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Most buyers should pick TryHackMe.
TryHackMe is the better starting value on listed annual pricing: Premium is $11.19/month versus LetsDefend VIP at $16.99/month, though LetsDefend’s pricing notes say annual purchases may no longer be available. Choose LetsDefend for focused SOC and incident-response roadmaps; its Basic plan is capped at one lab hour and 15 SOC alerts monthly. TryHackMe offers broader offensive and defensive paths, but its free AttackBox is limited to one hour daily.
01Side by side
| LetsDefend | TryHackMe | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $16.99/month annual-listed; $24.99 monthly | $11.19/month annual-listed; $18.11 monthly |
| Free plan | Basic: one lab hour and 15 alerts monthly | Free rooms; one-hour daily AttackBox limit |
| Best for | Learners targeting SOC and incident-response roles | Learners exploring broader cybersecurity roles |
| Core strength | SOC alerts, investigations, and blue-team roadmaps | Guided paths, labs, and offensive-defense scenarios |
| Learning curve | Career roadmaps guide SOC-focused learning | Guided paths span beginner through advanced topics |
| Integrations and reporting | Team reporting listed; integrations not published | Business Enterprise lists API, LMS, and SCIM |
| Team and seat costs | Quote-based; teams of 2–200+ users | $99/$199 per license monthly; five-license minimum |
| Support | Support details not published | Support details not published |
LetsDefend Choose LetsDefend if
- Choose LetsDefend if SOC analyst practice is your main goal.
- Choose LetsDefend if you want incident-response learning paths.
- Choose LetsDefend if team assessments and centralized reporting matter.
TryHackMe Choose TryHackMe if
- Choose TryHackMe if you want broader offensive and defensive training.
- Choose TryHackMe if lower listed annual pricing matters.
- Choose TryHackMe if you need published API, LMS, or SCIM options.
02Pricing compared
TryHackMe is cheaper on the listed annual-billing rate: Premium is $11.19 per month, compared with LetsDefend VIP at $16.99 per month. TryHackMe also lists Premium at $18.11 monthly; LetsDefend VIP is $24.99 monthly. LetsDefend’s pricing notes warn that annual purchases may no longer be available, so confirm availability before budgeting around the lower rate.
Both offer free plans, but with tight limits. LetsDefend Basic includes one lab hour and 15 SOC analyst alerts per month. TryHackMe Free limits AttackBox use to one hour daily and restricts access to free rooms. TryHackMe lists a trial of up to 30 days; no LetsDefend trial is specified in the published pricing details.
For teams, TryHackMe Foundation starts at $99 per license monthly with a five-license minimum. LetsDefend team pricing is not published.
03Features and depth
LetsDefend is the more focused option for blue-team practice. Its learning paths cover SOC analysis, malware analysis, incident response and DFIR, while courses include SOC fundamentals, phishing analysis and web attack detection. The homepage says its content maps to MITRE ATT&CK. Browser-based challenges and alert investigations are central to the offering; VIP includes full SOC analyst alert investigations, while VIP+ adds Incident Responder alerts and endpoint-machine access.
TryHackMe covers a wider mix of offensive and defensive topics. Its guided paths include cybersecurity fundamentals, penetration testing and security analysis. The homepage lists more than 1,400 labs and challenges, network simulations and browser-based access to security tools; it also says new content arrives weekly. Premium includes beginner paths and a non-persistent AttackBox, while MAX adds advanced paths, cloud labs and a persistent AttackBox.
Choose by training target, not raw lab count: LetsDefend’s listed features are more SOC-specific; TryHackMe’s span more roles and topics.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Both products use guided paths and browser-based practice, so learners can follow structured material rather than assemble every exercise themselves. LetsDefend’s career roadmap quiz is aimed at helping learners choose a SOC analyst path. Its free Basic tier is useful for sampling, but one lab hour and 15 SOC alerts monthly limit how much practice it supports.
TryHackMe offers beginner learning paths and free rooms, but the free AttackBox is capped at one hour per day. Its browser-based tools require an internet connection. Premium removes the non-persistent AttackBox time limit, according to the plan details. For a narrower SOC learning goal, LetsDefend’s focus may make the choice clearer; for exploring more security roles, TryHackMe offers broader paths.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, LetsDefend or TryHackMe?
TryHackMe Premium has the lower listed annual-billing rate at $11.19 per month, compared with LetsDefend VIP at $16.99. Monthly billing is listed at $18.11 for TryHackMe and $24.99 for LetsDefend. LetsDefend notes annual purchases may no longer be available, so verify that rate before choosing.
Which platform is better for SOC analyst training?
LetsDefend is the more directly SOC-focused choice in the published feature details: its paths include SOC analysis, its courses cover SOC fundamentals, and VIP includes full SOC analyst alert investigations. TryHackMe also has security analyst paths, but its coverage spans offensive and defensive topics.
Does TryHackMe include offensive security training?
Yes. TryHackMe’s guided paths cover roles such as penetration tester as well as security analyst, and its offering includes labs, challenges and network simulations. LetsDefend’s listed paths and courses are more concentrated on blue-team topics such as SOC analysis, incident response and malware analysis.
Can I use either platform for free?
Both list free plans. LetsDefend Basic includes one lab hour and 15 SOC analyst alerts per month, plus select free courses, challenges and quizzes. TryHackMe Free provides access to free rooms, with a one-hour daily AttackBox limit and limited learning paths and personal hackable instances.