head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs ezXSS
PentestGPT has 15,774 GitHub stars, 2,748 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. ezXSS has 2,340 stars, 385 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 574% (15,774 vs 2,340 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; ezXSS is written in PHP under MIT. PentestGPT has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, ezXSS 16%. PentestGPT 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
| PentestGPT | ezXSS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-07-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 385 |
| 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 ezXSS if
- You want the ezXSS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and ezXSS fits your workflow better
About PentestGPT
PentestGPT is an MIT licensed Python framework that uses large language models to run automated penetration tests and CTF challenges, aimed at penetration testers, security engineers and CTF players who want an agent to drive the tooling rather than working through it by hand.
read the full PentestGPT overview →
About ezXSS
ezXSS is a self hostable PHP tool for penetration testers and bug bounty hunters who need to find and prove (blind) Cross Site Scripting vulnerabilities.
read the full ezXSS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or ezXSS more popular?
PentestGPT has 15,774 GitHub stars and ezXSS has 2,340. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and ezXSS free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and ezXSS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and ezXSS?
PentestGPT is written in Python and ezXSS in PHP. 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 ezXSS?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (15,774 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ezXSS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.