Volatility 3 vs X-Ways Forensics
Volatility 3
volatilityfoundation.orgX-Ways Forensics
x-ways.netSide by side
| Figure | Volatility 3 | X-Ways Forensics |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Computer Forensics Software | 7.3 (#12) | 7.2 (#14) |
| Spec score · Digital Forensics Software | 7.3 (#22) | 7.2 (#25) |
| Purpose | Volatility 3 extracts digital artifacts from volatile memory (RAM) samples to provide visibility into a system’s runtime state. | X-Ways Forensics is an advanced work environment for computer forensic examiners and the maker’s flagship product. |
Plans
X-Ways Forensics
- X-Ways Forensics non-perpetual license$1,550, paid once
- X-Ways Forensics perpetual license$4,010, paid once
In their own words
Volatility 3
Volatility 3 is a free, open-source framework for extracting digital artifacts from volatile memory (RAM) samples. It gives investigators visibility into a system's runtime state and focuses on memory forensics rather than disk imaging or mobile forensics. It supports memory images from Windows, macOS, and Linux, and offers CSV, JSON, JSONL, pretty, and quick export formats.
Volatility 3 requires Python 3.8.0 or later and is published on PyPI. Windows symbols can be queried, downloaded, generated, and cached when missing; Mac and Linux symbol tables must be produced manually. A 2024 release added support for Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage. Documentation is generated from doc strings with Sphinx and available online. Bug reports go to GitHub Issues, while community questions can be taken to Slack. The license permits free use, sharing, and building, but requires public source sharing for additions made available to others. It provides the software as is, without warranty or condition to the extent allowed by law.
X-Ways Forensics
X-Ways Forensics has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.