macMRU-Parser vs wxHexEditor: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
macMRU-Parser is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. wxHexEditor 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 IR teams triaging macOS endpoints will find macMRU-Parser invaluable for fast extraction of user activity timelines from plist files that other parsers leave opaque. The script's 109 GitHub stars and active maintenance reflect real adoption in incident response workflows where manual plist inspection wastes hours. Skip this if your team lacks Python literacy or needs a GUI; this is a command-line tool that assumes operator competence.
Forensic analysts and incident responders who need to examine raw disk sectors and binary file structures without licensing friction should pick wxHexEditor; its cross-platform availability and zero cost mean you can deploy identical analysis environments across Linux, Windows, and macOS without vendor negotiation. The 611 GitHub stars reflect active maintenance and a community that regularly contributes patches for emerging filesystem formats. Skip this if your team relies on commercial DFIR suites that bundle hex editing with timeline analysis and reporting; wxHexEditor handles the viewing layer only, leaving artifact correlation and case documentation to other tools.
