Should you build your own cyber range, or rent one?
The open-source range projects (Detection Lab, GOAD, Ludus) are genuinely good, and free. The real cost of building your own isn't the software, it's the weekend of setup, the maintenance, and the forgotten cloud instance that quietly bills all weekend. If time-to-value and teardown discipline are the problem, renting solves exactly those. Tyrian is a real range you rent by the hour: one click provisions real cloud machines, a real Active Directory, and a real Wazuh SIEM in your browser, you run a real attack, and you get a report. $5 free to start, then about $0.20/hr, no contract.
| DIY / open-source | Tyrian | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | Free (Detection Lab, GOAD, Ludus) | By the hour, $5 free to start |
| Setup time | A weekend for the first working build | ~90 seconds, one click |
| Maintenance | Yours, forever | None, it's hosted |
| The real risk | Forgotten instance bills all weekend | Idle auto-teardown, hard budget cap |
| Reports & evidence | Build it yourself | Session reports + ATT&CK coverage included |
| Best for | Tinkerers with time | People who want to practice, not maintain |
When building it yourself is the right choice
- You want full control of every host, tool, and config, and enjoy running it.
- You have the time to build, maintain, and rebuild when something breaks.
- You're learning the infrastructure itself, not just practicing detections on it.
- You want zero recurring cost and don't mind managing your own cloud bill.
When Tyrian is the right choice
- Your last homelab died because rebuilding it ate the time you wanted to spend practicing.
- You've eaten a surprise AWS bill from a range you forgot to tear down.
- You want the range ready in 90 seconds and gone (and billing $0) when you're done.
- You want billing, isolation, reports, and teardown handled, not built.
See the difference yourself
Launch a real range in 90 seconds, fire a real attack, watch your detections catch it. $5 free, no card.