Best Penetration Testing Companies in 2026
Fourteen firms compared on what they test, how they deliver it, what they retest and what they charge
The best penetration testing companies in the USA in 2026 include specialists such as Cloud Security Partners, Black Hills Information Security, Praetorian, Software Secured, SpecterOps and TrustedSec, enterprise firms (Bishop Fox, Coalfire, Mandiant, NCC Group, Rapid7) and testing platforms (Cobalt, HackerOne and the combined NetSPI and Synack). They work in very different ways, from employed teams to tester communities to year-round platforms.
This guide compares all fourteen penetration testing companies on what they test, how they deliver it, what they retest and what they charge. It's written for security and engineering leaders building a shortlist. Cloud Security Partners publishes this page and is one of the fourteen, so we list ourselves first and hold our entry to the same fields (and the same stated limitation) as everyone else's.
Which penetration testing company is best for your situation?
No single company is the best choice for every buyer. The top penetration testing companies each fit a different kind of engagement, so start from yours:
- Cloud-heavy estates that want testing by named engineers and a published price: Cloud Security Partners
- Enterprise programs across many test types: NetSPI and Synack, NCC Group
- Research-driven depth and red teaming: Bishop Fox, Praetorian
- Identity and Active Directory attack paths: SpecterOps
- Compliance-driven testing: Coalfire
- Intelligence-led red teaming and ICS: Mandiant
- Existing Rapid7 customers: Rapid7
- On-demand platform testing: Cobalt, HackerOne
- Plain-language reporting: Black Hills Information Security
- Broad offensive work including social engineering: TrustedSec
- SaaS companies that want published prices and retesting built in: Software Secured
How we chose these firms, and where we sit on the list
Cloud Security Partners wrote and published this page, and we're on it. The author, Michael McCabe, founded Cloud Security Partners and leads the OWASP Northern Virginia chapter, and the firm's testers hold OSCP, SANS and CREST Pathway certifications. We put our own firm first because it's our page. The other thirteen are grouped by type and listed alphabetically inside each group. They aren't ranked. We checked every detail against each firm's own website and its public review and accreditation profiles, and where a firm doesn't publish something, we say "not published" or "not stated".
A firm made the list only if it met all five criteria:
- Human-led testing is the core of the offer. Automated scanning alone doesn't qualify.
- Penetration testing is a named service with its own page on the firm's site.
- The firm tests at least three of: network, web application, API, mobile, cloud, social engineering, red team.
- The firm delivers engagements in the United States.
- The firm has a public track record: accreditation, published research or open-source tooling, or independent reviews.
We left out two kinds of company:
- Automated scanning and DAST products sold as penetration testing.
- Directories and marketplaces.
Practitioners also recommend Trail of Bits, but its work is code and design assurance rather than penetration testing engagements, so it isn't listed.
What does a penetration testing company do?
A penetration testing company is a security services firm whose testers attack an organization's networks, applications, cloud environments and people, with permission, to find weaknesses an adversary could actually exploit. Penetration testing service providers deliver the result as a report of confirmed findings with evidence, severity ratings and remediation guidance.
A scanning tool vendor sells software that flags known vulnerabilities automatically. A penetration testing company puts a human in front of those findings to confirm them, chain them and exploit them. For how the two compare, see penetration testing vs. vulnerability scanning.
The fourteen firms at a glance
Firm details checked on 24th September 2026. Of the fourteen penetration testing firms below, only Cloud Security Partners, NetSPI and Synack, and Software Secured publish dollar prices. Five state no retest terms at all, and Cobalt has the most independent reviews (180 on G2). Headquarters are listed for buyers who want penetration testing companies in the USA. Capability columns reflect each firm's own penetration testing pages.
Our firm first: Cloud Security Partners
We list our own firm first because we publish this guide, and we've held it to the same fields as every other firm here.
Cloud Security Partners
Cloud Security Partners is best suited to cloud-heavy estates that want testing by named engineers and a published price. Cloud Security Partners is a cloud and application security consultancy in the Washington, DC area, founded in 2017, whose engineers pair AI-assisted tooling with human-verified testing across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
Cloud Security Partners' penetration testing services cover internal and external network, web application, mobile and API, cloud, red team, and social engineering and phishing testing, delivered as consultancy engagements. AI widens what gets tested. A human engineer then confirms and exploits every finding, and the approach is set out in how we use AI in network penetration testing. The methodology is named: OWASP Testing Guide, OWASP Top 10, PTES, OSSTMM, MITRE ATT&CK and NIST SP 800-115.
