head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs ecapture
PentestGPT has 15,817 GitHub stars, 2,755 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. ecapture has 15,490 stars, 1,647 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 2% (15,817 vs 15,490 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; ecapture is written in C under Apache-2.0. PentestGPT has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, ecapture 11%. ecapture was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| PentestGPT | ecapture | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-10-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PentestGPT if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ecapture if
- You want the ecapture feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ecapture fits your workflow better
About PentestGPT
PentestGPT is an MIT licensed Python framework that uses large language models to run automated penetration tests and CTF challenges, aimed at penetration testers, security engineers and CTF players who want an agent to drive the tooling rather than working through it by hand.
read the full PentestGPT overview →
About ecapture
eCapture (旁观者) is an open source eBPF tool that captures SSL/TLS plaintext, database queries, and shell history on Linux and Android for security auditors, network engineers, and self hosters who need visibility into encrypted traffic without intercepting it.
read the full ecapture overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or ecapture more popular?
PentestGPT has 15,817 GitHub stars and ecapture has 15,490. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and ecapture free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and ecapture under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and ecapture?
PentestGPT is written in Python and ecapture in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, PentestGPT or ecapture?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (15,817 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ecapture if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.