COAE vs OSCP
| COAE Hack The Box | OSCP OffSec | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Offensive · Intermediate | Offensive · Intermediate |
| Price | $210 Voucher with 2 attempts. You must first finish 100% of the HTB Academy AI Red Teamer path (12 modules, subscription extra); the Silver Annual plan (USD 550/year) includes it along with the CJCA one. | $1,749 PEN-200 course with 90 days of lab access and one exam attempt. |
| Study hours | 120–250 h | 300–600 h |
| Real difficulty | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ |
| Exam | Hands-on Length: 168 h | Hands-on Length: 24 h |
| Validity | Does not expire | OSCP does not expire; OSCP+ lasts 3 years |
| Job ads in United States | 7 | 2,096 |
| Avg. salary | $69,622 | $163,208 |
| Index | 28 | 66 |
| Summary | Offensive AI security: attacks on machine learning models and LLM applications (prompt injection, data leakage, AI red teaming). A 7-day hands-on exam with a report. | The pentesting certification most requested in job ads. A 24-hour exam plus a report. Expensive, but it still opens more doors than any other hands-on cert. |
Highlighted: the best in that row.