The Cloud Security Partners team has fourteen people. Certifications across it include OSCP, SANS, CREST Pathway, CISSP, eJPT and CompTIA PenTest+, and CTO John Poulin has spoken at DEF CON and LASCON. Clients shown on the site include RBC, Cloudflare, RunReveal and Fannie Mae. Reviews: 5.0 on Clutch (2 reviews) and 5.0 on G2 (3 reviews).
Published terms are the clearest difference. At Cloud Security Partners, retesting of fixed findings is included for 90 days after the final report. Every engagement ends with a findings report, an executive summary, remediation guidance and a live remediation call. And the prices are on the site: web application testing $7,000 to $30,000, network testing $7,000 to $28,000, social engineering $10,000 to $13,000 and physical testing about $10,000. The limitation: a fourteen-person team with no company-level CREST accreditation, and review evidence is five reviews.
Enterprise and research-led firms
Bishop Fox, Coalfire, Mandiant, NCC Group and Rapid7 run large in-house testing teams or research programs.
Bishop Fox
Bishop Fox is best suited to enterprises with large application portfolios that want research-driven offensive depth. The target list is long: external and internal networks, web, API, mobile, thick client, secure code review, cloud, IoT and hardware, AI and LLM systems, red team and social engineering. Delivery is consultancy, plus continuous testing on its managed Cosmos platform. Bishop Fox is CREST-accredited and a PCI ASV, and its methodology goes beyond the OWASP Top 10 and supports OWASP ASVS. Retesting is included in application test deliverables. It's headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, was founded in 2005 and has 100 to 500 employees. The limitation: no published pricing, and its 4.0 on Gartner Peer Insights comes from a single rating.
Coalfire
Coalfire is best suited to compliance-driven buyers, especially those working toward FedRAMP and PCI DSS. Start with the accreditations: Coalfire is a FedRAMP 3PAO and a PCI QSA, so the firm testing you also understands the assessment your report has to survive. Its offensive team, DivisionHex, tests network, application, mobile, hardware, social engineering, physical, red team and adversary emulation, and AI and LLM systems. Delivery is consultancy, plus an OnDemand program under one contract. Coalfire is based in Denver, Colorado, was founded in 2001 and has more than 1,000 employees. It holds 5.0 on Gartner Peer Insights from 4 ratings. The limitation: its testing pages are written around compliance, and no methodology or retest terms are stated.
Mandiant (Google Cloud)
Mandiant is best suited to organizations that want intelligence-led red teaming or ICS and OT testing. It tests ICS and SCADA systems and embedded and IoT devices, which few firms here cover, plus external and internal networks, web and mobile applications, cloud and social engineering including physical, and runs red team and AI red teaming work. Delivery is consultancy, also available through the Mandiant Retainer. Mandiant is listed on the CREST Marketplace and uses its own four-step process, with AI work guided by Google SAIF and the NIST AI RMF. Founded in 2004, it has been part of Google Cloud since 2022 and publishes no standalone headcount. It holds 4.9 on Gartner Peer Insights from 11 ratings for security consulting. The limitation: it's a consulting unit inside Google Cloud, with no published pricing or retest terms.
NCC Group
NCC Group is best suited to regulated, high-stakes environments that need PCI DSS, ISO 27001 or public sector assurance. It tests web, mobile and native applications, networks, cloud and hardware, runs attack simulation, and covers blockchain and cryptography, which no other firm here lists. Delivery is consultancy, plus a Continuous Penetration Testing subscription. Accreditations include CREST, CHECK, UKAS and Cyber Scheme, and NCC Group follows its own seven-phase process. Retesting and final reporting form phase seven, though the retest isn't stated as included in the price. The firm is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with its North American headquarters in Chicago, was founded in 1999 and has more than 1,800 experts. We found no penetration testing rating. The limitation: it's UK-headquartered, most accreditations are UK schemes, and no US review data was found.
Rapid7
Rapid7 is best suited to organizations already using Rapid7's security platform. It tests external and internal networks, web applications, mobile, IoT, wireless, social engineering and red team, with point-in-time consultancy plus a continuous red team service. Testing is 85% manual and 15% automated, drawing on NIST and CIS controls, and its testers contribute to Metasploit. No accreditations or retest terms are stated. Rapid7 is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, was founded in 2000 and has 1,001 to 5,000 employees. Its 3.4 on Gartner Peer Insights (10 ratings, consulting services) is the lowest score on this list. The limitation: penetration testing is one service inside a broad product company, and its page lists no API, cloud or AI testing.
