Want to unlock the world of web hacking without breaking the bank? You don't need paid courses or elite access! Below is a carefully curated list of rare, free online courses, tools, and platforms that offer in-depth, hands-on training in ethical hacking and web exploitation. Ideal for beginners to advanced learners looking to level up fast!
💻 Your Free Web Hacking Toolkit:
PortSwigger Web Security Academy 🧪
A free, practical platform offering real-world simulated labs on everything from XSS, SQLi, CSRF, to modern web vulnerabilities like HTTP request smuggling and DOM-based issues.
Highlights: Beginner to expert labs, interactive tutorials, real-time browser-based exploitation, certificate of completion on some modules.
Link: https://portswigger.net/web-security
OWASP Juice Shop 🍹
An intentionally vulnerable modern web app to test your hacking skills in a gamified, self-hosted environment.
Highlights: Covers OWASP Top 10, gamified challenges with a scoreboard, works on Docker, Heroku, or locally, open source and regularly updated.
Link: https://owasp.org/www-project-juice-shop/
HackTheBox Academy (Free Modules) 🎓
A learning platform from HackTheBox offering free foundational paths in Linux, Networking, and Web Security Basics.
Highlights: Browser-based hands-on labs, focus on practical exploitation, earn progress-based certificates.
Link: https://academy.hackthebox.com
Web Security Dojo 🥋
A portable VM preloaded with hacking tools and vulnerable apps. Great for offline practice and penetration testing.
Highlights: Works without Internet, ready-to-use training labs, includes Burp Suite, ZAP, and vulnerable apps.
Link: https://github.com/websecalpha/websecuritydojo
Hacker101 by HackerOne 💰
Includes beginner-friendly video tutorials, real-world CTF challenges, and bug bounty simulation environments.
Highlights: CTF points unlock private bug bounty invites, teaches exploitation step-by-step, highly beginner-friendly.
Link: https://www.hacker101.com
PayloadsAllTheThings (GitHub) 📚
A massive archive of payloads, cheat sheets, and bypass techniques for almost every known vulnerability.
Highlights: Constantly updated, includes usage examples, perfect for red teaming and bug bounty.
Link: https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings
PentesterLab (Free Badges) 🏅
Earn free badges by completing web hacking labs that walk through real-world flaws using guided exercises.
Highlights: Offers certificate-backed free courses, vulnerabilities: SSRF, XXE, JWT, and more, ideal for structured progression.
Link: https://pentesterlab.com
Google Gruyere 🧀
A beginner-friendly vulnerable app built to demonstrate basic web app bugs through step-by-step tutorials.
Highlights: Ideal for complete beginners, hosted live by Google, simple and educational.
Link: https://google-gruyere.appspot.com
bWAPP (Buggy Web App) 🐞
A PHP-based vulnerable app with over 100+ web bugs across categories like HTML5, Flash, LDAP, and AJAX.
Highlights: Easily hosted with XAMPP or WAMP, ideal for Burp Suite/ZAP practice, teaches both common and advanced flaws.
Link: http://www.itsecgames.com
DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web App) 💥
One of the oldest and most popular vulnerable applications used in infosec bootcamps and CTFs.
Highlights: Four levels of difficulty (Low to Impossible), great for learning brute force, command injection, and file upload flaws, lightweight and simple to host.
Link: http://www.dvwa.co.uk
TryHackMe: Web Hacking Rooms (Free) 🎮
TryHackMe offers numerous free web hacking rooms and beginner-friendly paths like “Web Fundamentals” and “OWASP Top 10”.
Highlights: Guided and interactive learning, built-in Linux terminal and attack box, free certification paths available.
Link: https://tryhackme.com
OWASP Broken Web Applications Project 🛠️
A downloadable VM that includes multiple vulnerable apps like WebGoat, Mutillidae, and DVWA.
Highlights: All-in-one VM lab environment, great for bootcamps and offline training, ideal for instructors or learners setting up full labs.
Link: https://owasp.org/www-project-broken-web-applications/
HackThisSite.org 🎯
An old-school but still effective online platform offering security challenges and realistic web hacking missions.
Highlights: Mission-based learning, covers client/server-side issues, great for practicing logic flaws and obscure bugs.
Link: https://www.hackthissite.org
WebGoat by OWASP 🐐
A deliberately insecure app maintained by OWASP for learning application security lessons.
Highlights: Modular and lesson-based, topics from IDOR to path traversal, teaches both concepts and exploitation.
Link: https://owasp.org/www-project-webgoat/
VulnHub Web CTF Machines 🏆
VulnHub hosts downloadable VMs designed for ethical hacking and CTF-style learning, many focused solely on web vulnerabilities.
Highlights: Works with VirtualBox or VMware, community-contributed challenges, focus on web, privilege escalation, and enumeration.
Link: https://www.vulnhub.com
Bonus Tip:
Use Burp Suite Community Edition 🕷️
Enhance your hands-on testing with Burp Suite CE, a free tool from PortSwigger ideal for intercepting, manipulating, and testing web requests.
Link: https://portswigger.net/burp/communitydownload
Final Words:
These tools and resources offer legally safe, highly practical training in modern web exploitation. Whether you’re preparing for bug bounties, CTFs, or a career in cybersecurity, this curated set delivers everything you need — for free.
Enjoy & Happy Hacking! 🚀
