Penetration Testing Courses: in India, Fees, Colleges, Online, After 10th and 12th, Jobs and Salary 2026

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Ishika Ray

Updated 3+ months ago

Penetration testing courses is a study of how to exploit networks, servers and applications. 

These courses also help in understanding how to prevent attacks on the security system. These courses are also called as Pen testing courses and are helpful to students who wish to settle in high profile jobs.

These courses are available offline and online. Pen testing courses are offered at all levels - diploma and graduation. Even certificate courses are available on various platforms like Udemy, Edx etc. 

  • The duration of these courses varies from level to level. It is from 3-4 years at the graduate level, 1-2 years at diploma level.
  • Certificate programs related to pen testing courses can be a few hours and even up to 1 year.
  • Many online platforms offer these pen testing courses like Udemy, Coursera etc

The top skills which a candidate should possess are networking skills, programming skills, communication skills etc.

The top job profiles offered after pursuing these courses are a pentester, Corporate trainer-Penetration testings, Ethical hacker, information security analyst etc

Penetration Testing Courses: Highlights

These courses are much in demand and offered at different levels. Here is the table showing the details of all the programs offered in the country.

Popular Courses
  • Certificate: Multiple certificate courses are available and offered by different institutions. Some of them include GPEN, CEPT etc
  • Diploma & PG Diploma: Diploma in pen testing courses are available
  • UG: Bachelor's degree in pen testing is available and offered by few institutions.
Duration
  • Certificate: 1 week - 1 year
  • Diploma & PG Diploma: 1-2 years
  • UG: 3-4 years
Eligibility
  • Certificate: Pass in Class X or XII from a recognized board
  • Diploma: Pass in Class XII from a recognized board
  • PG Diploma: Graduation from a recognized university with Computer as a subject.
  • UG: Pass in 10+2 from a recognized board
Average Fees
  • Certificate: INR 10,000-3,00,000
  • Diploma & PG Diploma: Upto INR 3 LPA
  • UG: Upto INR 5 LPA
Online Courses Available
Types of Online Courses edx, Coursera, Udemy, etc. (Includes Paid and Unpaid courses)
Top Job Prospects Pen Tester, Corporate Trainer-penetration Testings, Ethical Hacker, Information Security Analyst, etc
Average Salary
  • Certificate: INR 5 LPA
  • Diploma: INR 2 LPA
  • UG: INR 2 LPA

Certificate Penetration Testing Courses

These courses are available online and offline. There are various prestigious situations available which are offering these courses. These courses are specially designed for students who want to gain in-depth knowledge of the subject. 

  • The duration of these courses differs from one institution to another institution.
  • The average salary of these courses is INR 5,97,559

Online Certificate Penetration Testing Courses

Certificate Name  Provider  Fees Duration
Penetration testing Hacker school INR 12,000 50-60 hours
Penetration Testing, Incident Response and Forensics Coursera INR 3,616 per month 17 hours 
Website Hacking / Penetration Testing & Bug Bounty Hunting Udemy INR 360 9 hours

Offline Certificate Penetration Testing Courses

Certificate Name  Institution Name  Fees Duration
Network Penetration Testing Training in Bangalore Indian cybersecurity services (ICSS) INR 14,000 2 hours per class
Certified Web application Penetration tester  IEMLabs INR 12000 40 hours
Certified penetration testing IP Solutions - 40 hours

How are Admissions in Certificate Programs of Penetration Testing Courses Done?

Admissions in certificate programs are done easily and there are no entrance tests conducted for admission into these courses. Enrollment in online programs is done by directly applying to the provider’s website. In the offline method, your profile is selected on a merit basis by a few institutions. Many other institutions directly get admission to these courses and they may ask you for class X or class XII. 

  • The duration of these courses differs from one college to another college. The average duration is 40-60 hours both in online and offline

Top Penetration Testing Certification Programs

CEPT

A certified expert penetration tester certification helps the candidate to gain advanced knowledge in pen-testing. The certifications cover domains like exploit creation, Linux and UNIX shellcode, Network attacks, Network recon etc. 

CM WAPT

This certification allows the candidate to work in mobile and web apps. The exam which is conducted at the last includes domains like Android application attacks, Android application components and iOS application attacks.

Certified pen tester CPT

This certificate helps the candidates to understand where he stands in terms of knowledge related to pen-testing. These are offered by  IACRB.

Certified red team operations professional 

This is offered by IACRB to understand the ability of the candidates to carry out functions allotted by Red team

Comp TIA

This is a certified provider in the field of IT security. Pen Test is conducted to understand the candidate’s ability.

