PentestGPT.ai is a former AI-powered penetration testing website that now redirects to HackerAI.co, a cybersecurity assistant designed to help users investigate vulnerabilities, automate authorized security assessments, and analyze technical findings.
What Happened to PentestGPT.ai?
PentestGPT.ai has transitioned to HackerAI.co, and the original domain now redirects visitors to the HackerAI website.
As of October 31, 2026, both the standard and www versions of PentestGPT.ai lead to HackerAI. This indicates that the domain remains in use as a redirect rather than operating as a separate penetration testing platform.
HackerAI's official Help Center confirms the transition in an article dated December 13, 2025, explaining how existing PentestGPT subscribers can move their subscriptions to HackerAI.
The current service identifies itself as HackerAI and publishes its terms, privacy policy, pricing, and product documentation under that name. Its legal documents identify HackerAI LLC as the service operator.
For anyone searching for the original PentestGPT.ai platform, HackerAI is therefore the relevant current destination. However, the commercial service should not be confused with the separate open-source PentestGPT research project.
What Is HackerAI and What Can It Do?
HackerAI is an AI-assisted penetration testing platform intended for security professionals, researchers, and people conducting authorized vulnerability assessments.
According to its official product documentation, the platform combines conversational AI with tools that can perform practical security investigation tasks.
Its advertised capabilities include:
- Security reconnaissance: Investigating authorized targets and collecting technical information.
- Agent-based automation: Planning and performing multistep security tasks.
- Terminal integration: Running commands and examining their actual output.
- Browser interaction: Opening web pages and gathering information during investigations.
- File analysis: Using supplied reports, screenshots, source code, and other documents as context.
- Evidence tracking: Keeping commands, observations, and findings associated with individual tasks.
- Report preparation: Helping organize security findings into reproducible explanations.
HackerAI offers both conversational assistance and an Agent mode that can interact with tools.
Its documentation describes permission controls that determine whether actions require approval or can proceed more automatically.
These capabilities are described by the operator. They do not establish that every vulnerability will be identified or that automated findings are always accurate.
Is PentestGPT.ai the Same as the Original PentestGPT Project?
No. The commercial service previously available through PentestGPT.ai and the original PentestGPT research framework are distinct projects.
The original PentestGPT is an open-source penetration testing framework associated with research published at the USENIX Security Symposium in 2024.
Its GitHub repository, maintained under GreyDGL/PentestGPT, identifies PentestGPT.com as its official website.
That framework was developed to explore how large language models could help penetration testers maintain context, plan investigations, and coordinate security testing.
The research introduced an approach involving reasoning, generation, and parsing components. Its current repository describes additional agent-based functionality and local installation options.
The distinction matters because both projects have used the PentestGPT name, but they have different documentation, distribution methods, and development histories.
Earlier research-project documentation also warned readers about commercial products using similar branding. Such warnings are relevant to understanding the naming confusion, but they do not independently establish that the current HackerAI service is fraudulent.
Anyone specifically looking for the academic research framework should consult the GreyDGL GitHub repository instead of assuming that the commercial website provides the same software.
How Do You Start Using HackerAI?
HackerAI offers browser-based access through its current website.
The basic process is:
- Open the official HackerAI website.
- Select the option to create an account.
- Complete the available registration or authentication process.
- Choose an appropriate subscription plan.
- Open the AI assistant and describe an authorized security task.
- Review the available execution environment and permission settings before allowing automated actions.
The operator states that its free plan does not require a payment method.
HackerAI supports cloud-based execution and local execution. Cloud agents operate in hosted sandbox environments, while local mode connects the service to tools running on the user's computer.
These environments carry different operational risks. Local execution can run commands with the user's account privileges, making permission settings and a dedicated testing environment particularly important.
Users should begin with systems they own or have explicit written permission to test.
Is HackerAI Free or Paid?
HackerAI offers a free tier alongside several paid subscriptions.
