Rizin vs radare2 — same roots, different trees
radare2 6.2.4 (2026-10-05 UTC) remains the radareorg CLI framework. Rizin v0.9.1 (2026-06-29 UTC) is a community fork with its own releases, docs and GUI story (Cutter). Both are free and largely LGPL-licensed; pick by ecosystem, not by “which is older.”
Snapshot
| Dimension | radare2 | Rizin |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | radareorg | rizinorg |
| License | LGPL-3.0 (most of the tree; see COPYING.md) | LGPL-3.0 |
| Primary UX | CLI (r2) + scripting | CLI (rizin / rz-*) + scripting |
| Common GUI companion | Community plugins / alternate GUIs | Cutter (official Rizin GUI) |
| Latest checked | 6.2.4 (2026-10-05 UTC) | v0.9.1 (2026-06-29 UTC) |
| Cash cost | $0 | $0 |
How to think about the fork
At a high level: Rizin started as a fork of radare2 and then evolved its own command surface, packaging and community process. Tutorials written for one do not always paste cleanly into the other. If a blog post says “r2” without naming the org, verify which binary and version it means.
When to choose which
- Choose radare2 if your scripts, CTF notes or team already live on the radareorg stack.
- Choose Rizin + Cutter if you want the Rizinorg GUI path documented on cutter.re.
- Keep Ghidra in the mix when you need a full project-database decompiler suite — see Ghidra vs radare2.
- Do not treat star counts as quality scores.
Legal note
Only analyze software you own or have written permission to examine. BinBench does not host binaries and does not cover cracking, DRM bypass or malware writing.
FAQ
Is Rizin just a rename of radare2?
No. Rizin is a community fork that diverged from radare2. Commands, plugins and release cadences differ. Treat them as related but separate toolchains.
Which license should I cite?
Rizin is LGPL-3.0. Most of radare2 is LGPL-3.0 per COPYING.md; check that file for GPL components and --without-gpl static-build notes.
Which one pairs with Cutter?
Official Cutter builds are powered by Rizin. The radare2 ecosystem has its own GUIs and plugins (for example r2ghidra) — do not assume Cutter equals radare2.
Which versions did BinBench check?
Rizin v0.9.1 (2026-06-29 UTC) and radare2 6.2.4 (2026-10-05 UTC), from GitHub Releases / project pages, checked again for this page on 2026-10-24.
Can either crack commercial software?
No. BinBench covers authorized and educational analysis only.