head to head · open source
prowler vs Harden-Windows-Security
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars, 2,479 forks, 371 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Harden-Windows-Security has 4,825 stars, 345 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. prowler leads on adoption by 214% (15,159 vs 4,825 stars). prowler is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Harden-Windows-Security is written in C# under MIT. prowler has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Harden-Windows-Security 7%. prowler was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (compliance), 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
| prowler | Harden-Windows-Security | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 345 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick prowler if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Harden-Windows-Security if
- You want the Harden-Windows-Security feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Harden-Windows-Security fits your workflow better
About prowler
Prowler is the Open Cloud Security Platform trusted by thousands to automate security and compliance in any cloud environment. With thousands of ready to use checks and compliance frameworks, Prowler delivers real time, customizable monitoring and seamless integrations, making cloud security simple, scalable, and cost effective for organizations of any size. The Agentic Cloud Defender Try Prowler Cloud Join our Prowler community! Description Prowler is the world’s most widely used Open Source Cloud Security Platform that automates security and compliance across any cloud environment . With thousands of ready to…
read the full prowler overview →
About Harden-Windows-Security
Harden Windows Security A New Threat to Malware Harden Windows Safely, Securely, Only With Official Microsoft Methods How To Use Related Trust Support Security Recommendations Resources License Wiki Basic FAQs Roadmap Donation [!IMPORTANT]\ Here are Quick Access Points to Important Sections of this Repository Harden System Security App AppControl Manager App Application Control for Business Resources [!NOTE]\ This repository only uses the features that have already been implemented by Microsoft in Windows OS to fine tune it towards the highest security and locked down state, without relying on any 3rd party…
read the full Harden-Windows-Security overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is prowler or Harden-Windows-Security more popular?
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars and Harden-Windows-Security has 4,825. prowler has the larger community by that measure.
Are prowler and Harden-Windows-Security free?
Both are open source. prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Harden-Windows-Security under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between prowler and Harden-Windows-Security?
prowler is written in Python and Harden-Windows-Security in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, prowler or Harden-Windows-Security?
Choose prowler if you want the larger community (15,159 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Harden-Windows-Security if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.