head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs Pentest-Swarm-AI
PentestGPT has 16,247 GitHub stars, 2,838 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115 stars, 570 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 422% (16,247 vs 3,115 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; Pentest-Swarm-AI is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. PentestGPT has attracted 17% 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| PentestGPT | Pentest-Swarm-AI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 570 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PentestGPT if
- You weight community size — 16K 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 PentestGPT
[![Contributors][contributors shield]][contributors url] [![Forks][forks shield]][forks url] [![Stargazers][stars shield]][stars url] [![Issues][issues shield]][issues url] [![MIT License][license shield]][license url] [![Discord][discord shield]][discord url] PentestGPT AI Powered Autonomous Penetration Testing Agent Published at USENIX Security 2024 Official Website: pentestgpt.com » Research Paper · Report Bug · Request Feature Demo Installation Watch on YouTube PentestGPT in Action Watch on YouTube What's New in v1.0 (Agentic Upgrade) Multi Stage Pipeline The agent works through staged phases (recon →…
read the full PentestGPT 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 →
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 PentestGPT or Pentest-Swarm-AI more popular?
PentestGPT has 16,247 GitHub stars and Pentest-Swarm-AI has 3,115. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and Pentest-Swarm-AI free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and Pentest-Swarm-AI under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and Pentest-Swarm-AI?
PentestGPT 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, PentestGPT or Pentest-Swarm-AI?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (16,247 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.