GPEN

This certification is conducted by GIAC. This certificate assures that a candidate is good in pen testing and can attack networks

Diploma & PG Diploma Penetration Testing Courses

Diploma in pen testing courses is offered by various colleges and universities. These courses are offered online and offline. These courses avail students to gain knowledge of security systems and penetration testing processes. These courses are usually preferred by students who wish to gain a job and settle in an early stage of life. 

The duration of these courses is  1 year -2 years

Top Diploma Penetration Testing Courses

Course Name  Institution Name  Fees Duration
Diploma in Web Application penetration testing courses  Indian cybersecurity solutions  Online INR 35,300 Offline INR 37,300 9 months ( 2 hours per week)
Diploma in Web application security courses  IEMLabs INR 46,000 - 50,000 18 months (2 days per week)
Advance diploma in pen testing  Learn skill - 1 year

Top PG Diploma Penetration Testing Courses

Course Name  Institution Name  Fees Duration
Post-graduation diploma in ethical hacking and penetration testing  Technology Incubation Center Cambridge intercontinental University Institute of chartered telecom professionals INR 30,000-80,000 12 months (Online)
Post-graduation diploma in penetration testing  Speedycourse INR 45,000 24 weeks
Post-graduation diploma in ethical hacking and penetration testing  Technology Incubation centre  INR 24,000 1 year (Online)

How are Admissions Diploma & PG Diploma in Penetration Testing Courses Done?

  • Candidates who completed their class 10th or Class 12th can pursue diploma courses. A minimum knowledge of hacking and computers is needed to join this course.
  • Candidates who completed their graduation can pursue PG Diploma Penetration testing courses. 
  • Admissions are done easily but students must possess knowledge of relevant subjects related to hacking. 

Bachelor Penetration Testing Courses

Network Penetration Testing course for beginners that takes you from wondering what hackers are doing to setting up a laboratory, studying Kali Linux, and running your own network penetration tests. For Bachelor Courses, candidates must have passed 10+2. The duration of course is 2 years. 

Top Undergraduate (UG) Penetration Testing Courses

Course Name  Institution Name  Fees Duration
B.Sc in penetration testing 
  • Technology Incubation Center Cambridge intercontinental University
  • B.Sc. in Cyber Security (Ethical Hacking) Hons (MAKAUT
INR 1,20,000 - 3,00,000 2 years (Online)
The graduate certificate program in pen testing and ethical hacking SANS Technology Institute, USA  - 18-24 months 

How are Admissions in Bachelor Penetration Testing Courses Done?

  • Candidates need to complete class 12th with maths, Stats and Computer sciences as subjects to pursue this bachelor degree courses. 
  • Admissions are done directly without any entrance tests but students need to possess knowledge on Pen testing courses and hacking.

What are the Top Job Options After Penetration Testing Courses?

Security Analyst

These people are responsible for protecting data from attacks. They design and implement firewalls to protect the data. They also build software systems and help the organization from attacks

Average Salary: INR 4,84,646

Skills Required

  • Analytical skills
  • Communication skills
  • Analysing security systems

Corporate Trainer-Penetration Testings

A corporate trainer or advisor helps the employees to understand the hackings concepts and penetration testings concepts. These professionals are very much needed for the companies to educate the employees of all the needed skills. 

Average Salary: INR 4,51,181

Skills Required

  • Technical skills
  • Communication skills
  • Programming languages

Penetration Testing Engineer

He is responsible for finding out vulnerabilities and attacks from others to a business or organization. He identifies and imagines all the possible ways of vulnerabilities to the organization. He makes sure that the data and systems are safe from the attacks. 

Average Salary: INR 3,03,000

Skills Required

  • Strong networking skills
  • Programming languages skills
  • System administration skills

Ethical Hacker

Ethical hackers reports and identifies the vulnerabilities to the organization. He uses his knowledge to improve the security system of the organization. He identifies all the attacks and safeguards the data of the organization. 

Average Salary: INR 5,44,000

Skills Required

  • Programming skills
  • Networking skills
  • Computer skills

Information Security Analyst

He is responsible for maintaining the system networks in an organization. He updates and recommends the security system in the organization to protect from malicious attacks. 

Average Salary: INR 5,55,615

Skills Required

  • Communication skills
  • Analysing skills
  • Knowledge of programming languages

Cybersecurity Analyst

He is responsible for protecting networks and systems in cybersecurity systems. He makes sure that all the systems are safe and free from attacks. 

Average Salary: INR 5,06,000

Skills Required

  • Analysing skills
  • Networking skills
  • Communication skills

Retail Security Tester

This kind of tester protects data in the retail industry. They are hired usually in retail industries, financial industries etc. Their job is to secure the data and protect the systems from vulnerabilities. 

Average Salary: INR 597,559

Skills Required

  • Knowledge of the retail industry
  • System skills
Average Salary

What Skills are Required for Penetration Testing Courses?

