# Cobalt vs Traditional Pentesting Providers

##### Discover what thousands of companies already have with a better way to pentest

Traditional pentesting is too slow, rigid, and opaque for modern enterprises, creating bottlenecks, delivering stale data, and failing to integrate with the way you work. Cobalt is built for the speed and scale of your business.

[Download the Buyers Guide](https://www.cobalt.io/hubfs/Cobalt_Pentesting_Buyers_Guide_2025.pdf)

## The Cobalt Differentiators

Cobalt pioneered Pentesting as a Service (PTaaS) by blending human-led testing with AI. Our platform simplifies security testing with real-time results and seamless workflow integrations, making it faster and easier to manage risk.

### Traditional Pentesting Providers

#### Slow & Inflexible

- Months-long lead times for scheduling
- Rigid, SOW-based engagements that stifle urgent needs
- Findings delivered in a static PDF weeks after testing is complete
- Retesting must be done on the pentester’s timetable

#### Opaque & Siloed

- Zero visibility into findings until the final report
- Developers must wait for a readout call to understand results
- Findings are orphaned in a PDF or buried in email threads

#### Limited & Stagnant

- Small, fixed teams with limited expertise
- One-and-done projects that provide only a snapshot in time

### Pentesting as a Service (PTaaS)

#### Speed & Agility On Demand

- Launch a pentest in as little as 24 hours
- A flexible credit model that adapts to your needs
- Real-time findings so remediation can start immediately
- Unlimited retesting to validate fixes

#### Collaborative & Transparent

- Full visibility with progress checklists and live findings
- Direct access to pentesters via Slack, MS Teams, and in-platform chat
- Integrated directly into your find-and-fix workflows

#### Scalable & Programmatic

- Access 450+ vetted experts with diverse skill sets
- Build a continuous, strategic program that improves over time

|  | **Cobalt PTaaS** | **Traditional Testing** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fast pentest start times |  |  |
| Robust Methodologies |  |  |
| Flexible, credit-based payments |  |  |
| Centralized platform for findings, communication, and reporting |  | Sometimes |
| Large pool of vetted testers |  |  |
| Cost-effective offensive security testing |  |  |
| Flexible contracts and ease of doing business |  |  |
| Scalability across multiple business units or asset types |  |  |
| Integrated delivery model for findings |  |  |
| Free retesting per finding to validate fixes |  |  |
| Focus on customer experience |  |  |

###### Adam Sura,

Director of Infrastructure at Algolia

**"With traditional pentesting firms, there is no platform. You send an email with the description of the service, and you get a PDF back. The 'in-between' stays the magic for the consultancy. Cobalt is different - there is transparency throughout the entire process."**

[customer stories](https://www.cobalt.io/customers/personio)

###### Verified User,

Information Technology and Services

**"Compared to traditional pen testing, it's a vastly better experience to have a direct Slack channel, as well as a web app for issue tracking… The pen testers were quite thorough, and found more issues than past, traditional pen testers had uncovered in this same project. The fact that retesting is included in the price is the icing on the cake."**

[Customer Stories](https://www.cobalt.io/customers/business-identity-platform-provider)

## Schedule a demo today to simplify your penetration testing program

Empower your security and development teams with the information they need to find and fix vulnerabilities. Cobalt helps identify the most important, validated exploits and how to fix them. Connect findings from any Cobalt Offensive Security Testing service into your remediate workflows so you never miss a vulnerability. Connect with Cobalt today to see the platform in action and explore our integrations.

[Talk to our team](https://www.cobalt.io/get-started-smb)

Qualified

## Get security and peace of mind with modern pentesting

Learn how Cobalt can streamline your testing process today.