head to head · open source
beelzebub vs h5i
beelzebub has 2,230 GitHub stars, 220 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. h5i has 888 stars, 78 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. beelzebub leads on adoption by 151% (2,230 vs 888 stars). beelzebub is written in Go under GPL-3.0; h5i is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. beelzebub has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, h5i 9%. h5i was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cybersecurity), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| beelzebub | h5i | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.2K | ★ 888 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 220 | ⑂ 78 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick beelzebub if
- You weight community size — 2.2K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick h5i if
- You want the h5i feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and h5i fits your workflow better
About beelzebub
Beelzebub Open source deception framework. Deploy realistic decoys. Observe attacker behavior. Turn interactions into security evidence. Explore Beelzebub Platform · Documentation · Quick start Beelzebub gives security teams a configurable way to study activity directed at decoy services. Define the environment an attacker encounters, choose how it responds, and capture the interaction for investigation. Run the framework independently or connect it to Beelzebub Platform. Why Beelzebub Deploy decoys that fit your environment. Define services, routes, and response rules in YAML. Use static handlers for…
read the full beelzebub overview →
About h5i
The Red Teaming Browser for AI Agents h5i (pronounced high five ) is a lightweight browser built for AI agents to test web applications. It combines page automation with direct control over HTTP traffic, letting agents capture, inspect, modify, replay, and compare requests through one interface. Sandboxing, network policies, credential isolation, and auditable sessions keep autonomous testing contained and within scope. Agent native red teaming Browser + direct HTTP control Attack replay in CI Replay attack flows in CI Sandboxed & auditable Isolated execution with logs Fast & lightweight 3× faster, 86% less…
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Frequently asked questions
Is beelzebub or h5i more popular?
beelzebub has 2,230 GitHub stars and h5i has 888. beelzebub has the larger community by that measure.
Are beelzebub and h5i free?
Both are open source. beelzebub is licensed under GPL-3.0 and h5i under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between beelzebub and h5i?
beelzebub is written in Go and h5i in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, beelzebub or h5i?
Choose beelzebub if you want the larger community (2,230 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose h5i if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.