The Budget Security Alternative to HackerOne
HackerOne runs one of the largest vetted hacker communities and sells pentest as a service on top of it. If you already run a bug bounty or vulnerability disclosure program there, adding a pentest on the same platform is sensible. Budget Security sells one thing: manual pentests by OSCP-certified testers, scoped online, at $985 per tester-day for US clients.
This page compares the two on what each company publishes. HackerOne facts come from hackerone.com, checked 6 October 2026. Budget Security facts come from our own pricing and process pages.
At a glance
| HackerOne Pentest | Budget Security | |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | "Pentest as a Service (PTaaS)" on the HackerOne platform, with "AI-driven insights" and an AI copilot called Hai. Sits alongside bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure products | Manual penetration testing bought per tester-day, scoped and booked online |
| Published price | Not published. hackerone.com/pricing lists no prices; the pentest page invites you to contact sales | Yes. $985 per tester-day for US clients (€849 per day for EU clients) |
| Best for | Companies already on the HackerOne platform that want pentests, bounty and disclosure findings in one place | A defined scope that needs a manual test now, sized to the asset, with the price known before you book |
| Testers stated | "vetted, globally distributed experts"; "Elite pentesters are carefully matched to your asset type and technology stack". Individual certifications not published | OSCP-certified testers |
| Audit evidence | "comprehensive report that includes all findings, risk assessments"; "Meet standards for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and more"; NIST CSF 2.0, FISMA, NIST 800-53, DORA and CREST also named | Manual report with exploitation evidence, mapped to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS and NIS2 |
| Delivery | Platform: "real-time findings"; integrations with Jira, Slack, GitHub and ServiceNow. Tester locations: "globally distributed" | Remote, from The Hague, Netherlands, during US business hours. No US office. Findings land in your dashboard |
| Turnaround | Start time and report timing not published. Sales "typically responds within 1 business day" | Testing starts within 7 days of booking. Report within 48 hours after the test ends |
| Retest | "retesting to confirm that the fixes have been correctly implemented" | Retests booked from the dashboard |
| Booking | Contact sales | Self-serve scoping and sign-up; no sales call. You pay after the report is delivered |
When HackerOne is the better choice
HackerOne has strengths Budget Security does not try to match. Pick HackerOne when:
- You already run a bounty or disclosure program on HackerOne. One platform for crowd findings and pentest findings, one set of integrations, one triage queue. That consolidation has real value for a security team.
- You want a very broad talent pool matched to an unusual stack. HackerOne says testers are "carefully matched to your asset type and technology stack" from an "elite pentester community". For niche technology, a large pool helps.
- Your frameworks go beyond SOC 2 and ISO. HackerOne names NIST CSF 2.0, FISMA, NIST 800-53 and DORA on its pentest page. If your auditor works from one of those, ask HackerOne how its report maps to it.
- You want a vendor your procurement team already knows. HackerOne states that "1300+ companies trust HackerOne". For large buyers, that recognition shortens vendor review.
When Budget Security is the better choice
- You want the price before the sales call. Our rate is on the website: $985 per tester-day for US clients. You scope the test yourself and the number appears before you book. HackerOne does not publish pentest prices.
- You want to know who tests. Every Budget Security engagement is done by OSCP-certified testers. We name the certification on every page because it is the one most auditors recognise for manual testing.
- You need a start date, not a response time. Testing starts within 7 days of booking. A 24-hour start is not guaranteed; it depends on tester availability and carries an urgency fee. The report lands in your dashboard within 48 hours after the test ends.
- You do not want a platform relationship, just a test. No subscription, no program to manage. Book the days, get the report, pay after delivery.
- You are a 20 to 500 person company buying your first or second pentest. That is who we built the scoping tool for. An enterprise security team with a bounty program is better served elsewhere, and we say so.
Switching or combining
The two are not substitutes for each other across the board. Three practical setups:
- Bounty on HackerOne, annual manual pentest with Budget Security. A bounty finds what the crowd finds, when it finds it. An audit asks for a scoped manual test with a start and end date. Run both and give the auditor the pentest report.
- Moving a pentest from HackerOne to Budget Security. Take the asset list from your last scope, enter it in our scoping tool, and read off the tester-days and price. Keep your HackerOne program running for disclosure; it does not conflict.
- Moving the other way. If you outgrow us, which happens at the red-team and continuous-program stage, you lose nothing. Our reports are yours and export cleanly.
Whichever you pick, give the auditor one report per audit period that names scope, methodology, testers' credentials and exploitation evidence. That is the document they are looking for.
Other comparisons
Budget Security vs Intruder and Budget Security vs Cobalt.
HackerOne is a trademark of its owner. This page uses the name only to identify the product being compared. Spotted an error? Email info@budgetsecurity.com and we will correct it.
FAQ
HackerOne alternative: questions we get
What is the best alternative to HackerOne for penetration testing?
For a scoped manual test with a published price, Budget Security: OSCP-certified testers at $985 per tester-day for US clients, scoped and booked online, report within 48 hours after the test ends. For a crowd-sourced program with pentests attached, HackerOne is the model to beat.
Is HackerOne Pentest a manual penetration test?
HackerOne describes its pentest as "Expert-driven, modern pentesting" performed by "vetted, globally distributed experts", with "AI-driven insights" and an AI copilot for reporting. It is positioned as human testing supported by tooling. Ask your HackerOne contact which parts of the engagement are human and which are automated before you promise an auditor a manual test.
How does Budget Security pricing compare to HackerOne?
HackerOne does not publish pentest prices. Its pricing page (hackerone.com/pricing, checked 6 October 2026) lists no amounts, and its pentest page directs you to contact sales. Budget Security publishes $985 per tester-day for US clients. A 3-day test is $2,955 and a 5-day test is $4,925, paid after the report is delivered. Use the calculator to size your own scope.
Does HackerOne name its testers' certifications?
Not on the pages we checked. The pentest page says testers are "vetted" and "elite" and matched to your stack. If a specific credential matters to your auditor, ask for it in writing. Budget Security states OSCP on every page.
Can I keep my HackerOne bounty program and use Budget Security for the pentest?
Yes. Many companies separate continuous disclosure from the annual scoped test. The bounty stays where it is. The pentest is booked with us, delivered in our dashboard, and the retest is booked from the same place.
How fast can Budget Security start compared to HackerOne?
HackerOne does not publish a start time; its site says the sales team "typically responds within 1 business day". Budget Security starts testing within 7 days of booking. Faster starts depend on availability and carry an urgency fee.
See the price for your scope before you book.
$985 per tester-day for US clients (€849 per day for EU clients). Start within 7 days of booking. Report within 48 hours after testing ends. Pay after delivery.