Automated validation
Invadel vs Pentera
Pentera is automated security validation: software that safely emulates attack techniques across your environment on a schedule you control. It answers "do my controls stop known techniques?" A penetration test answers "what would a person who wants in actually do?"
The models
How each one works
Pentera
Pentera is licensed software that runs automated attack emulation against your internal and external environment, validating control effectiveness continuously without a human operator.
Invadel
Human testers work your environment the way an adversary would, chaining findings that no automated playbook contains, and report the result as evidence your auditor and your board can use.
Side by side
Invadel compared with Pentera
| Dimension | Pentera | Invadel |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Licensed automated validation software | A delivered manual engagement |
| Coverage | Broad and repeatable across the estate | Deep against the agreed scope |
| Novel attack paths | Bounded by the technique library | Bounded by the tester, not a library |
| Cost model | Annual software licence | Fixed price per engagement, published on the pricing page before you talk to anyone |
| Compliance evidence | Validation reports | Report written as audit evidence, mapped to SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001, with an attestation letter |
| Operating cost | Your team runs and tunes it | We run it and hand you the result |
An honest read
Which one should you pick
We would rather you choose correctly than choose us. Here is where each option genuinely wins.
Choose Pentera when
- You have a mature internal security team that will operate the platform continuously.
- You want to re-validate the same controls weekly across a large environment.
- Your budget favors a software licence over professional services.
Choose Invadel when
- You need third-party independence, which self-run software cannot provide for an audit.
- You want business-logic and human-factor findings alongside technical ones.
- You do not have the internal capacity to run and tune a validation platform.
Where to start
The engagements buyers compare here
Internal Network Penetration Testing
Testing from an assumed foothold inside your network: Active Directory, lateral movement, and segmentation, from $6,000.
From $6,000
Red Teaming Services
Objective-based attacks that prove the full chain and test whether your team detects and stops them, from $12,500.
From $12,500
External Network Penetration Testing
Testing of your internet-facing perimeter: exposed services, remote access, mail, and cloud edges, from $4,200.
From $4,200
What drives each price: Internal Network cost guide, Red Teaming cost guide, External Network cost guide.
01Can automated validation replace a penetration test for compliance?
Not usually. Most frameworks and auditors expect testing by an independent third party, and software you operate yourself does not meet the independence bar. Our SOC 2 page covers what evidence auditors actually accept.
02Do you use automation?
Yes, as a tool in the tester’s hands. Tooling maps the surface quickly; the findings that decide whether you are safe come from a person reading the application.
03What about internal networks?
Our internal network test starts at $6,000 and covers Active Directory, privilege escalation, and lateral movement from an assumed-breach position.
Compare us on your actual scope
Tell us what you need tested and we will price it against whatever quote you are holding. Fixed scope, fixed price, free retest.
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