head to head · open source
Raccoon vs Tracecat
Raccoon has 4,027 GitHub stars, 501 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. Tracecat has 3,806 stars, 418 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Raccoon leads on adoption by 6% (4,027 vs 3,806 stars). Raccoon is written in Python under MIT; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Raccoon has attracted 12% 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
| Raccoon | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.0K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-04-21 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 501 | ⑂ 418 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Raccoon if
- You weight community size — 4.0K 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 Raccoon
Raccoon is an open source, MIT licensed offensive security tool written in Python for reconnaissance and information gathering, built for penetration testers, bug bounty hunters, and security analysts who need to map a target's DNS, TLS, network, and web footprint from a single command line.
read the full Raccoon 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 Raccoon or Tracecat more popular?
Raccoon has 4,027 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,806. Raccoon has the larger community by that measure.
Are Raccoon and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. Raccoon is licensed under MIT and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Raccoon and Tracecat?
Raccoon 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, Raccoon or Tracecat?
Choose Raccoon if you want the larger community (4,027 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.