Platform and crowdsourced providers
Cobalt, HackerOne and the combined NetSPI and Synack deliver testing through a platform, using employed testers, vetted communities or both.
Cobalt
Cobalt is best suited to teams that want tests launched within 24 hours on a credit-based program. Its PTaaS platform draws on the Cobalt Core, a community of more than 500 vetted testers whose certifications include OSCP, OSWE, CRT, CPSA and CRTO. They test web, API, mobile, desktop, AI and LLM, internal and external network, cloud and red team, and Cobalt also offers secure code review. The company holds CREST and ISO 27001, and testing follows OWASP. Retesting is free and unlimited during the contract term. Cobalt is headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2013 and has 51 to 200 employees. It holds 4.5 on G2 from 180 reviews. The limitation: no dollar pricing, and testers are matched from a community pool for each engagement.
HackerOne
HackerOne is best suited to organizations that want pentesting on the same platform as their bug bounty program. It tests web, API, mobile, desktop, network, cloud and AI and LLM systems, and offers code security audits, using an invite-only pool of community pentesters. The company holds CREST and ISO 27001, and testing follows OWASP guidelines. Two retests per report within 60 days come at no extra cost. HackerOne is headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2012 and has 201 to 500 employees. It holds 4.6 on Gartner Peer Insights from 81 ratings company-wide. The limitation: testers are community members rather than employees, and retests are capped at two per report.
NetSPI and Synack
NetSPI and Synack are best suited to organizations that want one provider for testing programs across many test types, from employed-tester PTaaS to crowdsourced and continuous testing. The two merged in 2026, creating a company with more than $200 million in revenue, nearly 40 years of combined operating history and more than 13 million hours of offensive testing. What does each side bring? NetSPI (Minneapolis, founded 2001, 501 to 1,000 employees) brings more than 350 in-house pentesters and more than 50 test types on The NetSPI Platform, from network, web, API, mobile and cloud through mainframe, IoT and OT, AI and LLM, red team and social engineering. Synack (Redwood City, California, founded 2013, 101 to 500 employees) brings the Synack Red Team of more than 1,500 vetted researchers and Sara, its agentic AI. NetSPI is CREST-accredited and covers the OWASP Top 10. Synack is FedRAMP Moderate Authorized and follows the OWASP Top 10, WSTG and MSTG, with patch verification built into its platform. Reviews: 4.5 on Gartner Peer Insights from 46 ratings for NetSPI, and 4.8 on G2 from 21 reviews for Synack. Synack's plans are published: Sara Pentest from $4,181, Standard Pentest from $10,283 and Synack14 from $27,120, plus a separate platform subscription. The limitation: retest terms differ between the two platforms, with NetSPI's remediation testing priced per vulnerability, and the Synack platform subscription costs extra.
Specialist and practitioner-recommended firms
Black Hills Information Security, Praetorian, Software Secured, SpecterOps and TrustedSec sit alongside Cloud Security Partners here. Most come up often when practitioners discuss who to hire.
Black Hills Information Security
Black Hills Information Security is best suited to teams that want findings explained in plain terms their staff can act on. That's built into how it works: its own process runs discover, validate, exploit, chain, explain. It tests external and internal networks, Microsoft 365 and cloud identity, wireless, web applications, APIs and identity systems, and runs AI security assessments, as point-in-time tests or as ANTISOC continuous testing over a one-year engagement. There's no company-level accreditation, but its consultants hold OSCP, OSEP, GPEN, GWAPT and GXPN, and it builds tools such as RITA and Backdoors & Breaches. Black Hills is headquartered in Sturgis, South Dakota, was founded in 2008 and has 101 to 250 employees. We found no rating. The limitation: no named testing standard, and no stated retest for standard tests.
Praetorian
Praetorian is best suited to enterprises that want continuous offensive testing rather than an annual test. Its main offer is Praetorian Guard, a continuous managed platform, alongside services. The test list runs from web, mobile and API, cloud, networks, Active Directory and wireless through AI, ML and LLM systems, IoT and hardware, automotive and CI/CD, plus red and purple teams. Praetorian built Nosey Parker, and it names more methodologies than any other firm here: OWASP Top 10, ASVS, MASVS, PTES, OSSTMM, MITRE ATT&CK, MITRE ATLAS, the OWASP LLM Top 10 and the NIST AI RMF. Fixes are retested and verified. Praetorian is headquartered in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2010 and has 101 to 250 employees. It holds 4.1 on Gartner Peer Insights from 8 ratings for the Guard platform. The limitation: no published pricing or accreditations, and the main offer is a managed platform.
