This article provides a detailed comparison between two prominent web security certifications: Hack The Box Certified Bug Bounty Hunter (CBBH) and PortSwigger Web Security Academy’s Burp Suite Certified Practitioner (BSCP).
I analyse key aspects such as difficulty, learning curve, OAS Top 10 coverage, lab quality, real-world relevance, exam formats, and pricing.
I highlight PortSwigger’s strength in theoretical understanding and OAS compliance, while Hack The Box is presented as more suitable for practical, hands-on bug bounty exploitation.
HackTheBox CBBH vs PortSwigger Web Security Academy
Primary Focus & Goal:
Hack The Box CBBH is ideal for those who want to break into the bug bounty world. It focuses on practical offensive tactics that are relevant in real-world bug bounty platforms like HackerOne and Bugcrowd, teaching skills that directly translate into bounty earnings, such as chaining bugs, bypassing filters, and automating reconnaissance. It offers structured, hands-on bug bounty training.
PortSwigger Burp Suite Certified Practitioner (BSCP) is designed for mastering Burp Suite and acquiring a deeper theoretical understanding of web security, alongside practical application. It’s highly suitable for those aiming for professional application security roles, secure development, or application security engineering goals.
Learning Approach & Depth
PortSwigger Web Security Academy teaches a deeper theoretical understanding of each web application vulnerability, explaining how and why it exists at the protocol level (e.g., HTTP header or server level). It’s considered “gold” if you enjoy breaking down how web apps work at this level and is a solid starting point for learning web application security. The learning modules are free to access.
Hack The Box CBBH focuses on hands-on modules and labs that simulate real-world bounty scenarios, providing a narrative-based experience. While it covers web security vulnerabilities, its emphasis is on the practical exploitation techniques used in bug bounty hunting.
OWASP Top 10 Coverage
PortSwigger Web Security Academy is significantly more aligned and comprehensive regarding the OWASP Top 10. For example, it covers sensitive data exposure (A04) and insecure deserialization in greater depth than CBBH.
Hack The Box CBBH also covers injection vulnerabilities, but has a more limited focus on certain OWASP items like sensitive data exposure, logging issues, or components with known vulnerabilities, as these are sometimes less practical for high-impact bug bounty findings.
Exam Format and Conditions
PortSwigger BSCP Exam
Duration: Up to 4 hours.
Environment: Access to one machine with three multi-stage objectives to complete.
Tooling: Strictly limited to using only Burp Suite; other tools or terminal access are not permitted. It’s heavily focused on strong Burp Suite skills, including request manipulation via Intruder, Repeater, scope configuration, and layered attacks.
Assistance: No help or hints are provided during the exam.
Proctoring: It is a remotely proctored and intensely time-pressured practical test. PortSwigger openly states the exam is tough, and not many pass on the first try.
Hack The Box CBBH Exam
Duration: A 7-day time limit.
Environment: Access to a simulated bug bounty target where you must find and exploit multiple vulnerabilities.
Tooling: Not restricted to a single tool like Burp Suite, allowing for a broader approach to vulnerability exploitation.
Deliverable: Requires the submission of a professional report at the end.
Proctoring: It is not proctored, but it is strictly timed to ensure all vulnerabilities are exploited and the report is submitted before the 7-day limit ends.
Cost:
PortSwigger BSCP: While the learning modules via the Web Security Academy are free, the certification exam fee is approximately $99. If you fail, a retake also costs $99.
Hack The Box CBBH: The exam costs around $210, which includes access to Hack The Box Academy Tier 1. A retake is free.
Difficulty & Prerequisites:
PortSwigger BSCP: The difficulty of the exam comes from the intense time pressure and the requirement for strong Burp Suite mastery, often compared to OSCP due to time constraints. While the academy is free, the difficulty of the labs ramps up significantly as you progress.
Hack The Box CBBH: It doesn’t require advanced knowledge, but it’s helpful to have at least a basic understanding of web vulnerabilities and exploitation.
In summary, if your goal is to master Burp Suite and gain a deep theoretical understanding of web application security for roles in application security engineering, the PortSwigger BSCP is a more comprehensive choice, especially for OWASP Top 10 knowledge. Conversely, if you aim to break into bug bounty hunting and focus on practical offensive tactics that yield real-world earnings, the Hack The Box CBBH is the ideal path. It is also suggested that pursuing both certifications can make you a “web security powerhouse”
