head to head · open source
prowler vs SnapOtter
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars, 2,479 forks, 371 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SnapOtter has 2,929 stars, 174 forks, 208 open issues and last shipped yesterday. prowler leads on adoption by 418% (15,159 vs 2,929 stars). prowler is written in Python under Apache-2.0; SnapOtter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. prowler has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, SnapOtter 6%. SnapOtter 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 | SnapOtter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 174 |
| 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 SnapOtter if
- You want the SnapOtter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and SnapOtter 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 SnapOtter
Open source, self hosted file processing infrastructure. Convert, compress, OCR, transcribe, strip metadata, and run local AI across image, video, audio, PDF, and documents, through a UI, REST API, and pipelines. Your files never leave your network. The one self hosted stack that replaces CloudConvert, Smallpdf, TinyPNG, TinyWow, and Otter.ai. 200+ tools across five modalities, on hardware you own. Stirling PDF stops at PDFs. ConvertX stops at conversions. SnapOtter runs all five, and your files never leave your server. Edit images, convert video, transcribe audio, repair PDFs, batch your files: one Docker…
read the full SnapOtter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is prowler or SnapOtter more popular?
prowler has 15,159 GitHub stars and SnapOtter has 2,929. prowler has the larger community by that measure.
Are prowler and SnapOtter free?
Both are open source. prowler is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SnapOtter under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between prowler and SnapOtter?
prowler is written in Python and SnapOtter in TypeScript. 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 SnapOtter?
Choose prowler if you want the larger community (15,159 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SnapOtter if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.