head to head · open source
ecapture vs Nettacker
ecapture has 15,530 GitHub stars, 1,651 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nettacker has 5,704 stars, 1,231 forks, 249 open issues and last shipped today. ecapture leads on adoption by 172% (15,530 vs 5,704 stars). ecapture is written in C under Apache-2.0; Nettacker is written in Python under Apache-2.0. ecapture has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Nettacker 22%. Nettacker was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (network-security), 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
| ecapture | Nettacker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ecapture if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Nettacker if
- You want the Nettacker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Nettacker fits your workflow better
About ecapture
eCapture (旁观者) Capture SSL/TLS plaintext with eBPF—no MITM proxy or custom CA installation. English · 汉字 [!IMPORTANT] Supports Linux and Android on x86 64 (kernel 4.18+) and aarch64 (kernel 5.5+ ). The kernel requirement applies per CPU architecture for both Linux and Android. Requires root privileges or specific Linux capabilities. Does not support Windows or macOS. Introduction Getting started Download ELF binary file Docker image Capture OpenSSL plaintext data Modules OpenSSL module GoTLS module Other modules Videos Star History Security & operations Contributing Compilation Introduction Captures plaintext…
read the full ecapture overview →
About Nettacker
OWASP Nettacker ========= DISCLAIMER THIS SOFTWARE WAS CREATED FOR AUTOMATED PENETRATION TESTING AND INFORMATION GATHERING. YOU MUST USE THIS SOFTWARE IN A RESPONSIBLE AND ETHICAL MANNER. DO NOT TARGET SYSTEMS OR APPLICATIONS WITHOUT OBTAINING PERMISSIONS OR CONSENT FROM THE SYSTEM OWNERS OR ADMINISTRATORS. CONTRIBUTORS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ILLEGAL USAGE. OWASP Nettacker is an open source, Python based automated penetration testing and information gathering framework designed to help cyber security professionals and ethical hackers perform reconnaissance, vulnerability assessments, and network…
read the full Nettacker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ecapture or Nettacker more popular?
ecapture has 15,530 GitHub stars and Nettacker has 5,704. ecapture has the larger community by that measure.
Are ecapture and Nettacker free?
Both are open source. ecapture is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Nettacker under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ecapture and Nettacker?
ecapture is written in C and Nettacker 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, ecapture or Nettacker?
Choose ecapture if you want the larger community (15,530 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Nettacker if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.