head to head · open source
nanobot vs pentestagent
nanobot has 49,822 GitHub stars, 8,711 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pentestagent has 3,240 stars, 646 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. nanobot leads on adoption by 1,438% (49,822 vs 3,240 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; pentestagent is written in Python under MIT. nanobot has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, pentestagent 20%. nanobot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai-agents), 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
| nanobot | pentestagent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.7K | ⑂ 646 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pentestagent if
- You want the pentestagent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and pentestagent fits your workflow better
About nanobot
English 简体中文 繁體中文 Español Français Bahasa Indonesia 日本語 한국어 Русский Tiếng Việt Discord · X · WeChat / Feishu nanobot 🐈 nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python. It runs in a WebUI, terminal, or chat apps and combines tools, long term memory, MCP integrations, model routing, multi agent delegation, scheduled automation, and an OpenAI compatible API in a small, readable core. Start Here What can nanobot do? nanobot is a self hosted personal AI agent runtime. It can: run in a browser WebUI or terminal connect to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WeChat, Email…
read the full nanobot overview →
About pentestagent
PentestAgent AI Penetration Testing Requirements Python 3.10+ API key for OpenAI, Anthropic, or other LiteLLM supported provider Install Configure Create .env in the project root: Or for OpenAI: Any LiteLLM supported model works. Using a relay / custom API base Point PentestAgent at any OpenAI compatible endpoint via OPENAI API BASE : For Anthropic compatible endpoints use ANTHROPIC API BASE instead. See .env.example for full provider notes and embedding options. Run Docker Run tools inside a Docker container for isolation and pre installed pentesting tools. Option 1: Pull pre built image (fastest) Option 2…
read the full pentestagent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or pentestagent more popular?
nanobot has 49,822 GitHub stars and pentestagent has 3,240. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and pentestagent free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT and pentestagent under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobot and pentestagent?
nanobot is written in Python and pentestagent in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, nanobot or pentestagent?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (49,822 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pentestagent if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.