head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs crowdsec
PentestGPT has 16,332 GitHub stars, 2,858 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. crowdsec has 15,510 stars, 757 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 5% (16,332 vs 15,510 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; crowdsec is written in Go under MIT. PentestGPT has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, crowdsec 5%. crowdsec 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.
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Side by side
| PentestGPT | crowdsec | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 757 |
| 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 crowdsec if
- You want the crowdsec feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and crowdsec 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 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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or crowdsec more popular?
PentestGPT has 16,332 GitHub stars and crowdsec has 15,510. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and crowdsec free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and crowdsec under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and crowdsec?
PentestGPT is written in Python and crowdsec 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 crowdsec?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (16,332 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose crowdsec if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.