head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs monkey
PentestGPT has 16,268 GitHub stars, 2,851 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. monkey has 7,124 stars, 822 forks, 240 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 128% (16,268 vs 7,124 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; monkey is written in Python under GPL-3.0. PentestGPT has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, monkey 12%. monkey 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 | monkey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 7.1K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 822 |
| 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 monkey if
- You want the monkey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and monkey 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 monkey
Infection Monkey Welcome to Infection Monkey! We're glad you could swing by.🐒 Here's all the info you'll need to start monkeying around. What is Infection Monkey? Infection Monkey is an open source adversary emulation platform that helps you improve your security posture using empirical data. The Monkey uses various methods to self propagate across a network and reports its activities to a centralized command and control server known as the Monkey Island. 🐵🏝️ You know, like malware, but ✨safe.✨ How does it work? Infection Monkey is comprised of two components: Agent A configurable network worm that can infect…
read the full monkey overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or monkey more popular?
PentestGPT has 16,268 GitHub stars and monkey has 7,124. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and monkey free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and monkey under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and monkey?
PentestGPT is written in Python and monkey in Python. 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 monkey?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (16,268 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose monkey if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.