I still remember the first time I opened TryHackMe. The interface looked friendly, almost too friendly — like it was saying, "Hey newbie, don't worry, I got you." A few weeks later, I tried Hack The Box, and let me tell you… that was a whole different level. It felt like walking into a dark room where everyone already knew what they were doing, and I was just standing there with a flashlight that barely worked.
If you're just starting out in cyber security, you've probably seen these two names everywhere — TryHackMe and Hack The Box. And you're probably wondering, "Which one should I pick first?" I've been there. I've broken both, learned from both, and honestly, they're both amazing — but for different reasons.
When I started learning penetration testing, I had zero clue what "enumeration" even meant. TryHackMe helped me with that. It literally walks you through the basics — from how a web server works, to how to exploit one. It's super structured. You can follow learning paths like "Pre Security" or "Cyber Security 101," and it's like having a mentor sitting beside you saying, "Hey, here's why this works." You don't even need to set up a VM; everything runs in your browser. For someone who just wants to start hacking today, TryHackMe is a blessing.
Then there's Hack The Box — the wild jungle of cyber security. Once you've got the basics down, HTB will humble you fast. The machines there don't give you hand-holding or hints. You'll sit there for hours wondering why nothing works, only to realize you missed one small port during your nmap scan. That's when you start thinking like a real hacker. HTB teaches you to research, to fail, and to adapt. It's not easy, but man… the satisfaction of popping your first root shell there hits different.
So here's my honest take:
If you're a beginner — go with TryHackMe first. Get comfortable with the fundamentals, learn the logic behind attacks, and build your confidence. Once you start feeling like the challenges are getting too easy or predictable, move to Hack The Box. That's where you'll sharpen your skills, deal with real-world scenarios, and develop your pentester mindset.
If you've got some budget, TryHackMe's subscription gives you structured paths and daily rooms to explore. Meanwhile, Hack The Box now has HTB Academy, which is like a nice bridge between both worlds — structured like TryHackMe, but deeper in content. If you're serious about going professional, that's worth looking into too.
And please — don't stress about picking the "right" one. The truth? Both platforms complement each other. TryHackMe builds your foundation, and Hack The Box builds your resilience. You'll end up using both anyway.
At the end of the day, it's not about which one's better — it's about which one helps you keep going when your exploit fails for the 10th time. And trust me, it will.
So, which one are you using right now? Or better — which one kicked your ass the hardest? 😂