Penetration Tester Contract Job Trends
Penetration Tester
UK
The median Penetration Tester daily rate in the UK is £675, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 28 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 28 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 662 | 494 | 531 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -168 | +37 | +13 |
| Contract Penetration Tester jobs | 43 | 88 | 34 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.078% | 0.26% | 0.093% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.086% | 0.29% | 0.100% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 27 | 75 | 17 |
| 10th Percentile | £517 | £407 | £418 |
| 25th Percentile | £613 | £500 | £510 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £675 | £550 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +22.73% | - | -4.35% |
| 75th Percentile | £688 | £600 | £700 |
| 90th Percentile | £785 | £626 | £749 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £466 | £459 | £481 |
| % change year-on-year | +1.69% | -4.73% | -19.79% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £38.75 | - | - |
| Median hourly rate | £42.50 | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £46.25 | - | - |
| 90th Percentile | - | - | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £42.50 | - | - |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 28 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 50,268 | 30,832 | 34,004 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.70% | 90.90% | 92.92% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,614 | 19,499 | 20,503 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £620 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,176 | 1,712 | 1,309 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £13.84 | £15.06 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.75 | £17.30 | £20.30 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £39.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -36.33% | -12.22% |
| 75th Percentile | £68.00 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £81.25 | £69.43 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +60.00% | -37.50% | -10.11% |
Penetration Tester Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Penetration Tester job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Penetration Tester Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Penetration Tester job vacancies in the UK.
Penetration Tester Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for Penetration Tester jobs over the 6 months to 28 October 2026.
Penetration Tester Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Penetration Tester job vacancies in the UK.
Penetration Tester Top 8 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Penetration Tester jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 28 October 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work from Home | -90 | 23 | £675 | +12.50% | 3 |
| England | -207 | 14 | £533 | -3.18% | 54 |
| London | -139 | 8 | £575 | +4.55% | 9 |
| UK excluding London | -107 | 5 | £466 | +1.69% | 56 |
| Midlands | - | 3 | £466 | - | 10 |
| South East | -66 | 2 | - | - | 11 |
| West Midlands | - | 2 | £400 | - | 5 |
| East Midlands | - | 1 | £533 | - | 5 |
Penetration Tester Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 28 October 2026, Penetration Tester contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Penetration Tester job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penetration Testing | 83.7% | 36 |
| 2 | Azure | 58.1% | 25 |
| 3 | AWS | 55.8% | 24 |
| 4 | Security Cleared | 51.2% | 22 |
| 5 | Kubernetes | 48.8% | 21 |
| 6 | CHECK Team Leader | 46.5% | 20 |
| 6 | SC Cleared | 46.5% | 20 |
| 8 | Coaching | 44.2% | 19 |
| 9 | Cybersecurity | 39.5% | 17 |
| 10 | CHECK Team Member | 34.9% | 15 |
| 10 | Cloud Security | 34.9% | 15 |
| 10 | CREST Certified | 34.9% | 15 |
| 10 | Security Testing | 34.9% | 15 |
| 14 | CI/CD | 27.9% | 12 |
| 15 | Mentoring | 25.6% | 11 |
| 15 | OSCP | 25.6% | 11 |
| 17 | DV Cleared | 23.3% | 10 |
| 17 | NCSC | 23.3% | 10 |
| 19 | Microsoft | 18.6% | 8 |
| 19 | Offensive Security | 18.6% | 8 |
| 21 | Red Team | 16.3% | 7 |
| 22 | Containerisation | 14.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Cyber Scheme | 14.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Docker | 14.0% | 6 |
| 22 | End-to-End Testing | 14.0% | 6 |
| 22 | Security Architecture | 14.0% | 6 |
| 27 | Continuous Improvement | 11.6% | 5 |
| 27 | Firewall | 11.6% | 5 |
| 27 | Identity Access Management | 11.6% | 5 |
| 27 | OCI | 11.6% | 5 |
Penetration Tester Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lead Tester | 11.6% | 5 |
| 2 | Ethical Hacker | 9.3% | 4 |
| 2 | Senior Penetration Tester | 9.3% | 4 |
| 4 | Vulnerability Tester | 7.0% | 3 |
| 5 | Security Penetration Tester | 4.7% | 2 |
| 6 | Senior Consultant | 2.3% | 1 |