Charlotte vs Ivy: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Charlotte is a free red-team & adversary emulation tool. Ivy is a free red-team & adversary emulation tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best red-team & adversary emulation 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.
Red teamers and penetration testers running Windows-focused assessments will find Ivy valuable for its direct approach to VBA-based code execution; it bypasses common detection patterns by executing shellcode in-memory without touching disk. With 744 GitHub stars and active maintenance, it's proven enough for lab work and controlled engagements. Skip this if your team needs post-exploitation frameworks with built-in persistence or lateral movement capabilities; Ivy is payload delivery, not command and control.
