head to head · open source
hydra vs lesspass
hydra has 17,647 GitHub stars, 1,619 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. lesspass has 6,079 stars, 360 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. hydra leads on adoption by 190% (17,647 vs 6,079 stars). hydra is written in Go under Apache-2.0; lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. hydra has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, lesspass 6%. lesspass was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| hydra | lesspass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 6.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-07-29 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 360 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick hydra if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lesspass if
- You want the lesspass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and lesspass fits your workflow better
About hydra
Chat · Discussions · Newsletter · Docs · Try Ory Network · Jobs Ory Hydra is a hardened, OpenID Certified OAuth 2.0 Server and OpenID Connect Provider optimized for low latency, high throughput, and low resource consumption. It connects to your existing identity provider through a login and consent app, giving you absolute control over the user interface and experience. What is Ory Hydra? Why Ory Hydra OAuth2 and OpenID Connect: Open Standards OpenID Connect Certified Deployment options Use Ory Hydra on the Ory Network Self host Ory Hydra Quickstart Who is using Ory Hydra Ecosystem Ory Kratos: Identity and User…
read the full hydra overview →
About lesspass
LessPass LessPass is a stateless password manager. Stop wasting your time synchronizing your encrypted vault. Remember one master password to access your passwords, anywhere, anytime. No sync needed. Try the demo at How to use LessPass Web extensions Install the web extension on Chrome or Firefox. When you need to generate a password, click on the password field on the web site you want to generate a password for. Hit Ctrl + Shift + L or Command + Shift + L on mac to open the web extension. Fill the login and master password and hit Enter . Your password is now copied in the clipboard. Hit esc key and paste the…
read the full lesspass overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hydra or lesspass more popular?
hydra has 17,647 GitHub stars and lesspass has 6,079. hydra has the larger community by that measure.
Are hydra and lesspass free?
Both are open source. hydra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lesspass under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hydra and lesspass?
hydra is written in Go and lesspass in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, hydra or lesspass?
Choose hydra if you want the larger community (17,647 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lesspass if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.