Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ILSpy VS Binary Ninja

Compare ILSpy VS Binary Ninja and see what are their differences

ILSpy logo ILSpy

ICSharpCode. Decompiler. Console..

Binary Ninja logo Binary Ninja

A reverse engineering platform and GUI
  • ILSpy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • Binary Ninja Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-28

ILSpy features and specs

  • Open Source
    ILSpy is open source, allowing developers to contribute to its development and customize it according to their needs.
  • User Friendly
    The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, which makes it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Active Community
    There is an active community of users and contributors who provide support, plugins, and updates.
  • Supports Multiple Versions
    ILSpy can decompile assemblies generated with various versions of .NET, making it versatile for different projects.
  • Continuous Updates
    Regular updates ensure compatibility with the latest .NET versions and introduce new features and improvements.

Possible disadvantages of ILSpy

  • Limited Debugging
    ILSpy primarily focuses on decompilation and lacks comprehensive debugging features found in some other tools.
  • Performance Issues
    When dealing with large assemblies, ILSpy may experience slowdowns or performance issues during decompilation.
  • Complex Assemblies
    For very complex or obfuscated assemblies, the decompiled code might not be very readable or accurate.
  • No Direct Editing
    ILSpy does not support editing the decompiled code directly, which means developers need to use additional tools for modifications.

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.

ILSpy videos

How to decompile (read source code of) .NET Framework assemblies using ILSpy

More videos:

  • Tutorial - ILSpy -- How to Add Execute Extension

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ILSpy and Binary Ninja)
IDE
38 38%
62% 62
Decompiler
44 44%
56% 56
Software Development
32 32%
68% 68
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using ILSpy and Binary Ninja. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Binary Ninja seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 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.

ILSpy mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of ILSpy yet. Tracking of ILSpy recommendations started around Mar 2021.

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 / 6 months ago
  • Bypassing regulatory locks, Faraday cages and upgrading your hearing
    Found it out myself, https://binary.ninja/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 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: over 1 year ago
  • Ida Free
    Still $$$ for crippled functionality. As an alternative, https://binary.ninja is gaining traction at work. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years 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 / over 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

dotPeek - dotPeek is a free tool based on ReSharper. It can reliably decompile any . NET assembly into C# or IL code. Download dotPeekCommunity. Materials Newsletters, webinars.

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.

dnSpy - .NET assembly editor, decompiler, and debugger

Ghidra - Software Reverse Engineering (SRE) Framework

Java Decompiler - Yet another fast Java decompiler

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