Gitleaks vs TruffleHog
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Gitleaks
Detect secrets and credentials in Git repositories
VS
TruffleHog
Find and verify leaked credentials across many sources
| Feature | Gitleaks | TruffleHog |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,528 | ★ 27,340 |
| First released | 2018 | 2016 |
| Replaces | GitGuardian | GitGuardian |
Why pick each one
Choose Gitleaks if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 28.5k GitHub stars
Choose TruffleHog if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 27.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Gitleaks or TruffleHog better?
Neither is universally better. Gitleaks has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gitleaks and TruffleHog free and open-source?
Yes. Gitleaks is licensed under MIT and TruffleHog under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gitleaks and TruffleHog with Docker?
Gitleaks: yes. TruffleHog: yes.