head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs Tracecat
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,315 GitHub stars, 17,560 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Tracecat has 3,884 stars, 439 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 2,019% (82,315 vs 3,884 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Tracecat 11%. Tracecat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 82K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 439 |
| 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 Tracecat if
- You want the Tracecat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Tracecat 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 Tracecat
The agentic security automation platform. Introduction Tracecat is the open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. Prompt to automations : build end to end automations with agents, workflows, cases, and tables from your own agent harness (e.g. Claude code, Codex, OpenCode). Code native : sync custom Python scripts from your Git repo into Tracecat. All in one : agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management. Everything security teams need to automate work in one place. Deployment options : sign up for Tracecat managed Cloud, or self host with Docker, AWS Fargate, or Kubernetes Helm…
read the full Tracecat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PayloadsAllTheThings or Tracecat more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,315 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,884. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and Tracecat?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python and Tracecat 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 Tracecat?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (82,315 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.