How much does a penetration test cost?
A one-off manual penetration test typically runs from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars depending on scope, with retests billed separately. A vulnerability scanner is far cheaper but buries teams in false positives.
Continuous AI-assisted recon and triage sits between the two: low-cost, repeatable coverage that flags what changed between deeper engagements. That's the slot Xseth fills, and it's free during early access.
Three ways to pay for coverage
| Coverage | Cost | Cadence | What you're paying for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vulnerability scanner | Low, subscription-based | On demand | Cheap and fast, but it flags everything as an alert. You pay later in triage time. |
| Manual penetration test | Thousands to tens of thousands | Point-in-time (often annual) | Deep, human-driven, compliance-grade. Retests usually billed separately. |
| Xseth — continuous AI recon & triage | Free during early access | Minutes per run, repeatable | Repeatable coverage that flags what changed between deeper engagements. |
We haven't set general-availability pricing yet. Xseth is free during early access while we onboard design partners. We'd rather validate the value with real teams first than publish a number we haven't earned. Xseth is a force multiplier, not a compliance pentest. It supplements human-driven testing rather than replacing it.
Straight answers
How much does a penetration test cost?
A one-off manual penetration test typically runs from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars depending on scope, with retests billed separately. Automated vulnerability scanners are cheaper but bury teams in false positives. Continuous AI-assisted recon and triage sits between the two: low-cost, repeatable coverage that flags what changed between deeper engagements.
Why are manual penetration tests so expensive?
Manual testing is skilled human labor priced by the day. A scoped engagement bundles planning, hands-on testing, reporting, and a retest, so coverage is deep but point-in-time, and priced out of reach for many small teams.
Is a vulnerability scanner a cheaper alternative to a penetration test?
A scanner is cheaper, but it answers a narrower question: it matches known signatures and emits everything as an alert, including a lot of noise. It doesn't reason about how findings chain into real risk. Xseth keeps the low cost of automation but adds LLM triage that ranks findings with evidence, so the output is closer to what you'd actually act on.
How much does Xseth cost?
Xseth is free during early access while we onboard design partners. We haven't set general-availability pricing yet. We'd rather validate value with real teams first than publish a number we haven't earned.