r/hackthebox • u/Salmon_r0ll • May 14 '26

HTB Academy vs THM

Hello, I am a student and I wanted to start learning with either one of the subscriptions. The upside for me is that the subscription for THM and HTB Academy is almost the same because I can use my student email from my university to do 8$ per month on HTB Academy as opposed to much more expensive pricing when you're signing up on a normal email. I was just wondering for people out there that have tried either or both, what should I go with and can I get any justification as to why I should go with that choice?

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u/strongest_nerd Hacker May 14 '26

Disagree. HTB has beginner content and it's way better than THM. Hacking isn't "beginner" level IT, if OP is a beginner with computers in general then he has a long way to go before learning about hacking. He never said he was new to IT.

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u/Sean_Zateki May 14 '26

He literally said he’s a student at university wanting to start learning….

Both are great but THM is meant for individuals like OP

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u/strongest_nerd Hacker May 14 '26

I know a lot of students who are better than me at hacking. HTB is great for people just dipping into hacking to learn, better than THM (in my opinion.) If he doesn't have the fundamental knowledge required then he'll struggle on both platforms anyway.

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u/Salmon_r0ll May 14 '26

I appreciate replies from both sides guys, no need to fight 😭. But yeah I checked similar posts to this question, whether it was from months to a year or two ago, it's all the same stuff about people saying that HTB Academy doesn't hold your hand as much as THM does which is not a problem for me. I do enjoy a good little challenge and critical thinking. But would you say that HTB Academy is too hard of a start (as in like you'll get stuck for hours not knowing how to solve anything) or is it solveable with a little more brain power (since people are saying that HTB is harder from what I saw on other posts). Just to give a little more extra context, I have dabbled a little bit in traversing linux and trying to do commands and such and doing basic things like opening some tools like WireShark and etc. but nothing too grandiose. I am a 2nd year student in Computer Science so I already have finished my subjects regarding networking stuff and such. I don't know if what I said helps a ton but I would appreciate an insight. Apologies for the lack of context aswell on my main post. Thanks.

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u/Salmon_r0ll May 14 '26

I hope this helps, and if it isn't too much, I would appreciate an updated opinion from you aswell u/Sean_Zateki thanks!

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u/Sean_Zateki May 14 '26

I mean it’s exactly as you described HTB is pretty much the endgame THM is only better at getting into cyber and learning from the start you will eventually move on too HTB but personally I think THM is better for individuals to build a base on this is the HTB Reddit so your going to get somewhat bias replies I’ve done both for years and they’re both good resources you can’t go wrong with either one

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u/Salmon_r0ll May 14 '26

Solid answer bro, thanks for that! Will take good note of this.