ACI Learning Skill Labs is a commercial cyber range training tool by ACI Learning. Damn Small Vulnerable Web is a free cyber range training tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best cyber range training fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Academic programs and corporate training teams need ACI Learning Skill Labs because it actually lets students break things hands-on instead of watching videos, which is the only way network and security fundamentals stick. The CollegePro sets align with real course calendars across years 1-2, and auto-grading cuts instructor overhead on repetitive validation work. This is built for schools and training departments, not for security operations teams looking to upskill existing staff on incident response or threat hunting; if your goal is certifications and foundational competency, this works; if you need role-specific depth for security engineers already in the field, look elsewhere.
Security training teams and individual practitioners learning web vulnerabilities will get the most from Damn Small Vulnerable Web because its 100-line codebase forces you to actually read and understand the exploitable code instead of clicking through a bloated lab platform. The GitHub community has validated this approach with 861 stars, and the minimal attack surface means you spend time on vulnerability mechanics rather than environment setup. Skip this if your goal is compliance checkbox training or simulating realistic infrastructure; DSVW teaches fundamentals, not production incident response.
Virtual hands-on IT & cybersecurity lab platform for academic programs.
A deliberately vulnerable web application written in under 100 lines of Python code for educational purposes and web security testing.
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Common questions about comparing ACI Learning Skill Labs vs Damn Small Vulnerable Web for your cyber range training needs.
ACI Learning Skill Labs: Virtual hands-on IT & cybersecurity lab platform for academic programs. built by ACI Learning. headquartered in United States. Core capabilities include Hands-on virtual lab exercises for IT and cybersecurity courses, CollegePro term-aligned lab sets (4 sets covering years 1-2 of academic programs), AI Skill Lab Sets covering AI governance, oversight, and agentic systems..
Damn Small Vulnerable Web: A deliberately vulnerable web application written in under 100 lines of Python code for educational purposes and web security testing..
Both serve the Cyber Range Training market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.
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