head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs linWinPwn
PayloadsAllTheThings has 81,538 GitHub stars, 17,449 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. linWinPwn has 2,224 stars, 311 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 3,566% (81,538 vs 2,224 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; linWinPwn is written in Shell under MIT. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, linWinPwn 14%. linWinPwn was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (enumeration, hacking, penetration-testing), 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
| PayloadsAllTheThings | linWinPwn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 82K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-08-27 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 17K | ⑂ 311 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PayloadsAllTheThings if
- You weight community size — 82K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick linWinPwn if
- You want the linWinPwn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and linWinPwn fits your workflow better
About PayloadsAllTheThings
Payloads All The Things is an MIT licensed, community maintained collection of web application security payloads, bypass techniques and pentest methodology notes, written for penetration testers, bug bounty hunters, CTF players and red teamers who need a reference they can copy from during an engagement.
read the full PayloadsAllTheThings overview →
About linWinPwn
linWinPwn is a bash script that wraps and streamlines a large collection of Active Directory penetration testing tools on Linux, aimed at security testers who work in Active Directory environments.
read the full linWinPwn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PayloadsAllTheThings or linWinPwn more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 81,538 GitHub stars and linWinPwn has 2,224. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and linWinPwn free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT and linWinPwn under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and linWinPwn?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python and linWinPwn in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, PayloadsAllTheThings or linWinPwn?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (81,538 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose linWinPwn if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.