Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Binary Ninja VS Ghidra

Compare Binary Ninja VS Ghidra and see what are their differences

Binary Ninja logo Binary Ninja

A reverse engineering platform and GUI

Ghidra logo Ghidra

Software Reverse Engineering (SRE) Framework
  • Binary Ninja Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-28
  • Ghidra Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-08-25

Binary Ninja features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Binary Ninja has a modern and intuitive interface that is suitable for both beginners and experienced users, making it easier to navigate through the software.
  • API and Scripting Support
    It provides a powerful API and scripting support, allowing users to automate tasks and extend functionalities using Python and other languages.
  • Cross-Platform
    Binary Ninja supports multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, enabling users to work on their preferred platform.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The tool comes with comprehensive documentation which covers its various features and functionalities in detail, helping new users get up to speed quickly.
  • Low-Level Binary Analysis
    Binary Ninja offers advanced low-level binary analysis and reverse engineering capabilities, useful for security researchers and software developers.
  • Static and Dynamic Analysis
    The tool supports both static and dynamic analysis, providing a complete suite of features for binary exploration and inspection.

Possible disadvantages of Binary Ninja

  • Cost
    Binary Ninja is a commercial tool and can be expensive for small teams or individual researchers, potentially limiting its accessibility.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free (student) edition of Binary Ninja comes with restricted features and may not be suitable for professional use, requiring an upgrade to access full functionality.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the interface is user-friendly, mastering the advanced features and making full use of the scripting capabilities can have a steeper learning curve.
  • Resource Intensive
    The software can be resource-intensive, requiring a modern computer with sufficient processing power and memory for optimal performance.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Compared to some older or more established tools, Binary Ninja might not have as large a community or as many third-party plugins and scripts available.

Ghidra features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    Ghidra is free to use and its source code is publicly available, allowing users to modify and enhance the tool to suit their needs.
  • Multi-platform Support
    Ghidra is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users regardless of their operating system.
  • Powerful Disassembly
    It comes with a powerful disassembly engine that supports multiple architectures, enabling in-depth analysis of binary code.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The tool features a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies navigation and enhances user experience, especially for those who may not be comfortable with command-line tools.
  • Collaboration Features
    Ghidra allows multiple users to collaborate on the same project in real-time, facilitating team efforts in reverse engineering tasks.
  • Scripting Support
    It supports scripting in both Python and Java, allowing users to automate repetitive tasks and extend the functionality of the tool.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Ghidra has comprehensive documentation and an active community, providing users with resources and support to get started and troubleshoot issues.

Possible disadvantages of Ghidra

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive features and capabilities, there can be a steep learning curve for new users, requiring time and practice to master.
  • Performance
    Some users have reported performance issues, such as slow loading times and lag, particularly when working with large binaries.
  • Limited Debugging Features
    Ghidra’s debugging features are not as comprehensive as those offered by some other reverse engineering tools, potentially limiting its utility for certain tasks.
  • Java Dependency
    Ghidra requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to run, which may be a drawback for users who prefer or require environments that do not support Java.
  • Complex Installation
    The installation and setup process can be complex and may require additional configuration, which can be daunting for beginners.
  • Less Intuitive for Certain Tasks
    While the GUI is user-friendly for many tasks, some users find it less intuitive for specific, advanced reverse engineering functions compared to other specialized tools.

Binary Ninja videos

Reverse Engineering with Binary Ninja and gdb a key checking algorithm - TUMCTF 2016 Zwiebel part 1

More videos:

  • Demo - 312 Using Binary Ninja for Modern Malware Analysis Dr Jared DeMott Mr Josh Stroschein
  • Review - Binary Ninja Overview

Ghidra videos

NSA Ghidra, A game changer ?

