head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs brutespray
thc-hydra has 12,331 GitHub stars, 2,679 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. brutespray has 2,542 stars, 438 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped yesterday. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 385% (12,331 vs 2,542 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; brutespray is written in Go under MIT. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, brutespray 17%. brutespray was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (brute-force-attacks, bruteforce, network-security, penetration-testing), 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
| thc-hydra | brutespray | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C | Go |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-10-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 438 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick thc-hydra if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick brutespray if
- You want the brutespray feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and brutespray fits your workflow better
About thc-hydra
Hydra is an AGPL 3.0 licensed, C based login cracker that attacks dozens of network protocols in parallel, built for security researchers and penetration testing consultants who need to demonstrate how easily a remote system can be reached with weak credentials.
read the full thc-hydra overview →
About brutespray
Brutespray is a fast, multi protocol credential brute forcer for penetration testers and red teams that automatically tests default and custom credentials across dozens of services directly from scanner output.
read the full brutespray overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or brutespray more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,331 GitHub stars and brutespray has 2,542. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and brutespray free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and brutespray under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and brutespray?
thc-hydra is written in C and brutespray in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, thc-hydra or brutespray?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,331 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose brutespray if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.