head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs ezXSS
thc-hydra has 12,342 GitHub stars, 2,678 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. ezXSS has 2,340 stars, 385 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 427% (12,342 vs 2,340 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; ezXSS is written in PHP under MIT. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, ezXSS 16%. thc-hydra was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | ezXSS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-07-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 385 |
| 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 ezXSS if
- You want the ezXSS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and ezXSS 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 ezXSS
ezXSS is a self hostable PHP tool for penetration testers and bug bounty hunters who need to find and prove (blind) Cross Site Scripting vulnerabilities.
read the full ezXSS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or ezXSS more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,342 GitHub stars and ezXSS has 2,340. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and ezXSS free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ezXSS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and ezXSS?
thc-hydra is written in C and ezXSS in PHP. 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 ezXSS?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,342 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ezXSS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.