bWAPP vs OWASP Hackademic Challenges: 2026 Comparison
bWAPP is a free cyber range training tool. OWASP Hackademic Challenges 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 available product data, here is our conclusion:
Security training teams and individual developers who need a free, hands-on lab for learning web vulnerability basics should start with bWAPP; its deliberately vulnerable design lets you practice injection, XSS, and authentication flaws without licensing friction or infrastructure complexity. The tool covers OWASP Top 10 vectors and runs locally in minutes, making it ideal for junior developer onboarding and security fundamentals courses. Skip bWAPP if you need realistic business logic vulnerabilities, API security testing, or a managed platform with progress tracking; it's a raw sandbox, not a structured curriculum.
Junior security teams and bootcamp graduates need hands-on vulnerability labs that don't require enterprise budget or infrastructure, and OWASP Hackademic Challenges delivers 10 realistic exploitation scenarios in a free, self-hosted environment. The platform's GitHub maturity (324 stars, active OWASP backing) means you get stable content without worrying about vendor lock-in or sudden paywall shifts. Skip this if your team needs continuous scenario updates or compliance-mapped curriculum; the 10 challenges are fixed and require manual deployment, making it unsuitable for large-scale training programs that need managed scaling and progress tracking.
