AMExtractor vs Margarita Shotgun: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
AMExtractor is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. Margarita Shotgun is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best digital forensics and incident response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Forensic investigators and incident responders who need to extract Android device memory for offline analysis should use AMExtractor for its simplicity; it acquires physical memory via /dev/kmem without requiring kernel source code or custom compilation, making it immediately deployable on rooted devices. The tool is free and available on GitHub with active maintenance signals. Skip this if you're looking for automated memory analysis or post-acquisition parsing; AMExtractor stops at the dump,you'll need separate forensic platforms to examine what you've extracted.
Incident responders working Linux environments need Margarita Shotgun for fast, agentless memory acquisition when you can't install forensics agents or wait for EDR integrations. The tool runs via Python command line with Docker support across distributions, meaning you acquire volatile memory in minutes from compromised systems without touching their disk or requiring pre-deployment. Skip this if your incident response workflow is Windows-heavy or your team lacks basic Python fluency; Margarita Shotgun's free availability and 248 GitHub stars reflect its narrow, deep purpose rather than broad platform coverage.