Students need to possess all the skills in the right mix to become a pentester. There are plenty of opportunities available if a student is perfect with all the skills which are required. Here are the skills required.

Programming

Programming languages like Python, Perl, PHP, CSS, javascript and SQL are needed and useful for pen testing students. These skills help to improve the knowledge of the student on penetration testing skills.

Top Programming Courses

Provider Course Name  Duration Fees
Coursera Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals Specialization 5 months  INR 3,116 per month
Coursera Programming Languages, Part A 30 hours INR 2,878 
Udemy Learn Advanced Level Python Programming 26.5 hours INR 360

Programming Course Syllabus

HTML Coding
Javascript Data Structure

Programming Job Profiles

  • Software engineer
  • Developer
  • Analyst

Networking

These skills are required for students who wish to settle in the networking field. These skills help the students to enhance their knowledge and also helps them to acquire good jobs

Top Networking Courses

Provider Course Name  Duration Fees
Edx Introduction to Networking 7 weeks Free
Edx Network and Security Foundations 8 weeks Free
Coursera The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking 34 hours INR 1,106

Networking Course Syllabus

Basic concepts essential to networking  Functional and technical components of network systems

Networking Job Profiles

  • Networking engineering
  • Software engineer

System Administration

These skills are important for students to understand the concepts and terms of the system. These skills will move the student’s career to reach heights of success. Even these skills are required to secure good jobs in the field of pen-testing.

Top System Administration Courses

Provider Course Name  Duration Fees
Coursera System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services 31 hours INR 1,106 per month 
Udemy Windows 10 Administration 1.5 hours INR 360
Udemy Apple macOS and iOS System Administration 11.5 hours INR 360

System Administration Course Syllabus

Learn strategies for managing thousands of iOS and macOS endpoints Install/upgrade Windows 10 and personalize your UI

System Administration Job Profiles

  • System administrator
  • System Engineer

Communication

Communication skills are required for any individual as it allows others and yourself to understand in a better way. Poor communication skills will always lead to a misunderstanding between two people. So, it's better to have good communication skills to get the work done in a faster way. 

Top Communication Courses

Provider Course Name  Duration Fees
Coursera Improving Communication Skills 10 hours INR 5,830 per month after trial ends
Udemy Communication Skills: Become A Superstar Communicator 5.5 hours INR 360

Communication Course Syllabus

Improving how to communicate with others Basic English grammar 

Communication Job Profiles

  • Manager
  • Lecturer or teacher in English

Penetration Testing Courses Online Fees and Rating Comparison

To understand and know about penetration testing courses that are available online, here is the table displaying fees and duration of these courses. 

Course Provider Duration Ratings Fees
Hands-on Penetration Testing Labs 2.0 Udemy 3.5 hours 4.7 INR 360
Complete Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Course Udemy 27 Hours 4.7 INR 360
Penetration Testing, Incident Response and Forensics Coursera 17 hours 4.7 INR 3,616 per month
Exploiting and Securing Vulnerabilities in Java Applications Coursera 23 hours 4.6 INR 2,878 per month
Nmap For Penetration Testing: Beginner To Advanced Udemy 6.5 hours 4.6 INR 360
Website Hacking / Penetration Testing & Bug Bounty Hunting Udemy 9 hours 4.5 INR 360
Hacking and patching Udemy 4 weeks 4.0 INR 3,616 per month

Comparison of Online Platforms Offering Penetration Testing Courses 

The table below gives you the difference and comparison of online platforms offering these courses. In this case, we have compared the pen testing courses. 

Parameters Udemy Coursera
Fees INR 360 INR 3,616 per month
Student Rating 4.6 4.6
Enrollment 69,018 11,423
Duration 17 hours 9 months 
Created by In house IBM security learning

Penetration Testing Courses: FAQs

Ques. What does pen testing courses involve?

Ans. This course is a kind of cyber attack against systems to check if any vulnerabilities are present. 

Ques. Is pen-testing worthful?

Ans. Pen testing is a rewarding career and there are numerous paths available after pursuing these courses. 

Ques. What skills does a pen tester should possess?

Ans. Good networking skills, administration skills, programming skills etc

Ques. Our pen testers in demand?

Ans. Pen testers are hired everywhere and they are paid high in any industry.

Ques. Is it important to hold a certificate for a pentester?

Ans. Often pen testers hold a better certificate and they hold certificates in CEP, GPEN, CISSP etc

Ques. Pen testing courses available abroad to study?

Ans. There are various institutions offering pen testing courses abroad.

Ques. What companies usually hire pen testers?

Ans. Top companies like Infosys, Tata, Microsoft and many other companies hire pen testers.

Ques. In which industry does pen testers get hired?

Ans. Pen testers are usually hired in the retail industry, Health industry, IT industry etc

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