HackTheBox vs TryHackMe: which one to pick? (2026)

Philosophy: realistic machines vs guided paths

The underlying difference is how they teach you. HackTheBox throws you at machines that mimic a real environment: you enumerate, find the vector, escalate privileges. There are hints and writeups, but the approach is exploration and autonomy. It's demanding, which is why it's so valued for sharpening skills and preparing certifications.

TryHackMe holds your hand: its rooms combine theory and practice in guided steps, and its paths order what to learn and in what sequence. It's the gentler option when you start from scratch and need someone to give you context before each exercise.

Learning curve: where to start

If you're starting out, TryHackMe reduces frustration: its introductory content is abundant and very guided, ideal for building fundamentals without feeling lost. HackTheBox assumes more prior base; its machines can be a wall if you don't yet master enumeration and methodology. The natural progression for many is clear: fundamentals in TryHackMe, and once you can hold your own, difficulty and realism in HackTheBox.

Realism, certifications and OSCP

To prepare the OSCP or other offensive certifications, HackTheBox is a reference: its machines and tone closely resemble the kind of infrastructure pentesting those exams assess, and it has its own certifications (CPTS, CBBH…). TryHackMe also has paths and certificates, and works very well as a prior base before making the jump. If your goal is an OSCP-style exam, HackTheBox weighs more; if your goal is to reach that level in an orderly way, TryHackMe sets the ground.

And for bug bounty in Spanish? This is where BBLabs comes in

Here's the important nuance: neither HackTheBox nor TryHackMe is centered on web bug bounty, and both run in English. Their territory is machine and infrastructure pentesting (enumeration, escalation, Active Directory), with some module or room on web topics. Real web bug bounty — IDOR, XSS, SSRF, SSTI, business logic in real applications — is a somewhat different discipline, and it's exactly what BBLabs trains.

BBLabs is the Spanish alternative to both for practicing bug bounty: each lab replicates a real report from HackerOne, Bugcrowd or Intigriti, with its context, its exploitation chain and the bounty that was paid. It includes a guided roadmap, live labs in the browser, step-by-step writeups and a free Academy — all designed in Spanish from the start, on a single plan from €7.99/mo. If you come from HTB or THM and want to specialize in hunting web bugs that get paid, without the language barrier, this is the natural place to take that step.

Who each one is for

Verdict: THM to start, HTB to level up, BBLabs for bug bounty

It's not a duel with a single winner. TryHackMe wins on didactics and entry curve: it's where you best start. HackTheBox wins on realism and difficulty: it's where you best level up and prepare the OSCP. Both are excellent at their thing, and using them in sequence is a winning combination. That said, if your concrete goal is to practice web bug bounty with real cases and in Spanish, neither is designed for that: there, the most direct option is BBLabs, with labs based on real reports, roadmap and writeups in your language.