Awesome Hacker Search Engines vs Awesome Security
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, community-maintained list of security tools, books, and resources, organized by topic.
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 Security if you need…
- Security learners looking for well-known tools in a given area
- Penetration testers browsing scanning and recon tools
- Security engineers comparing options within a category
- Anyone wanting a broad overview of the security tooling landscape
Side-by-side
| Awesome Hacker Search Engines | Awesome Security | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Curated list | Curated list |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 11.5k | 15.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Read it online | Read it online |
| Main language | Shell | — |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 10 months 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 Security
Awesome Security is a categorized list of links to security software, libraries, books, and reference material. It is organized into sections such as network scanning, endpoint protection, web security, threat intelligence, and forensics. People use it as a starting point to discover tools for a specific security task instead of searching from scratch.
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 Security
- Security learners looking for well-known tools in a given area
- Penetration testers browsing scanning and recon tools
- Security engineers comparing options within a category
- Anyone wanting a broad overview of the security tooling landscape
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 Security
- Broad coverage across many security subfields in one place
- Organized into clear categories with short descriptions
- Widely starred and under the MIT license
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 Security
- People who need a ready-to-run tool: this is a list of links, not software itself
- Readers wanting vetted security advice, since entries are community-submitted and the README does not describe a review process
- People needing current information on each tool, since the list may contain outdated links
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 Security
- Entries are links with brief descriptions, so you must visit each project to evaluate it
- Community-maintained, so quality and link freshness can vary
- Truncated README in this analysis means not all sections were reviewed
Getting started
Awesome Hacker Search Engines
Clone the repository to keep a local copy
git clone https://github.com/edoardottt/awesome-hacker-search-enginesAwesome Security
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sbilly/awesome-securityFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Awesome Hacker Search Engines and Awesome Security?
Awesome Hacker Search Engines: A curated list of websites for searching security, vulnerability, and internet-device data. Awesome Security: A curated, community-maintained list of security tools, books, and resources, organized by topic. Awesome Hacker Search Engines suits security professionals starting a penetration test or vulnerability assessment who need a place to look up data, while Awesome Security suits security learners looking for well-known tools in a given area.
Are Awesome Hacker Search Engines and Awesome Security free?
Awesome Hacker Search Engines: Free and open source. Awesome Security: Free and open source.
Is Awesome Hacker Search Engines or Awesome Security more popular?
Awesome Security has more GitHub stars (15.1k) 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 Security?
Other options people compare them with include awesome-hacking.
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.