# Cobalt: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 40 judge labels across 1 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cobalt/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penetration testing as a service | 44% | 1 | 5% | 40 |

## What the models said for it

- "Cobalt.io (Best Overall for Mid-Market SaaS & Dev Workflows) ... widely considered the gold standard for mid-market technology and SaaS companies" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, PTaaS)
- "the best penetration testing service is usually Cobalt if you want fast turnaround, audit-ready reporting, and a PTaaS model" (Perplexity Sonar, PTaaS)
- "Best overall for most mid-market B2B: Cobalt (PTaaS—fast, compliance-ready, retesting included, right-sized pricing)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, PTaaS)
- "Best Overall for Agile Tech & SaaS Companies... de facto standard of the PTaaS market for mid-sized tech companies" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, PTaaS)

## And against it

- "though it is more of a managed marketplace than a low-cost commodity service" (Perplexity Sonar, PTaaS)
- "PTaaS from ~$3K-$10K/yr; crowdsourced for value, but less "one-off cheap."" (Grok 4.1 Fast, PTaaS)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.