Cobalt Strike's ExternalC2 framework vs EvilClippy: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, compared head to head.
Cobalt Strike's ExternalC2 framework is a free red-team & adversary emulation tool. EvilClippy 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. Independent and vendor-neutral: we never sell rankings.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Cobalt Strike's ExternalC2 framework
Red team operators and penetration testers who need to test defenses against custom C2 channels will use ExternalC2 to bypass network detection by routing Cobalt Strike traffic through external redirectors and custom protocols. The framework is free and lets you replace Cobalt Strike's default HTTP/HTTPS beaconing entirely, which means your C2 can blend into legitimate traffic patterns your client's sensors won't flag. Skip this if your team runs assessments using only default Cobalt Strike profiles or lacks the network infrastructure to host and manage external redirectors; the setup friction and operational complexity only pay off when you're specifically validating detection gaps around custom C2 communications.
Red teamers and penetration testers validating macro-based attack chains will find EvilClippy indispensable; it generates weaponized Office documents with VBA obfuscation and sandbox evasion in minutes, cutting reconnaissance time on engagements where social engineering is the attack vector. The 2,235 GitHub stars and active maintenance across Windows, macOS, and Linux indicate it's the standard tool for this exact workflow. Skip it if your objective is testing detection tuning or EDR response; EvilClippy prioritizes payload delivery over post-compromise simulation, so teams hunting for evasion gaps will need to pair it with endpoint logging and monitoring separately.
