Free THC Hydra alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 5 THC Hydra alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Hashcat, John the Ripper and Metasploit rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Hashcat	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	5 of 5	59.4
2	John the Ripper	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	5 of 5	57.5
3	Metasploit	Open source	—	Yes	Linux, macOS, Windows	4 of 4	56.8
4	Nmap	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	4 of 4	54.4
5	Burp Suite	Free plan + paid	$499 (Burp Suite Professional)	No	Windows, macOS, Linux	7 of 7	52.6

1. HashcatTop pick
Best for: Pentesters and forensic teams with GPUs who want the fastest hash cracking available
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
59.4
score / 100
Why switch from THC Hydra
If you can capture password hashes, offline GPU cracking is far faster and won't lock accounts.
Pros
Very fast on GPUs across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Apple hardware
Over 720 hash modes and 10 attack modes, including rules and masks
Session restore, benchmarks and multi-device support built in
MIT-licensed and free
Cons
Command-line only, with no official GUI
Needs vendor GPU drivers and runtimes such as CUDA or ROCm
Extracting hashes from files needs separate tools
Visit Hashcat Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Hashcat a good THC Hydra alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
MIT
Checked Nov 8, 2026hashcat.net(opens source in a new tab)
Platforms
Linux, Windows, macOS
Checked Nov 8, 2026hashcat.net(opens source in a new tab)
Hash modes
Over 720
Checked Nov 8, 2026hashcat.net(opens source in a new tab)
GPU backends
CUDA, HIP, Metal, OpenCL
Checked Nov 8, 2026hashcat.net(opens source in a new tab)
Latest version
8.0.0
Checked Nov 8, 2026hashcat.net(opens source in a new tab)
2. John the Ripper
Best for: Security auditors and admins who need one cracker that handles almost any hash or encrypted file format
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from THC Hydra
Free offline cracker for captured hashes, with many hash formats and smart wordlist rules.
Pros
Supports hundreds of hash and cipher types, including archives and disk images
*2john helper scripts extract hashes from files like ZIP, PDF and SSH keys
Free and open source, packaged by most Linux distributions
Runs on CPUs, GPUs and many operating systems
Cons
Command-line only, with a learning curve for rules and modes
Official binary releases are old; the site recommends building from GitHub
Usually slower than Hashcat for GPU-heavy cracking of common hashes
Visit John the Ripper Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is John the Ripper a good THC Hydra alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Open source
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026openwall.com(opens source in a new tab)
Hash types
Hundreds (jumbo)
Checked Nov 8, 2026openwall.com(opens source in a new tab)
Commercial edition
John the Ripper Pro (Linux, macOS)
Checked Nov 8, 2026openwall.com(opens source in a new tab)
Cloud
AWS image available
Checked Nov 8, 2026openwall.com(opens source in a new tab)
Development
Active on GitHub
Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Metasploit
Best for: Pentesters and red teams who need a large, maintained library of exploits for known vulnerabilities
Open sourceLinux, macOS, Windows
56.8
score / 100
Why switch from THC Hydra
Its auxiliary login scanner modules brute-force many services inside a full exploitation framework.
Pros
Free framework with a very large, regularly updated module library
Meterpreter payloads cover Windows, Linux, Android and more
Backed by Rapid7, with a commercial Pro edition for teams
Cons
Mainly driven from the command line, with a learning curve
GUI, automation and reporting require the paid Pro edition
Antivirus tools often flag or quarantine its files on install
Visit Metasploit Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.360
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Metasploit a good THC Hydra alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Owner
Rapid7 and open-source community
Checked Nov 8, 2026metasploit.com(opens source in a new tab)
Editions
Framework (open source), Pro (commercial)
Checked Nov 8, 2026metasploit.com(opens source in a new tab)
Platforms
Linux, macOS, Windows
Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.metasploit.com(opens source in a new tab)
Payloads
Meterpreter for Windows, PHP, Python, Java, Android
Checked Nov 8, 2026metasploit.com(opens source in a new tab)
4. Nmap
Best for: Sysadmins and security professionals who need thorough port, service and OS scanning
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
54.4
score / 100
Why switch from THC Hydra
Nmap's NSE brute scripts test logins during a scan, handy if you're already mapping the network.
Pros
Free and open source, with full source code
Very thorough port, service and OS detection
Scripting engine with hundreds of ready-made scripts
Zenmap GUI and companion tools included
Cons
Steep learning curve for non-technical users
No continuous home-network monitoring or alerts
Its custom licence has limits on commercial redistribution
Visit Nmap Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.352
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Nmap a good THC Hydra alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Open source
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026nmap.org(opens source in a new tab)
Platforms
Linux, Windows, macOS
Checked Nov 8, 2026nmap.org(opens source in a new tab)
GUI
Zenmap
Checked Nov 8, 2026nmap.org(opens source in a new tab)
License
Nmap Public Source License
Checked Nov 8, 2026nmap.org(opens source in a new tab)
5. Burp Suite
Best for: Pentesters and bug bounty hunters doing hands-on web application testing
Free plan + paidWindows, macOS, Linux
52.6
score / 100
Why switch from THC Hydra
Intruder handles web login forms with finer control over requests, tokens and responses than Hydra.
Pros
Industry-standard proxy, Repeater and Intruder workflow
Free Community Edition for learning and manual testing
Large extension library and free training from PortSwigger
Cons
The scanner and full-speed Intruder require the paid Professional licence
Community Edition can't save projects
Java-based UI can be heavy on memory during big tests
Visit Burp Suite Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.346
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Burp Suite a good THC Hydra alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Free edition
Community Edition
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Pro-only features
Project files, full Intruder, vulnerability scanner
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Billing
Yearly licence terms
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Owner
PortSwigger Ltd
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$499 (Burp Suite Professional)
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, Community Edition
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
Yes (Professional)
Checked Nov 8, 2026portswigger.net(opens source in a new tab)

Quick comparison

1. HashcatTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. John the Ripper

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Metasploit

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Nmap

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

5. Burp Suite

Pros

Cons

Verified facts