The traditional annual pentest
A team of testers spends one to three weeks attacking an agreed scope, then delivers a report. You fix the findings, they retest, and you are covered for the year. It is simple to buy and it satisfies most compliance needs.
The weakness is timing. If you ship new features every week, the report describes an app that no longer exists a few months later.
What PTaaS is
Penetration testing as a service turns the pentest into an ongoing subscription. Instead of one test a year, you get:
- Scheduled manual tests through the year, for example each quarter
- Targeted tests when you ship a major feature or change your infrastructure
- Findings delivered as they are found, not weeks later in a PDF
- Retests as soon as you fix something
- A running view of open and fixed issues, useful for audits
Good PTaaS is still manual testing by people. A scanner with a dashboard is vulnerability scanning, not penetration testing.
Side by side
| Annual pentest | PTaaS | |
|---|---|---|
| Testing | Once a year, one to three weeks | Spread across the year |
| Findings | One report at the end | As they are found |
| Retests | Usually one round | Ongoing |
| New features | Untested until next year | Tested when they ship |
| Cost model | One fixed project fee | Monthly or annual subscription |
| Best for | Stable systems, one-off compliance needs | Teams that release often |
What compliance frameworks expect
PCI DSS (the security standard for businesses that take card payments) requires penetration testing at least once every 12 months and after significant changes. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 (two common security standards) do not set a fixed frequency. But auditors want to see that testing keeps up with change. An annual test covers the minimum. PTaaS makes the "after significant changes" part much easier to prove.
How to choose
- Choose an annual pentest if your product changes slowly, you need a report for a single audit or deal, or you are testing for the first time.
- Choose PTaaS if you release weekly, you are going through SOC 2 Type II or PCI DSS, or customers ask for proof of ongoing testing.
- Or combine them: one deep annual test plus lighter quarterly tests on new features. This is what we recommend for most growing SaaS companies.
We offer both models. Tell us how often you ship and we will suggest the right mix.
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Written by
NextGarrison Security TeamPenetration testers, SOC analysts and compliance consultants
Our consultants test applications and networks, run 24/7 security monitoring and prepare companies for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS assessments. We write about what we see in real engagements, in plain English.