head to head · open source
lesspass vs passman
lesspass has 6,082 GitHub stars, 361 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. passman has 829 stars, 120 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. lesspass leads on adoption by 634% (6,082 vs 829 stars). lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; passman is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. lesspass has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, passman 14%. passman was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (password-manager), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| lesspass | passman | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.1K | ★ 829 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-21 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 361 | ⑂ 120 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick lesspass if
- You weight community size — 6.1K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick passman if
- You want the passman feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and passman fits your workflow better
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 →
About passman
Passman Passman is a full featured, open source password manager for Nextcloud. Join us! Visit the “Passman General Talk” Telegram Group to participate in all sorts of topical discussions about Passman and its apps! Features Multiple vaults Vault keys are never sent to the server 256 bit AES encrypted credentials (see security) User defined custom credentials fields Built in OTP (One Time Password) generator Password analyzer Securely share passwords internally and via link Import from various password managers (experimental): KeePass LastPass DashLane ZOHO Clipperz.is EnPass ocPasswords Try a Passman demo here…
read the full passman overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lesspass or passman more popular?
lesspass has 6,082 GitHub stars and passman has 829. lesspass has the larger community by that measure.
Are lesspass and passman free?
Both are open source. lesspass is licensed under GPL-3.0 and passman under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lesspass and passman?
lesspass is written in TypeScript and passman in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, lesspass or passman?
Choose lesspass if you want the larger community (6,082 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose passman if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.