Software Secured
Software Secured is best suited to SaaS companies that want manual testing with published prices and retesting built in. It publishes the longest price list of any firm here: web and API testing from $10,800, mobile from $5,400, external network from $5,400, internal network from $7,700 and PTaaS from $21,400. Retesting is generous too. You can request it within 12 months of report delivery, web and API tests include three rounds, and PTaaS includes unlimited retesting. It tests web, API and mobile applications, external and internal networks, cloud, AI, IoT and hardware, and offers secure code review, red teaming, social engineering and threat modeling, as project-based tests or as PTaaS aligned to release cycles. Its testers are full-time and North America-based, with certifications including OSCP, OSWE and GWAPT. Software Secured is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, was founded in 2010 and has 10 to 49 employees. It holds 4.9 on Clutch from 20 reviews. The limitation: a Canadian-headquartered team of 10 to 49 people, with no named methodology or company-level accreditation.
SpecterOps
SpecterOps is best suited to organizations whose main risk is identity and Active Directory attack paths. SpecterOps makes BloodHound, so the people testing your identity layer built the tool designed to map it. It runs network, application and AI penetration testing, AI red teaming, purple team exercises and attack path assessments across Active Directory and Entra ID, as consultancy plus the BloodHound Enterprise platform. No methodology is stated. SpecterOps is headquartered in Seattle, was founded in 2017 and has 251 to 500 employees. We found no services rating. The limitation: no physical, social engineering or mobile testing is listed, and no retest is stated.
TrustedSec
TrustedSec is best suited to organizations that want a wide range of offensive and advisory work from one firm. Its range covers penetration testing, cloud testing across Azure and AWS, IoT and hardware, red and purple teams, Active Directory, LLM testing, social engineering including physical, web, API and mobile applications, and source code review, all as consultancy. TrustedSec became CREST-accredited in 2025 and has released 52 open-source tools, including the Social-Engineer Toolkit. Application testing follows the OWASP Testing Guide and Top 10, and validation testing follows fixes. It's headquartered in Fairlawn, Ohio, was founded in 2012 and doesn't publish its size. We found no rating. The limitation: no published pricing, and its penetration testing page names no methodology.
Delivery models: consultancy, PTaaS, crowdsourced and continuous
Penetration testing companies deliver work through four models (consultancy, PTaaS, crowdsourced and continuous), and the model decides who tests, how quickly they start and how much continuity you get.
Consultancy
A consultancy scopes a fixed engagement, assigns its own employed testers and delivers a report at the end. It suits compliance tests, complex applications and red team work, where the testers need to understand your environment. The trade-off is a slower start and a point-in-time view. Cloud Security Partners, Bishop Fox, Coalfire, Mandiant, NCC Group, Rapid7, Black Hills Information Security, Software Secured, SpecterOps and TrustedSec all deliver this way.
PTaaS
Penetration testing as a service (PTaaS) runs tests through a platform where you launch engagements, track findings and request retests. It suits teams that test often and want findings in their ticketing workflow. NetSPI's employed pentesters and Software Secured's full-time team work on their own platforms, while Cobalt, HackerOne and the Synack Red Team draw on vetted communities.
Crowdsourced
Crowdsourced penetration testing uses a vetted pool of independent researchers rather than a fixed team. What you give up is continuity, because the testers on one engagement may not be the testers on the next. NetSPI and Synack run this model through the Synack Red Team, and HackerOne and Cobalt use community testers within their PTaaS offers.
Continuous
Continuous managed testing keeps an offensive team or platform working against your estate year-round. It suits organizations whose attack surface changes every week. It costs more than one annual test and needs someone internally to act on a steady flow of findings. Bishop Fox (Cosmos), Praetorian (Guard), NCC Group (Continuous Penetration Testing), NetSPI and Synack, Software Secured (PTaaS), Black Hills Information Security (ANTISOC) and Rapid7 (continuous red team) offer it.
What are the main types of penetration test?
The seven main types of penetration test are external network, internal network, web application, mobile and API, cloud, social engineering and red team:
- External network penetration testing: what an internet-based attacker can reach and exploit.
- Internal network penetration testing: what an attacker can do once inside, including Active Directory.
