Charlotte vs ctf-tools: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Charlotte is a free offensive security tool. ctf-tools is a free offensive security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best offensive security fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Red teamers and penetration testers who need reliable shellcode execution without triggering EDR will find Charlotte indispensable; its C++ implementation and undetected status across major security stacks give you consistent command execution where batch scripts and PowerShell fail. The 979 GitHub stars reflect active maintenance and real-world validation from operators who depend on it. This is not for blue teams or organizations evaluating defensive tools; Charlotte is purpose-built for offense and makes no attempt to hide that.
Security researchers and CTF competitors who spend weeks reinstalling the same 40 tools across lab environments will cut setup time from hours to minutes; ctf-tools bundles automated installers for afl, angr, barf, and others in a single bash script. The 9,047 GitHub stars reflect active maintenance and community validation of tool versions that actually work together. Skip this if your team needs commercial support, licensing guarantees, or curated tool versions blessed by a vendor; this is a practitioner-built shortcut, not an enterprise platform.
