Sherlock vs subfinder
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
Command-line tool that checks many social networks for a given username.
Open source · MIT
Command-line tool that finds subdomains of a website using passive online sources.
The short answer
Choose Sherlock if you need…
- Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work
- Penetration testers checking username exposure during an approved engagement
- Developers comfortable running Python command-line tools
- People checking whether their own usernames are used across sites
Choose subfinder if you need…
- Security testers doing reconnaissance on a domain they are authorized to test
- Bug bounty hunters mapping a target's subdomains
- Researchers doing OSINT on an organization's public internet footprint
- Developers who want a quick list of their own domain's subdomains
Side-by-side
| Sherlock | subfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | CLI | CLI |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 95.4k | 14.7k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Python | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Sherlock
Sherlock is a command-line program written in Python that searches a list of social media and websites to see whether a particular username is registered on each one. It reports which sites have a matching account so you can find someone's public profiles quickly. The project is popular in open-source security and investigation circles, and its topics describe it as an OSINT (open-source intelligence) tool.
subfinder
Subfinder is a command-line tool that lists subdomains for a given website, such as finding blog.example.com or api.example.com for example.com. It works passively, meaning it queries online data sources rather than directly probing the target's servers. The README describes it as fast, lightweight, and built to do this one job well.
Best for
Sherlock
- Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work
- Penetration testers checking username exposure during an approved engagement
- Developers comfortable running Python command-line tools
- People checking whether their own usernames are used across sites
subfinder
- Security testers doing reconnaissance on a domain they are authorized to test
- Bug bounty hunters mapping a target's subdomains
- Researchers doing OSINT on an organization's public internet footprint
- Developers who want a quick list of their own domain's subdomains
Strengths
Sherlock
- Free and MIT-licensed, so it can be used and modified freely
- Simple command-line interface built on Python
- Very widely starred and actively maintained, with a recent push to the repository
subfinder
- Uses passive sources, so it does not directly contact the target's servers, per the README
- Supports multiple output formats including JSON, file, and stdout, and works with pipes
- Has built-in filtering and rate-limit controls
Not ideal for
Sherlock
- Anyone wanting to track or profile a person without their consent, since the tool exists to surface accounts tied to a username
- Non-technical users, because it is run from a terminal and the README gave no graphical interface
- Users needing guaranteed accurate results, since username matches can belong to different people
subfinder
- People who need a full scanner that checks for vulnerabilities, since the README describes only subdomain discovery
- Users who need results without any API keys, because the README says many sources require API keys to work well
- Non-technical users who are not comfortable with a terminal
Trade-offs
Sherlock
- Results depend on the site list and can include false positives or missed sites
- Only checks usernames, not full identities, so matches need manual verification
- Requires a terminal and some Python setup
subfinder
- Many sources need API keys, so results are fuller after setup
- Requires go1.26.10 to install from source according to the README, and the README gives no prebuilt install path beyond the linked docs
- Passive sources are third-party data, so results may be incomplete or stale
Getting started
Sherlock
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock.gitsubfinder
Install latest version with Go
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/subfinder/v2/cmd/subfinder@latestFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Sherlock and subfinder?
Sherlock: Command-line tool that checks many social networks for a given username. subfinder: Command-line tool that finds subdomains of a website using passive online sources. Sherlock suits security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work, while subfinder suits security testers doing reconnaissance on a domain they are authorized to test.
Are Sherlock and subfinder free?
Sherlock: Free and open source. subfinder: Free and open source.
Is Sherlock or subfinder more popular?
Sherlock has more GitHub stars (95.4k) than subfinder (14.7k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Sherlock and subfinder?
Other options people compare them with include Maigret, httpx.
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.