More videos:

  • Review - Ghidra Review
  • Tutorial - Ghidra quickstart & tutorial: Solving a simple crackme

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Binary Ninja and Ghidra)
IDE
40 40%
60% 60
Software Development
39 39%
61% 61
Decompiler
48 48%
52% 52
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Binary Ninja and Ghidra

Binary Ninja Reviews

We have no reviews of Binary Ninja yet.
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Ghidra Reviews

Reverse engineering tools review
It may not be entirely up to the functionality of HexRays at the moment (remember that Ghidra is a new project), but tools such as decompilers require a lot of work and it is rare to see a new product that someone offers for free.
Source: www.pelock.com
The 5 Best Reverse Engineering Software for 2022
Ghidra's graphical user interface (GUI) is built on Java's Swing framework with a decompiler written in C++ and plugins written in Python. Besides its reverse engineering capabilities, Ghidra features powerful debugging features for both Windows and Linux.6
Source: online.yu.edu

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ghidra should be more popular than Binary Ninja. It has been mentiond 65 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Binary Ninja mentions (11)

  • Bypassing regulatory locks, Faraday cages and upgrading your hearing
    Binary Ninja: https://binary.ninja/ :) Think someone has already linked it below! - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Bypassing regulatory locks, Faraday cages and upgrading your hearing
    Found it out myself, https://binary.ninja/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • [Media] I'm currently learning Rust. Out of curiosity, I opened the resulting binary as a text file, and among the garbled text characters, I saw this weird text. Is this normal or is there something wrong with the compiled binary? It's the "Hello, World!" sample program and it executes normally.
    If you really want to poke around in the binary, you can use a decompiler like IDA, Ghidra, or Binary Ninja's free version. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Ida Free
    Still $$$ for crippled functionality. As an alternative, https://binary.ninja is gaining traction at work. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Teaching A Machine To Identify Vulnerabilities (Part 1)
    As I said, a regular text editor won’t do for reading a binary file, so I needed to choose a disassembler to break the challenge binaries out into their basic blocks. I chose to use Binary Ninja because it has a very easy-to-use Python API, and it’s hobbyist-level cheap (for comparison, the industry-standard disassembler is IDA Pro, which they will sell to you for roughly an arm, and continue to pick off your... - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
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Ghidra mentions (65)

  • Ask HN: How are you using LLMs for traversing decompiler output?
    I've only played a with this, but it was impressive. https://ghidra-sre.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 days ago
  • I've figured out what 13 of the 16 enemy flags mean in Ultima V. Help me figure out the last three.
    I've got no experience with reverse-engineering executables, but I got a bunch of code-like stuff showing up when I fed ULTIMA.EXE to Ghidra and told it to analyze it with all the flags set. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Modding SH2
    The whole game is written in C++ (game logic intertwined with graphics). Ghidra can help you deconstruct the game binaries, but you need to put in a GREAT great effort to even get a starting point. Cheat Engine has been successful for some purposes, including an AI enabling utility for multiplayer (use with great care!). Source: over 1 year ago
  • You have probably heard of Temu right?
    What I think you’re talking about is reverse engineering. It’s basically taking a program and analysing the compiled code to attempt to find out how it works. It’s a fairly expansive topic, and fairly tricky to do but look at anything to do with Ghidra to get started. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Asking for clarification ... How is learning C beneficial for becoming a Cyber security expert
    Oh also just as an aside Ghidra is a really cool free tool developed by the NSA which can reverse engineer software by looking at its executable and recreating the C code from the instructions and static data within. It's another way to get familiarized with the relationship between C code and the instructions it compiles to. Source: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Binary Ninja and Ghidra, you can also consider the following products

IDA - The best-of-breed binary code analysis tool, an indispensable item in the toolbox of world-class software analysts, reverse engineers, malware analyst and cybersecurity professionals.

X64dbg - X64dbg is a debugging software that can debug x64 and x32 applications.

OllyDbg - OllyDbg is a 32-bit assembler level analysing debugger.

Immunity Debugger - Immunity Debugger is a powerful new way to write exploits, analyze malware, and reverse engineer...

Cutter - Open Source RE Platform powered by radare2.

HxD - HxD is a carefully designed and fast hex editor which, additionally to raw disk editing and...