head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs malicious-pdf
thc-hydra has 12,324 GitHub stars, 2,677 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. malicious-pdf has 4,449 stars, 588 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 177% (12,324 vs 4,449 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; malicious-pdf is written in Python under BSD-2-Clause. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, malicious-pdf 13%. malicious-pdf 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 | malicious-pdf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 4.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 588 |
| 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 malicious-pdf if
- You want the malicious-pdf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and malicious-pdf 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 malicious-pdf
malicious pdf is a Python generator of 67 malicious PDF test files for penetration testers, bug bounty hunters, and red teams who need to probe how PDF viewers, converters, and web applications handle hostile document content.
read the full malicious-pdf overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or malicious-pdf more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,324 GitHub stars and malicious-pdf has 4,449. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and malicious-pdf free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and malicious-pdf under BSD-2-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and malicious-pdf?
thc-hydra is written in C and malicious-pdf 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, thc-hydra or malicious-pdf?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,324 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose malicious-pdf if its feature set, stack or BSD-2-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.