head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs monkey
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,377 GitHub stars, 17,553 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. monkey has 7,124 stars, 822 forks, 240 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 1,056% (82,377 vs 7,124 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; monkey is written in Python under GPL-3.0. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, monkey 12%. monkey was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | monkey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 82K | ★ 7.1K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 822 |
| 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 monkey if
- You want the monkey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and monkey fits your workflow better
About PayloadsAllTheThings
Payloads All The Things A list of useful payloads and bypasses for Web Application Security. Feel free to improve with your payloads and techniques! You can also contribute with a :beers: IRL, or using the sponsor button. An alternative display version is available at PayloadsAllTheThingsWeb. :book: Documentation Every section contains the following files, you can use the template vuln folder to create a new chapter: README.md vulnerability description and how to exploit it, including several payloads Intruder a set of files to give to Burp Intruder Images pictures for the README.md Files some files referenced…
read the full PayloadsAllTheThings overview →
About monkey
Infection Monkey Welcome to Infection Monkey! We're glad you could swing by.🐒 Here's all the info you'll need to start monkeying around. What is Infection Monkey? Infection Monkey is an open source adversary emulation platform that helps you improve your security posture using empirical data. The Monkey uses various methods to self propagate across a network and reports its activities to a centralized command and control server known as the Monkey Island. 🐵🏝️ You know, like malware, but ✨safe.✨ How does it work? Infection Monkey is comprised of two components: Agent A configurable network worm that can infect…
read the full monkey overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PayloadsAllTheThings or monkey more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,377 GitHub stars and monkey has 7,124. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and monkey free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT and monkey under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and monkey?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python and monkey 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, PayloadsAllTheThings or monkey?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (82,377 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose monkey if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.