head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs Zen-Ai-Pentest
PentestGPT has 16,154 GitHub stars, 2,829 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Zen-Ai-Pentest has 500 stars, 88 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 3,131% (16,154 vs 500 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; Zen-Ai-Pentest is written in Python under MIT. PentestGPT has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, Zen-Ai-Pentest 18%. Zen-Ai-Pentest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (penetration-testing, python), 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 | Zen-Ai-Pentest | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 500 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 88 |
| 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 Zen-Ai-Pentest if
- You want the Zen-Ai-Pentest feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Zen-Ai-Pentest 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 Zen-Ai-Pentest
Professional AI Powered Penetration Testing Framework Autonomous security assessment powered by state of the art language models Features • Quick Start • Architecture • Pipelines • Security • Docs 🔥 Overview Zen AI Pentest is an autonomous, AI driven penetration testing framework that combines cutting edge large language models with 72+ professional security tools. Built for security professionals, bug bounty hunters, and enterprise red teams. ✨ Features 🤖 Autonomous AI ReAct Pattern : Reason → Act → Observe → Reflect State Machine : IDLE → PLANNING → EXECUTING → OBSERVING → REFLECTING → COMPLETED Memory…
read the full Zen-Ai-Pentest overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or Zen-Ai-Pentest more popular?
PentestGPT has 16,154 GitHub stars and Zen-Ai-Pentest has 500. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and Zen-Ai-Pentest free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and Zen-Ai-Pentest under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and Zen-Ai-Pentest?
PentestGPT is written in Python and Zen-Ai-Pentest 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 Zen-Ai-Pentest?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (16,154 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zen-Ai-Pentest if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.