ACI Learning Skill Labs is a commercial cyber range training tool by ACI Learning. Metasploitable3 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 teams building internal cyber ranges or red team labs should choose Metasploitable3 for its deliberately vulnerable attack surface and tight integration with Metasploit Framework, eliminating the setup friction of hunting for compatible targets. The 5,470 GitHub stars reflect sustained adoption by practitioners, and the free price point means you can spin up isolated instances for each training cohort without budget negotiation. Skip this if you need a modern Windows environment or current OS versions; Metasploitable3's older stack is the feature, not the bug, but it won't teach your team anything about patching contemporary vulnerabilities.
Virtual hands-on IT & cybersecurity lab platform for academic programs.
A virtual machine with numerous security vulnerabilities for testing exploits with Metasploit.
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Common questions about comparing ACI Learning Skill Labs vs Metasploitable3 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..
Metasploitable3: A virtual machine with numerous security vulnerabilities for testing exploits with Metasploit..
Both serve the Cyber Range Training market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.
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