pybof vs XlsGen: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
pybof is a free offensive security tool. XlsGen 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 to execute custom BOFs without touching disk will find PyBOF essential for post-exploitation work; it's the only Python-native option for in-memory Beacon Object File execution, letting you skip Cobalt Strike's GUI entirely and automate payloads programmatically. The 80 GitHub stars and active maintenance signal real adoption among operators, not just theoretical interest. Skip this if you're looking for evasion magic; PyBOF assumes you've already got execution and focuses narrowly on loading and running BOFs, which means your success depends entirely on the quality of the BOF itself and your network position.
Penetration testers and red teamers who need to generate weaponized Excel files without touching a Windows machine will move faster with XlsGen; it generates BIFF8 files with 4.0 macros in pure code, eliminating the dependency on Microsoft Office entirely. The 44 GitHub stars reflect steady adoption among practitioners who've already ditched Excel-dependent macro generation workflows. Skip this if your team relies on social engineering payloads that need Office Open XML fidelity or modern macro obfuscation; XlsGen prioritizes delivery speed over evasion depth.
