base64_substring vs YarG for Yara: 2026 Comparison
base64_substring is a free threat hunting tool. YarG for Yara is a free threat hunting tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best threat hunting fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Threat hunters who need to catch obfuscated malware samples will appreciate base64_substring's narrow focus: it generates YARA rules that account for base64's encoding variations, eliminating the manual work of writing rules that actually match what malware authors deploy. The tool is free and already battle-tested across 40 GitHub stars worth of security teams. This is not for buyers looking for a general YARA rule generator or those who need automation across multiple obfuscation techniques; base64_substring solves one problem exceptionally well and stays out of your way otherwise.
Reverse engineers and threat hunters who need to extract Yara rules directly from malware binaries will skip hours of manual pattern writing with YarG for Yara's parameterized code-to-rule generation. The IDAPython integration means rules ship straight from your disassembly environment without context switching, and the free pricing removes friction for solo researchers or lean IR teams testing the workflow. Skip this if your team lacks IDA Pro licenses or primarily hunts at network layer; YarG is built for analysts already deep in x86 code analysis, not for detection engineers writing rules from threat intelligence feeds.
