Side-by-side distribution
Cybersecurity
$132,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.8%
- Live roles
- 376
Penetration Tester
$183,600
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30.9%
- Live roles
- 94
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Full Stack Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Research Engineer, Cybersecurity RL (Reinforcement Learning)
Senior Cyber-Security Operations Analyst, Product AppSec
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer II - Secret Clearance
Senior Security GRC Analyst
Senior Software Engineer, Cybersecurity
Security GRC Analyst
Cybersecurity Engineer
Cybersecurity Research Engineer
Highest-paying jobs
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Offensive Security Agent Engineer
Offensive Hardware Security Engineer, Platform Security
Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)
Principal Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Staff Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Senior Offensive Security Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Saalex
|
$124,750 | 8 |
MetroStar
|
$184,000 | 6 |
| DW Dark Wolf Solutions | $147,500 | 6 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$116,500 | 6 |
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 5 |
CHAOS Industries
|
$150,000 | 4 |
AGE Solutions
|
$85,000 | 4 |
|
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$192,500 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Fortreum
|
$145,000 | 4 |
| GR GRVTY | $212,500 | 3 |
|
OpenAI
|
$418,500 | 2 |
|
Robinhood
|
$193,114 | 2 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,200 | 2 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$106,000 | 2 |
|
Anthropic
|
$362,500 | 1 |
|
Perplexity
|
$312,500 | 1 |
Cybersecurity salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $186,591 | 8 |
| New York | $160,000 | 12 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 3 |
| Seattle | $147,500 | 6 |
| Boston | $141,750 | 8 |
Penetration Tester salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $337,500 | 6 |
| New York | $312,500 | 7 |
| Seattle | $268,750 | 6 |
Cybersecurity vs Penetration Tester: which pays more?
The median for Cybersecurity is $132,500 per year (typically $110,000–$165,000), versus $183,600 for Penetration Tester ($148,921–$219,255). That puts Penetration Tester about 39% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Cybersecurity and Penetration Tester are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.