head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs Tracecat
PentestGPT has 15,534 GitHub stars, 2,706 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Tracecat has 3,806 stars, 418 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 308% (15,534 vs 3,806 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. PentestGPT has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Tracecat 11%. Tracecat 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 | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 418 |
| 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 Tracecat if
- You want the Tracecat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Tracecat 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 Tracecat
Tracecat is an open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. It lives in the security operations and incident response ecosystem, combining agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management in one Python application. The project is licensed under AGPL 3.0, with a separate paid Enterprise Edition directory and feature gates.
read the full Tracecat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or Tracecat more popular?
PentestGPT has 15,534 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,806. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and Tracecat?
PentestGPT is written in Python and Tracecat 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 Tracecat?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (15,534 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.