Awesome Hacker Search Engines vs awesome-hacking
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A curated list of websites for searching security, vulnerability, and internet-device data.
Open source · MIT
A curated list of links to hacking tutorials, tools and learning resources.
The short answer
Choose Awesome Hacker Search Engines if you need…
- Security professionals starting a penetration test or vulnerability assessment who need a place to look up data
- Bug bounty hunters looking for tools that map internet-facing assets
- Blue team analysts checking CVE and advisory sources
- Students learning which public security databases exist
Choose awesome-hacking if you need…
- Students looking for a starting map of security topics
- Security learners who want tutorials and practice targets in one place
- Developers who want to find reverse engineering or pentesting tools to evaluate
- People preparing for CTF competitions or wargames
Side-by-side
| Awesome Hacker Search Engines | awesome-hacking | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Curated list | Curated list |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 11.5k | 17.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Read it online | See the README |
| Main language | Shell | — |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
This is a categorized list of web search engines and databases that security professionals use during penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and bug bounty work. It groups links by purpose, such as finding internet-connected servers, looking up CVEs, locating exploits, or checking DNS and certificate records. It is a reference list of websites rather than a program you install.
awesome-hacking
This is a long, hand-picked list of web links grouped by topic, such as system exploitation, reverse engineering, web security, networking, forensics, cryptography, and capture-the-flag (CTF) competitions. It points to tutorials, tools, Docker images for practice environments, and reference sites. It does not install or run software itself; you use it to find resources and then follow each linked project's own instructions.
Best for
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
- Security professionals starting a penetration test or vulnerability assessment who need a place to look up data
- Bug bounty hunters looking for tools that map internet-facing assets
- Blue team analysts checking CVE and advisory sources
- Students learning which public security databases exist
awesome-hacking
- Students looking for a starting map of security topics
- Security learners who want tutorials and practice targets in one place
- Developers who want to find reverse engineering or pentesting tools to evaluate
- People preparing for CTF competitions or wargames
Strengths
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
- Organizes many sources into clear categories such as servers, vulnerabilities, DNS, and certificates
- Each entry includes a short description of what the site offers
- Released under the MIT license and maintained with recent activity
awesome-hacking
- Broad coverage across many security subfields in one document
- Links are grouped by topic and subtopic, which makes browsing easier
- MIT licensed and widely starred, with a clear contribution path via pull requests
Not ideal for
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
- People who want software to install, since this is a list of web links rather than a tool (the README does not describe any downloadable app)
- Anyone seeking guaranteed-current information, because the list links to third-party sites that can change or disappear
- Use against systems you do not have permission to test, since many listed engines scan or expose internet-connected devices and the README gives no usage rules beyond its description
awesome-hacking
- Readers who need a single tool with step-by-step setup, since this is only an index of links
- Beginners with no computing background, who may need the basics first; the list assumes some technical knowledge
- Anyone expecting up-to-date recommendations, since the README shows no recent update history beyond the last push date
Trade-offs
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
- It is only links and short descriptions, so the README does not explain how each site works or what it costs
- Some listed services are commercial or require accounts, which the list does not state for each entry
- Several entries repeat across categories, such as Rapid7 DB and Vulmon
awesome-hacking
- It is a list of external links, so quality and availability depend on each linked project, and some links point to archived or old pages
- Some entries are dated (for example, the README mentions tools like OllyDbg and JAD that are old or unmaintained)
- The README is truncated here, so the full contents could not be checked
Getting started
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
Clone the repository to keep a local copy
git clone https://github.com/edoardottt/awesome-hacker-search-enginesawesome-hacking
Clone the list locally (optional)
git clone https://github.com/carpedm20/awesome-hackingFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Awesome Hacker Search Engines and awesome-hacking?
Awesome Hacker Search Engines: A curated list of websites for searching security, vulnerability, and internet-device data. awesome-hacking: A curated list of links to hacking tutorials, tools and learning resources. Awesome Hacker Search Engines suits security professionals starting a penetration test or vulnerability assessment who need a place to look up data, while awesome-hacking suits students looking for a starting map of security topics.
Are Awesome Hacker Search Engines and awesome-hacking free?
Awesome Hacker Search Engines: Free and open source. awesome-hacking: Free and open source.
Is Awesome Hacker Search Engines or awesome-hacking more popular?
awesome-hacking has more GitHub stars (17.4k) than Awesome Hacker Search Engines (11.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Awesome Hacker Search Engines and awesome-hacking?
Other options people compare them with include Awesome Security.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.