head to head · open source
pentest-ai vs xalgorix
pentest-ai has 1,685 GitHub stars, 314 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. xalgorix has 1,110 stars, 196 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pentest-ai leads on adoption by 52% (1,685 vs 1,110 stars). pentest-ai is written in Python under MIT; xalgorix is written in Go under Apache-2.0. pentest-ai has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, xalgorix 18%. xalgorix was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (ai-security, bug-bounty, cybersecurity, ethical-hacking), 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
| pentest-ai | xalgorix | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.7K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 314 | ⑂ 196 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick pentest-ai if
- You weight community size — 1.7K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick xalgorix if
- You want the xalgorix feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and xalgorix fits your workflow better
About pentest-ai
Pentest AI is an open source Python project that connects an AI client or model to a penetration testing workflow. It belongs to the AI security and application security ecosystem, and it is distributed under the MIT license. The project is published as ptai on PyPI and can be used through MCP, the CLI, or CI.
read the full pentest-ai overview →
About xalgorix
Xalgorix is an open source, self hosted autonomous AI penetration testing platform for security teams, pentesters, and bug bounty hunters who want every reported finding independently re exploited as proof instead of triaged as a maybe.
read the full xalgorix overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pentest-ai or xalgorix more popular?
pentest-ai has 1,685 GitHub stars and xalgorix has 1,110. pentest-ai has the larger community by that measure.
Are pentest-ai and xalgorix free?
Both are open source. pentest-ai is licensed under MIT and xalgorix under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pentest-ai and xalgorix?
pentest-ai is written in Python and xalgorix 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, pentest-ai or xalgorix?
Choose pentest-ai if you want the larger community (1,685 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose xalgorix if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.