- Web application penetration testing: authentication, authorization, injection and business logic flaws.
- Mobile and API penetration testing: app binaries, backend APIs and the data passing between them.
- Cloud security assessment: identity, configuration and exposure in AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
- Social engineering and phishing testing: whether staff can be talked into giving access.
- Red team assessment: an objective-based campaign testing detection and response, with AI red teaming for models and agents.
How do you choose a penetration testing company?
Knowing how to choose a penetration testing company comes down to six decisions: what you're testing, why, the compliance driver, your team's maturity, one-off or continuous testing, and budget. Each has a rule of thumb.
What you are testing
Check that the test type appears on the firm's own penetration testing page, not just in a sales conversation.
Why you are testing it
Is the test for an auditor, a launch or an incident? Each needs different depth. If the report is going to a customer or auditor, confirm the report format before you confirm the firm.
The compliance driver
If PCI DSS, SOC 2 or FedRAMP is driving the work, the report has to show scope, methodology and remediation status. For FedRAMP, use a firm with 3PAO status or one that works alongside yours.
Your in-house team's maturity
A team with no security staff needs findings it can act on without translation. A mature team wants depth and attack chains. Our rule: the less security staff you have, the more the readout call and remediation guidance matter.
One-off test or continuous program
A single annual test is a snapshot. Continuous testing catches what changes between snapshots. If you ship to production weekly, one test a year leaves most of your changes untested.
Budget
Three firms on this list publish dollar prices, one publishes a credit model, and the rest quote after scoping. Ask penetration testing firms for a range before the scoping call, then compare what that range includes. Retesting is the line item that varies most.
Is your wider need cloud security rather than testing alone? See our guide to the best cloud security consulting firms.
How much does a penetration test cost?
A penetration test from Cloud Security Partners costs $7,000 to $30,000 for a web application and $7,000 to $28,000 for a network, NetSPI and Synack publish Synack plans from $4,181, and Software Secured lists prices from $5,400. Cobalt publishes a credit model without dollar figures, and the other ten firms on this list don't publish prices. Cost moves with scope, the number of assets, the test type, the depth of testing and compliance reporting requirements. See our penetration testing cost ranges, or use the security cost estimator.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask every penetration testing vendor on your shortlist the same nine questions. Ask us, too.
- Who will do the testing, and what certifications do they each hold?
- Are the testers your employees, or drawn from a community?
- Which methodology do you follow, by name?
- Can we see a sample report?
- Is retesting included, how many times, and for how long?
- What happens if you find something critical mid-test?
- Who owns the findings and the report once the engagement ends?
- What happens to our data and any credentials we share?
- What would change the fixed price?
Frequently asked questions
Will a penetration test report satisfy our SOC 2 or PCI DSS auditor?
A penetration test report evidences the penetration testing requirement in SOC 2 and PCI DSS audits when it documents scope, methodology, findings and remediation status. It doesn't evidence the rest of your control set. Your auditor will also want proof that serious findings were fixed, which is what a retest report provides.
How long does a penetration test take, from signing to report?
At Cloud Security Partners, most engagements run one to three weeks depending on scope, and testing can typically begin within two to three weeks of a signed scope.
How often should we run a penetration test?
Run a penetration test at least once a year and after any significant change to your systems. PCI DSS requires testing at least every twelve months and after significant change, and FedRAMP requires annual testing.
What is the difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test?
A vulnerability assessment uses scanning to list known weaknesses. A penetration test has a human exploit and chain them to show what an attacker could actually do. For the full comparison, see penetration testing vs. vulnerability scanning.
Should the testers know our systems, or find their own way in?
Black box testers start with no knowledge, grey box testers get credentials or documentation, and white box testers get full access including source code. For most application tests, ask for grey box: it spends your budget on finding flaws rather than on reconnaissance. Ask for black box when you specifically want to know what an outsider can find.
Should we use the same firm every year or rotate?
Staying with one firm builds knowledge of your estate and makes year-on-year results comparable. Rotating brings a fresh pair of eyes that may find what the incumbent stopped looking for. A workable middle ground is one firm for routine testing and a second for a periodic independent test.
Talk to our penetration testing team
Cloud Security Partners is one of three firms on this list that publish dollar prices, with web application tests from $7,000 and retesting included for 90 days. The next step is a scoping call with one of our engineers, then a fixed-scope proposal. Get Started or Contact Us.
About the Author
Michael McCabe founded Cloud Security Partners in 2017 to create and implement security solutions for a select number of clients.
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