head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs UnKey
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,382 GitHub stars, 17,554 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. UnKey has 5,483 stars, 636 forks, 163 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 1,402% (82,382 vs 5,483 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; UnKey is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, UnKey 12%. UnKey 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 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| PayloadsAllTheThings | UnKey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 82K | ★ 5.5K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 636 |
| 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 UnKey if
- You want the UnKey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and UnKey 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 UnKey
Unkey The Developer Platform for Modern APIs unkey.com · Docs · Engineering · Discord What is Unkey? Unkey is the developer platform for modern APIs. We unify your infrastructure so you can ship faster: deploy APIs instantly, route traffic through global gateways, and understand usage — all in one place. Deploy — push an API to production in seconds, with zero infrastructure to manage Gateway — route, authenticate, and shape traffic through globally distributed gateways API Keys — issue, verify, and revoke keys with fast global verification Ratelimiting — globally consistent, durable ratelimiting for any…
read the full UnKey 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 UnKey more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,382 GitHub stars and UnKey has 5,483. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and UnKey free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT, and UnKey has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and UnKey?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python and UnKey in Go. 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 UnKey?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (82,382 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose UnKey if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.