head to head · open source
crowdsec vs Pentest-Swarm-AI
crowdsec has 15,431 GitHub stars, 756 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115 stars, 570 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. crowdsec leads on adoption by 395% (15,431 vs 3,115 stars). crowdsec is written in Go under MIT; Pentest-Swarm-AI is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. crowdsec has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Pentest-Swarm-AI 18%. Pentest-Swarm-AI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cybersecurity), 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
| crowdsec | Pentest-Swarm-AI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 756 | ⑂ 570 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick crowdsec if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Pentest-Swarm-AI if
- You want the Pentest-Swarm-AI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Pentest-Swarm-AI fits your workflow better
About crowdsec
CrowdSec: open source IDS/IPS, WAF and bot detection CrowdSec is an open source and participative security solution offering crowdsourced server detection and protection against malicious IPs. Detect and block with our Security Engine, contribute to the network, and enjoy our real time community blocklist. Features & Advantages Versatile Security Engine CrowdSec Security Engine is an all in one IDS/IPS and WAF. It detects bad behaviors by analyzing log sources and HTTP requests, and allows active remediation thanks to the Remediation Components. Detection rules are available on our hub under MIT license…
read the full crowdsec overview →
About Pentest-Swarm-AI
The open source XBOW alternative — an autonomous API & web app pentester. Dozens of AI agents don't just scan — they exploit . They chain attacks (BOLA/IDOR, JWT forgery, mass assignment, SSRF, injection), build and score attack paths, and prove real vulnerabilities at machine speed. Built for pentesters · bug bounty hunters · red teamers · security researchers 📖 Documentation · Quick Start · vs. XBOW · Swarm vs. Multi Agent · How It Works · Roadmap Hack at machine speed. 📖 New here? Start with the documentation — quickstart, provider setup, CLI reference, and…
read the full Pentest-Swarm-AI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is crowdsec or Pentest-Swarm-AI more popular?
crowdsec has 15,431 GitHub stars and Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115. crowdsec has the larger community by that measure.
Are crowdsec and Pentest-Swarm-AI free?
Both are open source. crowdsec is licensed under MIT and Pentest-Swarm-AI under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between crowdsec and Pentest-Swarm-AI?
crowdsec is written in Go and Pentest-Swarm-AI 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, crowdsec or Pentest-Swarm-AI?
Choose crowdsec if you want the larger community (15,431 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Pentest-Swarm-AI if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.