head to head · open source
thc-hydra vs WhatWeb
thc-hydra has 12,306 GitHub stars, 2,671 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. WhatWeb has 6,855 stars, 1,013 forks, 51 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. thc-hydra leads on adoption by 80% (12,306 vs 6,855 stars). thc-hydra is written in C under AGPL-3.0; WhatWeb is written in Ruby under GPL-2.0. thc-hydra has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, WhatWeb 15%. thc-hydra was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (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 | WhatWeb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-04-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 WhatWeb if
- You want the WhatWeb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and WhatWeb 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 WhatWeb
WhatWeb is a free, GPL 2.0 licensed web scanner written in Ruby that identifies the technologies powering a website — content management systems, blogging platforms, analytics packages, JavaScript libraries, web servers and embedded devices — and it is built for penetration testers, security analysts and network defenders who need to answer the question, "What is that Website?"
read the full WhatWeb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is thc-hydra or WhatWeb more popular?
thc-hydra has 12,306 GitHub stars and WhatWeb has 6,855. thc-hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are thc-hydra and WhatWeb free?
Both are open source. thc-hydra is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and WhatWeb under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between thc-hydra and WhatWeb?
thc-hydra is written in C and WhatWeb in Ruby. 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 WhatWeb?
Choose thc-hydra if you want the larger community (12,306 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose WhatWeb if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.