TryHackMe

What TryHackMe is

TryHackMe is a hands-on cyber security training platform that runs in the browser. Its About page describes it as "a gamified, hands-on cyber security training platform that you can access through your browser, with blue, red and purple team content for all skill levels." It serves individual learners from complete beginners to experienced professionals, schools and universities, and security teams that use its business product to train and measure analysts. The About page counts 8,000,000 total users, the business page says it is "Trusted by 1000+ security teams and 8M+ users", and the pricing page says 800+ organizations use it to upskill their workforce.

The co-founders, Ben Spring and Ashu Savani, started TryHackMe because they found the industry hard to get into, both for newcomers and for people already working in it. The company is based at 128 City Road in London, describes itself as "a fully bootstrapped company without investment", and states that it is ISO27001 compliant.

How learning works

The home page promises access to "over 1000 training labs and learning pathways suited to all levels, from the complete beginner to the seasoned hacker." The method is practical: each user gets a personal virtual machine deployable with one click, so learners attack and defend machines the way they would on the job. Lessons are organized as rooms, and the AttackBox, a browser-based hacking machine, means nothing has to be installed locally.

Learning paths are filtered by starting point (from scratch, already know the basics, upskilling for experts) and by role: Security Analyst, Penetration Tester, Security Engineer and AI Security. Paths on the home page include:

• Easy: Cyber Security 101, SOC Level 1, Pre Security, CompTIA Pentest+ and Security Engineer
• Intermediate: Jr Penetration Tester, AI Security (new for 2026), Offensive Pentesting, Defending Azure, Web Application Pentesting and DevSecOps
• Hard: Advanced Endpoint Investigations, Web Application Red Teaming and Red Teaming

Beginners are a core audience. The About page says it has "training labs suited to the complete beginner with zero coding experience, and zero cyber security experience", while experienced staff use it "to stay on top of evolving threats and tools." The Web Application Pentesting, DevSecOps and Security Engineer paths give developers and engineers a route into secure development and application testing.

Beyond paths, the menu covers practice (hacking challenges and networks that simulate real environments), competitive hacking, AI upskilling and certifications. Private King of the Hill games and hacking challenges add the gamified side, and Premium and MAX users get early access to new rooms.

Plans and pricing

The pricing page lists three individual plans, shown in euros:

• Free, €0: "Limited access to learning paths", "Free rooms only" and a "1hr daily limit on AttackBox". The About page notes that "Hundreds of our training labs are completely free."
• Premium: shown at €16.99 and at "€10.50 /month" billed annually, with the page stating "Save 38%". It adds full access to beginner learning paths, a "Certificate of completion for each path", unlimited AttackBox and a 15% discount on certifications.
• MAX: shown at €29.11 and at "€17.99 /month" billed annually, also "Save 38%". It adds advanced learning paths, advanced cloud content with AWS and Azure labs, a persistent AttackBox that saves progress, Recent Threats labs, full access to all rooms and a "40% discount on one certification".

The comparison table marks the certification discounts as annual plan only, and both paid plans add access to networks, faster machines and private OpenVPN servers. Plans can be canceled at any time, an annual plan is advertised with "5 months free", and the footer links a student discount and an affiliate program. Business pricing is a separate tab.

Certificates

Learners earn a certificate of completion for each learning path on a paid plan. TryHackMe also offers "professional certification to boost your credibility", and the business page describes its certifications as "Role-mapped qualifications that test real performance and business skills, giving analysts a clear path to progression."

TryHackMe for Business

The business product aims to "Develop world-class cyber defense teams" and "mature your SOC". Its tools include:

• SOC Simulator, giving teams "dynamic alert queues, real tooling, and live MTTR tracking without the risk"
• AI-driven Tabletop Exercises, "Attacker-led scenarios your team can run in an afternoon"
• Custom Content Studio, to "Build and remix modules and learning paths around the threats most relevant to your team"
• Live Breach Exercises and a Threat Hunting Simulator mapped to real TTPs
• Management Dashboard, to "Plan, assign, and track team and individual progress" with metrics such as average dwell time and MTTR
• Maturity Assessment and Roadmap, tailored CTFs and certifications

Supported frameworks include MITRE ATT&CK, NIST Incident Response and OWASP Top 10, and the industries named are government, finance and IT. A case study on the page reports a 77% reduction in average reporting time, a 50% increase in onboarding speed and $69K in onboarding savings. The SOC Support Manager at Huntress is quoted: "What used to take three months now takes six weeks." A training lead at ARAG describes the assignment model plainly: "We assign a path; once it's completed, we know what the learner knows." Teams can try the product free, buy directly or chat with sales.

Education and community

TryHackMe works "with schools, colleges, and universities to give students practical experience in hacking and defending machines." It supports TechVets and CyberGirls, which help underrepresented groups move into cyber, and runs a community, a blog, a glossary, a careers guide and a swag shop. On the pricing page, a former nurse describes moving into a Cyber Security Support Specialist role "After around a year of consistent, hands-on learning".

Who it suits and who it does not

TryHackMe suits beginners who want to start for free in the browser, career changers who need a structured path from fundamentals to a first role, and practitioners who want regular practice on new threats. Security managers get a training library they can assign and track, plus SOC simulations and tabletop exercises for the team.

The free plan is limited to free rooms and an hour of AttackBox a day, so serious learners will move to Premium, and the advanced paths, cloud labs and full room library sit in MAX. The content itself is self-paced rooms and paths; for teams, the business tools add assignment, tracking and exercises on top.