head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs reconftw
thc-hydra has 12,473 GitHub stars, 2,699 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. reconftw has 8,338 stars, 1,263 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 50% (12,473 vs 8,338 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; reconftw is written in Shell under MIT. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, reconftw 15%. reconftw 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 | reconftw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 8.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 reconftw if
- You want the reconftw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and reconftw 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 reconftw
reconFTW reconFTW is a powerful automated reconnaissance tool designed for security researchers and penetration testers. It streamlines the process of gathering intelligence on a target by performing subdomain enumeration, vulnerability scanning, OSINT and more. With a modular design, extensive configuration options, and support for distributed scanning via AX Framework, reconFTW is built to deliver comprehensive results efficiently. reconFTW leverages a wide range of techniques, including passive and active subdomain discovery, web vulnerability checks (e.g., XSS, SSRF, SQLi), OSINT, directory fuzzing, port…
read the full reconftw overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or reconftw more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,473 GitHub stars and reconftw has 8,338. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and reconftw free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and reconftw under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and reconftw?
thc-hydra is written in C and reconftw in Shell. 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 reconftw?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,473 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose reconftw if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.