head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs mutillidae
thc-hydra has 12,405 GitHub stars, 2,686 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. mutillidae has 1,531 stars, 569 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 710% (12,405 vs 1,531 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; mutillidae is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, mutillidae 37%. mutillidae 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 | mutillidae | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-09-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 569 |
| 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 mutillidae if
- You want the mutillidae feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and mutillidae fits your workflow better
About thc-hydra
H Y D R A (c) 2001 2023 by van Hauser / THC Many modules were written by David (dot) Maciejak @ gmail (dot) com BFG code by Jan Dlabal Licensed under AGPLv3 (see LICENSE file) Please do not use in military or secret service organizations, or for illegal purposes. (This is the wish of the author and non binding. Many people working in these organizations do not care for laws and ethics anyway. You are not one of the "good" ones if you ignore this.) NOTE: No, this is not meant to be a markdown doc! old school! Hydra in the most current GitHub state can be directly downloaded via Docker: INTRODUCTION Number one of…
read the full thc-hydra overview →
About mutillidae
OWASP Mutillidae II OWASP Mutillidae II is a free, open source, deliberately vulnerable web application designed for web security enthusiasts. It serves as a target for learning and practicing web security skills. Mutillidae can be easily installed on Linux and Windows systems using LAMP, WAMP, and XAMMP stacks. Additionally, it comes pre installed on SamuraiWTF and OWASP BWA, and the existing version can be updated on these platforms. With dozens of vulnerabilities and hints to guide the user, Mutillidae provides an accessible web hacking environment suitable for labs, security enthusiasts, classrooms, CTFs…
read the full mutillidae overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or mutillidae more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,405 GitHub stars and mutillidae has 1,531. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and mutillidae free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and mutillidae under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and mutillidae?
thc-hydra is written in C and mutillidae 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 mutillidae?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,405 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose mutillidae if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.