Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ImHex VS IDA

Compare ImHex VS IDA and see what are their differences

ImHex logo ImHex

ImHex is a free, featureful Hex Editor with many tools often only found in paid products. It includes a custom built scripting language for highlighting and decoding binary data, a disassembler, extensive file analysis tools and much much more

IDA logo 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.
  • ImHex Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-02
  • IDA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-11

A powerful disassembler and a versatile debugger IDA Pro as a disassembler is capable of creating maps of their execution to show the binary instructions that are actually executed by the processor in a symbolic representation (assembly language). Advanced techniques have been implemented into IDA Pro so that it can generate assembly language source code from machine-executable code and make this complex code more human-readable.

The debugging feature augmented IDA with the dynamic analysis. It supports multiple debugging targets and can handle remote applications. Its cross-platform debugging capability enables instant debugging, easy connection to both local and remote processes and support for 64-bit systems and new connection possibilities.

ImHex

$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

IDA

$ Details
-
Platforms
Windows Linux Mac OSX
Release Date
1991 May

ImHex videos

Amazing new OpenSource: Difftastic and ImHex: structural diff and analyzing hex editor!

More videos:

  • Review - Imhex scale setting is ignored
  • Review - Gource visualisation: WerWolv/ImHex on 2021-04-23

IDA videos

Mark Kermode reviews Ida

More videos:

  • Review - My Review for IDA (non-spoiler)
  • Review - The New Canon: 'Ida'

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ImHex and IDA)
Software Development
19 19%
81% 81
IDE
17 17%
83% 83
Tool
100 100%
0% 0
Decompiler
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 ImHex and IDA

ImHex Reviews

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IDA Reviews

Reverse engineering tools review
IDA that is Interactive DisAssembler in an undpisupted king among tools used in reverse engineering. IDA is a disassembler and debugger with built-in code analysis for over 60 types of processors. It has its own script language, large base of signatures of the most popular programming libraries as well as support for plug-ins that additionally enhance functionality e.g. by...
Source: www.pelock.com
The 5 Best Reverse Engineering Software for 2022
The interactive nature of the IDA Pro disassembler means you can change elements of the displayed data in real-time, including functions, variables, names, and library functions. It's written in C++ and runs on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux. The IDA Pro platform benefits from several plugins, the most notable of which is the Hex-Rays decompiler. With this tool, software...
Source: online.yu.edu

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, IDA should be more popular than ImHex. 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.

ImHex mentions (6)

  • Reverse-engineering an encrypted IoT protocol
    Next time you find yourself reverse engineering a weird protocol - use ImHex. I can't recommend it enough - it's perfect for the job and it's free and Open Source. https://imhex.werwolv.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Spectrum Analyser, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum reverse engineering tool
    Just one note: Please use UI scaling; it's near impossible to read on a 150% 4k screen (much less on 100%). Unfortunately, young eyes don't last forever. The UI looks very much like ImHex (https://imhex.werwolv.net/) is this a coincidence, or is it the standard ImGui look and feel? I wish ImHex had a decompiler for Z80 as well, but this is much better. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • The Hiew Hex Editor
    I now use ImHex after looking for years for a good one. It has a pattern language to provide highlighting. https://imhex.werwolv.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • [Tutorial] How to manually change FOV (SoC, CS, & CoP)
    Download a hex editor such as ImHex and open it. I'd recommend downloading the portable version of whatever hex editor you are using if it's offered. That way you don't have to install the program and can instantly delete it off your drive when you're done. Source: 10 months ago
  • Openage Development 2023: April
    Documentation for AoE2 graphics formats have been enhanced and there is now a pattern file that you can use in imHex to explore the SLP file structure. Source: about 1 year ago
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IDA mentions (11)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing ImHex and IDA, you can also consider the following products

Hex Workshop - Hex Workshop: Hex Editor, Sector Editor, Base Converter and Hex Calculator for Windows

Ghidra - Software Reverse Engineering (SRE) Framework

BinHex CryPactor - Manipulate binary and hexadecimal strings!

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

iHex - iHex is the premier hex editor and data analysis tool for Mac OS X.

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