head to head · open source
PentestGPT vs Tracecat
PentestGPT has 16,262 GitHub stars, 2,845 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Tracecat has 3,889 stars, 439 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PentestGPT leads on adoption by 318% (16,262 vs 3,889 stars). PentestGPT is written in Python under MIT; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. PentestGPT has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Tracecat 11%. Tracecat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| PentestGPT | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 439 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PentestGPT if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tracecat if
- You want the Tracecat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Tracecat fits your workflow better
About PentestGPT
[![Contributors][contributors shield]][contributors url] [![Forks][forks shield]][forks url] [![Stargazers][stars shield]][stars url] [![Issues][issues shield]][issues url] [![MIT License][license shield]][license url] [![Discord][discord shield]][discord url] PentestGPT AI Powered Autonomous Penetration Testing Agent Published at USENIX Security 2024 Official Website: pentestgpt.com » Research Paper · Report Bug · Request Feature Demo Installation Watch on YouTube PentestGPT in Action Watch on YouTube What's New in v1.0 (Agentic Upgrade) Multi Stage Pipeline The agent works through staged phases (recon →…
read the full PentestGPT overview →
About Tracecat
The agentic security automation platform. Introduction Tracecat is the open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. Prompt to automations : build end to end automations with agents, workflows, cases, and tables from your own agent harness (e.g. Claude code, Codex, OpenCode). Code native : sync custom Python scripts from your Git repo into Tracecat. All in one : agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management. Everything security teams need to automate work in one place. Deployment options : sign up for Tracecat managed Cloud, or self host with Docker, AWS Fargate, or Kubernetes Helm…
read the full Tracecat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PentestGPT or Tracecat more popular?
PentestGPT has 16,262 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,889. PentestGPT has the larger community by that measure.
Are PentestGPT and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. PentestGPT is licensed under MIT and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PentestGPT and Tracecat?
PentestGPT is written in Python and Tracecat 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, PentestGPT or Tracecat?
Choose PentestGPT if you want the larger community (16,262 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.