensive and infrastructure topics

Pros:

• Browser-based, no setup
• Niche topics (car hacking, Azure AD, cloud) that few platforms cover

Cons:

• Premium pricing
• Overwhelming for beginners

11. SANS Cyber Ranges

SANS runs cyber ranges such as NetWars: full network simulations with many interconnected systems, used by corporate and government security teams and often bundled with SANS courses.

• Best for: corporate teams and advanced practitioners
• Pricing: enterprise (contact SANS)
• Focus: enterprise security scenarios

Pros:

• Realistic enterprise-scale scenarios
• SANS reputation with employers

Cons:

• Very expensive
• Overkill for individual learners

Best Free Cybersecurity Labs

Seven labs in this list are completely free: picoCTF, OverTheWire, PortSwigger Web Security Academy, VulnHub, OWASP Juice Shop, DVWA and Metasploitable. Below are the three you host yourself, plus a blue team platform with free labs.

12. OWASP Juice Shop

Juice Shop is a deliberately insecure online shop that covers the whole OWASP Top 10 and more. A built-in scoreboard tracks your progress across 100+ challenges. One command gets you started: docker run -p 3000:3000 bkimminich/juice-shop, then browse to port 3000.

• Best for: OWASP Top 10 practice
• Setup: Docker or Node.js
• Focus: web application vulnerabilities

Pros:

• Modern single-page app, like the ones you will test at work
• Gamified progress tracking
• Actively maintained OWASP flagship project

Cons:

• Requires self-hosting
• No guided learning path

13. DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web Application)

DVWA is the classic vulnerable PHP app that has trained generations of security professionals. Its low, medium, high and impossible security levels let you see the same bug with and without defenses. Our DVWA setup and walkthrough guide covers the Docker install and worked solutions for the modules beginners get stuck on.

• Best for: web vulnerability basics
• Setup: Docker or XAMPP
• Focus: common web vulnerabilities

Pros:

• Simple setup
• Adjustable difficulty levels
• Huge amount of community documentation

Cons:

• Dated interface
• Narrow scope compared to modern platforms

14. Metasploitable

Metasploitable 2 is an intentionally vulnerable Linux virtual machine from Rapid7, built for practicing with the Metasploit Framework. It exposes dozens of vulnerable services on a single target, which makes it a classic first network pentest.

• Best for: Metasploit practice and network pentesting
• Setup: VirtualBox or VMware
• Focus: network exploitation

Pros:

• Many vulnerable services on one box
• Excellent for learning Metasploit

Cons:

• Requires VM and network setup (keep it on a host-only network)
• Old, well-documented vulnerabilities

15. CyberDefenders

CyberDefenders focuses on the defensive side: log analysis, network and endpoint forensics, malware analysis, threat hunting and incident response scenarios.

• Best for: defensive security and SOC analysts
• Pricing: free labs, plus paid Pro labs
• Focus: blue team challenges

Pros:

• Rare defensive focus
• Realistic incident scenarios
• Great for SOC analyst preparation

Cons:

• The best labs are in the paid tier
• Smaller community than offensive platforms

Cybersecurity Labs Comparison Table

All 15 platforms at a glance (individual plans, USD, September 2026):

How to Choose the Right Cybersecurity Lab

Pick based on your goal, not on which platform is most popular. Here is what we would recommend for the most common situations.

For Certification Preparation

• OSCP: Proving Grounds Practice and Hack The Box, with PortSwigger or HackerDNA for the web exploitation side. Favor machines without public writeups to simulate exam conditions.
• Security+: TryHackMe paths for the theory, CyberDefenders for hands-on defensive practice.
• CEH: TryHackMe's structured paths line up well with the objectives; INE adds breadth for the practical exam.
• GPEN / GWAPT: PortSwigger for web applications, Hack The Box for network pentesting.

For Career Changers

Start with a guided platform (TryHackMe or HackerDNA) that explains concepts before asking you to exploit them. Once the basics feel comfortable, move to Hack The Box or Proving Grounds for realistic practice. Completed machines and published writeups give hiring managers concrete evidence of what you can do, and some job postings list HTB or TryHackMe experience as a plus.

For Students

picoCTF and OverTheWire are free and built for education, and picoCTF's yearly competition is a good resume line. TryHackMe gives students 20% off its annual plan, and HackerDNA's free tier covers the basics without a credit card.

On a Budget

You can build job-ready skills without paying for anything:

• Linux fundamentals: OverTheWire Bandit
• Web application security: PortSwigger Web Security Academy
• Realistic machines: VulnHub VMs or Proving Grounds Play
• CTF skills: picoCTF
• Local web practice: DVWA and Juice Shop
• Extra content: the free tiers of TryHackMe, Hack The Box and HackerDNA

Pay for a subscription only when you have run out of free content in the area you care about.

Building a Learning Progression

1. Get comfortable on the command line Work through OverTheWire Bandit up to level 20 or so. It takes a week or two and pays off everywhere else.
2. Go deep on one category Pick web exploitation, network pentesting or forensics, and complete 20-30 challenges before branching out.
3. Graduate to full machines Move from single-technique puzzles to machines that chain recon, exploitation and privilege escalation.
4. Build a portfolio Write up machines you have finished (retired ones only, where the platform allows it). Clear writeups show employers how you think.

Legal and Ethical Considerations