head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs Tracecat
PayloadsAllTheThings has 80,960 GitHub stars, 17,377 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. Tracecat has 3,805 stars, 417 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 2,028% (80,960 vs 3,805 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| PayloadsAllTheThings | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-08-27 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 17K | ⑂ 417 |
| 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 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 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 Tracecat
Tracecat is an open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. It lives in the security operations and incident response ecosystem, combining agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management in one Python application. The project is licensed under AGPL 3.0, with a separate paid Enterprise Edition directory and feature gates.
read the full Tracecat 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 Tracecat more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 80,960 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,805. 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 (80,960 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.