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readpe vs PE-bear: catalog facts
readpe	PE-bear

Best for: Malware analysts and reverse engineers inspecting Windows executables	Best for: Malware analysts taking a first look at Windows executables
Free Free and open source under GPL-2.0-or-later.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
Analyzes Portable Executable binaries from the command line Build instructions cover Linux, macOS, and Windows through Cygwin Includes multiple utilities for PE file analysis	Friendly GUI for inspecting PE structures Built-in disassembly through Capstone Runs on Windows, Linux and macOS
Windows builds require Cygwin	Limited to the PE format Not a full decompiler or debugger
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for readpe github.com/mentebinaria/readpe Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PE-bear github.com/hasherezade/pe-bear Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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