Side by side
decompyle3 vs FirmWire
Both stand on reverse engineering tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan
decompyle3 offers a free command-line route from Python bytecode to source, with documented support starting at version 3.7. Its stated limitations, accuracy cautions, and lack of confidential issue reporting are important considerations.
Visit decompyle3 Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
FirmWire combines emulation, fuzzing, debugging, scripting, and firmware injection for supported baseband images. Its Linux-only setup and documented limitations matter when planning research workflows.
Visit FirmWireThe facts
| decompyle3 | FirmWire | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Not published | Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Not published |
| Plans published | None | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | github.com |
| On reverse engineering tools | #41 of 73 | #37 of 73 |
decompyle3: what it does well
- Free and open source under GPL-3.0.
- Accepts Python bytecode from version 3.7 onward.
- Processes compiled `.pyc` and `.pyo` files.
- Includes a `--syntax-verify` option.
What to know first
- Does not directly handle obfuscated code or Cython.
- Does not directly handle MicroPython or Py2EXE executables.
- Decompilation has numerous bugs.
- Issue reports and their code are public.
FirmWire: what it does well
- Free BSD-3 licensed software
- AFL++ baseband fuzzing support
- GDB interactive debugging
- Snapshot restoration support
- C module injection modkit
What to know first
- Supports only a subset of firmware images
- MediaTek analysis needs custom Ghidra patches
- MediaTek snapshotting is described as hacky
- Public release omits some research-paper functionality
Alternatives to decompyle3 Alternatives to FirmWire The whole list