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John the Ripper vs Hydra: catalog facts
John the Ripper	Hydra
Best for: Auditing passwords, especially in hash formats that other tools do not support	Best for: Network logon testing tool that checks credentials across many protocols
Free Free and open source under the GPL, with some components under a relaxed variant.	Free The software is free under its open-source licence. Hosting, hardware and external services are separate.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	macOS, Linux, Command line
The jumbo build supports hundreds of hash and cipher types, including many obscure ones Runs on a very wide range of platforms including old and unusual ones All 4 strengths for John the Ripper The jumbo build supports hundreds of hash and cipher types, including many obscure ones Runs on a very wide range of platforms including old and unusual ones Strong rule-based and incremental attack modes, not just dictionaries Packaged by every major distribution plus Homebrew, Flathub and Snap	It covers an unusually wide range of services in one tool, from SSH and RDP to database and… Full strengths for Hydra It covers an unusually wide range of services in one tool, from SSH and RDP to database and web form logins, with parallel connections.
The project states jumbo has low quality requirements and that bugs are to be expected GPU support is weaker than hashcat's for the common hash types All 4 limitations for John the Ripper The project states jumbo has low quality requirements and that bugs are to be expected GPU support is weaker than hashcat's for the common hash types Command line only, with a substantial learning curve Only legitimate against systems you are authorised to test	Credential testing against systems you do not own is illegal, and its traffic is loud enough to trigger… Full limitations for Hydra Credential testing against systems you do not own is illegal, and its traffic is loud enough to trigger lockouts and alerts.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: AGPL-3.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for John the Ripper github.com/openwall/john Catalog checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Hydra github.com/vanhauser-thc/thc-hydra Catalog checked September 22, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.