head to head · open source
PayloadsAllTheThings vs Pentest-Swarm-AI
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,315 GitHub stars, 17,560 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115 stars, 570 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PayloadsAllTheThings leads on adoption by 2,543% (82,315 vs 3,115 stars). PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python under MIT; Pentest-Swarm-AI is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. PayloadsAllTheThings has attracted 21% 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 (penetration-testing), 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
| PayloadsAllTheThings | Pentest-Swarm-AI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 82K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 570 |
| 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 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 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 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 PayloadsAllTheThings or Pentest-Swarm-AI more popular?
PayloadsAllTheThings has 82,315 GitHub stars and Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115. PayloadsAllTheThings has the larger community by that measure.
Are PayloadsAllTheThings and Pentest-Swarm-AI free?
Both are open source. PayloadsAllTheThings is licensed under MIT and Pentest-Swarm-AI under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PayloadsAllTheThings and Pentest-Swarm-AI?
PayloadsAllTheThings is written in Python 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, PayloadsAllTheThings or Pentest-Swarm-AI?
Choose PayloadsAllTheThings if you want the larger community (82,315 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.