Side by side · Facts only
Cytactic beside Hack The Box: training types and facts side by side
Short answer
Cytactic sells tabletop and crisis simulation; Hack The Box sells hands-on lab libraries and tabletop and crisis simulation, and, with a condition, cyber range. They differ on 2 of 4 training types and 4 of 8 checks on the pages we read. This page sets their published facts side by side; it does not pick one.
By The Range Desk · Cyber Range Compare · Published 2026-10-11 · Updated 2026-10-13
Desk research from public vendor, standards and regulator pages read on 27 September, 11 October and 13 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.
Which training types does each sell?
- Targets: Cytactic
- Diamonds: Hack The Box
- RANGE · Cyber range: Not in our sources; Hack The Box: Sold with a condition
- LABS · Hands-on lab libraries: Not in our sources; Hack The Box: Sold
- CRISIS · Tabletop and crisis simulation: Sold; Hack The Box: Sold
- AWARE · Awareness training: Not in our sources; Hack The Box: Not in our sources
- Filled target: the platform sells this training type on the pages we read
- Hatched target: sold with a condition (an add-on, an adjacent product, or part of the type)
- Dashed target: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)
| Type | Cytactic | Hack The Box |
|---|---|---|
| Cyber range | Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read. | Sold with a condition HTB PRO, an individual plan announced in September 2026, lists SOC Range access from Q4 2026; a team range on your own tools is not described on the pages we read. Source: Hack The Box blog: HTB PRO plan announcement · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Hands-on lab libraries | Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read. | Sold Academy modules, Professional Labs, machines and capture-the-flag content for business teams. Source: Hack The Box for business · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Tabletop and crisis simulation | Sold "Risk-tuned, Realistic Crisis Simulation (Digital TTX)", with a Simulation Generator: five ready-made simulations plus an AI engine that builds new ones. Source: Cytactic blog: the next generation of cyber tabletops · Read 13 Oct 2026 | Sold Crisis Control runs platform-led tabletop exercises with scenario waves, injects, emails, news and social updates, and optional hands-on investigation. Source: Hack The Box: tabletop exercises (Crisis Control) · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Awareness training | Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read. | Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read. |
Where do their published facts differ?
Cyber range: Cytactic Not in our sources, Hack The Box Sold with a condition
Cytactic: Not described on the pages we read.
Hack The Box: HTB PRO, an individual plan announced in September 2026, lists SOC Range access from Q4 2026; a team range on your own tools is not described on the pages we read.
Hands-on lab libraries: Cytactic Not in our sources, Hack The Box Sold
Cytactic: Not described on the pages we read.
Hack The Box: Academy modules, Professional Labs, machines and capture-the-flag content for business teams.
Hands-on keyboard work: Cytactic Not in our sources, Hack The Box Matches
Cytactic: Not in our sources.
Hack The Box: Academy modules and Professional Labs, plus optional hands-on investigation inside Crisis Control.
Executives and non-technical roles take part: Cytactic Partly, Hack The Box Matches
Cytactic: Generated exercises include stakeholder discussions, with crisis communication and legal disclosure agents in the platform; an exercise format for executives or the board is not described.
Hack The Box: Crisis Control covers executives, SOC, IT, legal and communications.
Price published: Cytactic Not in our sources, Hack The Box Matches
Cytactic: Not in our sources.
Hack The Box: Professional plan: $250 per seat per month or $2,500 per seat per year.
Free start (free tier, trial or free material): Cytactic Not in our sources, Hack The Box Matches
Cytactic: Not in our sources.
Hack The Box: The Lite business plan lists a 14-day free trial.
Where do they match?
- Sold Tabletop and crisis simulation
- Partly Built around your own environment or tools
- Matches Reports or evidence for auditors, boards or regulators
Neither platform's pages describe: Awareness training, Sessions of an hour or less, Reaches the whole workforce.
What do they cost?
Professional: $250 per seat per month or $2,500 per seat per year. Lite, Base and Ultimate are not priced publicly; Lite lists a 14-day free trial. Crisis Control: price not published.
Source: Hack The Box business pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
How do their strengths and limits compare?
Strengths
- A ready library of five crisis simulations plus a generator that drafts new ones from the organisation's profile.
- Simulation artefacts such as ransom notes, breaking news and system data appear automatically.
- Sits next to playbooks, crisis communication and legal disclosure tools.
Limits
- Not a lab platform or a cyber range: no hands-on technical environment is described.
- No published price, and board formats and measurement are not described on the pages we read.
Strengths
- Deep technical content: Academy modules, Professional Labs, machines and capture-the-flag events, with 4.3m+ learners.
- A published business price, $2,500 per seat per year on the Professional plan, and a 14-day trial on Lite.
- Crisis Control adds a tabletop with optional hands-on investigation for technical players.
Limits
- A team range on your own tools is not described; SOC Range access is listed for an individual plan from Q4 2026.
- Crisis Control pricing is not published, and its scenarios are tailored with facilitator guidance, which takes more lead time than a self-serve generator.
Which one fits which team?
Look at Cytactic if you want tabletop practice next to your playbooks and disclosure tools, or if you want ready-made crisis scenarios to start from. Look at Hack The Box if your technical team needs labs and certifications first and a tabletop second, or if you want a business price you can budget against before a call.
Not sure which training type you need first? The training type finder weighs your answers before it lists platforms.
Questions people ask
Is Cytactic or Hack The Box cheaper?
Hack The Box publishes a price: Professional: $250 per seat per month or $2,500 per seat per year. Lite, Base and Ultimate are not priced publicly; Lite lists a 14-day free trial. Crisis Control: price not published. Cytactic does not publish a price on the pages we read.
Do Cytactic and Hack The Box sell the same kind of training?
They both sell tabletop and crisis simulation. Hack The Box also sells cyber range and hands-on lab libraries.
Can I compare several platforms at once?
Yes. The platform fact grid puts up to twelve side by side, and you can pick which ones.
Read next
- Cytactic profile
A cyber incident response management hub with a simulation generator: five ready-made crisis simulations and an AI engine that builds new ones from the organisation's profile, run in a Simulation Mode inside the platform.
- Hack The Box profile
A technical training platform with a large learner community, Academy modules and Professional Labs, plus Crisis Control, a platform-led tabletop with optional hands-on investigation.
- Tabletop and crisis simulation
The people who own decisions in an incident work through a scenario and decide what to do, from a scripted discussion to an adaptive simulation.
- Cyber range
A team detects and responds to a live simulated attack in a realistic environment, using real security tools.
- Platform fact grid
Every platform's facts in one table.