Its official pricing page displayed the following monthly prices on October 31, 2026:
| Plan | Monthly price |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 |
| Pro | $29 |
| Pro+ | $60 |
| Ultra | $200 |
| Team | $40 per seat |
All prices are listed in US dollars.
The Free plan provides access to a basic AI model, limited responses, and local Agent functionality.
Pro adds higher usage limits, additional AI model access, file uploads, and cloud agents.
Pro+ provides three times the usage allowance of Pro, while Ultra advertises ten times the Pro allowance and priority access to new features.
Team subscriptions provide centralized billing and seat management.
HackerAI also describes optional prepaid extra usage for certain paid plans. This feature is disabled until users enable it.
Subscription rates and allowances may change, so the current checkout details should be reviewed before purchasing.
Can Existing PentestGPT Subscribers Transfer Their Accounts?
Existing PentestGPT subscribers may be able to transfer an active subscription to HackerAI using the operator's documented migration process.
The official instructions are:
- Register for HackerAI using the same email address associated with the previous PentestGPT subscription.
- Sign in and open Settings.
- Select the Account tab.
- Locate the Migrate option.
- Follow the displayed instructions to transfer the subscription.
HackerAI states that this migration does not require an additional subscription charge.
However, the documented transfer covers the active subscription only. Previous conversations, saved files, and other account content are not included.
Users who need historical testing records should account for that limitation before relying on the migration.
If the migration control is unavailable or an active subscription is not recognized, the appropriate next step is to contact HackerAI support.
Can You Download HackerAI?
HackerAI provides desktop software for supported Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.
The official download page lists builds for Windows 64-bit, macOS with Intel or Apple Silicon processors, and several Linux architectures and package formats.
The desktop application is intended for users who want Agent mode to interact with tools on their own computers.
A desktop installation is not necessary for ordinary browser-based use.
HackerAI's Help Center also explains that mobile users can access the web version through a phone browser. Its published guidance does not identify a separate native mobile application.
Users should obtain desktop installers through the operator's current download page and verify compatibility before installation.
What Privacy and Security Considerations Matter?
HackerAI processes potentially sensitive information, including prompts, uploaded files, security findings, terminal output, and browser activity.
Its Security & Trust documentation, updated October 14, 2026, explains that AI requests can involve third-party model providers and supporting infrastructure.
The operator identifies services involved in model routing, cloud execution, authentication, storage, and billing.
This matters when working with confidential source code, internal network information, or vulnerability reports that should not be disclosed outside an organization.
HackerAI also describes data controls for model improvement. Its documentation states that a future program may involve eligible content being used for model training or licensing, although partner data collection was not active at the time of the published update. The relevant preference can be changed in account settings.
The same Security & Trust page states that HackerAI does not currently hold SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification.
These disclosures provide useful information for evaluating the service, but they are not substitutes for an independent security assessment.
Before using HackerAI with sensitive material, review its data controls, execution permissions, third-party processing disclosures, and deletion options.
Is PentestGPT.ai Legitimate and Worth Using?
PentestGPT.ai demonstrably redirects to an operating service with published product information, subscription terms, documentation, and support resources.
That establishes the website's current destination, but it does not independently verify every product claim or guarantee the reliability of its security assessments.
Automated website reputation services have published cautionary assessments of the old domain. Such scores should be interpreted alongside the documented migration and current service information, rather than treated as conclusive proof of fraud or safety.
For security practitioners, HackerAI may be worth evaluating for authorized investigations, especially when AI-assisted analysis and task automation fit an existing workflow.
The most sensible starting point is a limited assessment using the free plan and a controlled testing environment.
Results should be validated independently before being included in professional reports or used to make security decisions.
Ultimately, PentestGPT.ai is best understood as a former commercial platform address that now points to HackerAI. Readers seeking that service should examine HackerAI's current terms and capabilities, while those interested in the original academic PentestGPT framework should consult its separate open-source project.