head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs thc-hydra
PayloadsAllTheThings has 81,010 GitHub stars, 17,385 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. thc-hydra has 12,289 stars, 2,668 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 559% (81,010 vs 12,289 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, thc-hydra 22%. PayloadsAllTheThings 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| PayloadsAllTheThings | thc-hydra | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-08-27 | 2026-07-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 17K | ⑂ 2.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PayloadsAllTheThings if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick thc-hydra if
- You want the thc-hydra feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and thc-hydra 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 thc-hydra
Hydra is an AGPL 3.0 licensed, C based login cracker that attacks dozens of network protocols in parallel, built for security researchers and penetration testing consultants who need to demonstrate how easily a remote system can be reached with weak credentials.
read the full thc-hydra overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Threat Detection & Response projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Threat Detection & Response field.
Frequently asked questions
Is PayloadsAllTheThings or thc-hydra more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 81,010 GitHub stars and thc-hydra has 12,289. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and thc-hydra free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT and thc-hydra under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and thc-hydra?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python and thc-hydra 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, PayloadsAllTheThings or thc-hydra?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (81,010 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose thc-hydra if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.