Gobuster vs Xplico: Which Kali Linux Tools tool is Best in 2025?

Gobuster is a high-performance, open-source tool written in Go, designed for brute-forcing directories, files, and subdomains on web servers. Available on Kali Linux, it’s a favorite among ethical hackers and penetration testers for discovering hidden web content that could reveal security vulnerabilities. With customizable wordlists, extension filtering, and proxy support, Gobuster efficiently uncovers unlinked pages, sensitive files, or misconfigured server resources, enhancing vulnerability identification.

Xplico is an open-source network forensic analysis tool (NFAT), pre-installed on Kali Linux at /usr/bin/xplico, designed for extracting and reconstructing application data from network traffic captures, such as PCAP files. Developed by Gianluca Costa and Andrea de Franceschi, Xplico decodes protocols like HTTP, SIP, IMAP, POP, SMTP, and FTP, extracting artifacts like emails, web content, VoIP calls, and files. Unlike traditional packet analyzers like Wireshark, Xplico focuses on application-layer data reconstruction using Port Independent Protocol Identification (PIPI). With its web-based interface and support for SQLite or MySQL databases, it’s a vital tool for digital forensic investigators, incident responders, and ethical hackers.