head to head · open source
lesspass vs Purse
lesspass has 6,069 GitHub stars, 364 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Purse has 615 stars, 43 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. lesspass leads on adoption by 887% (6,069 vs 615 stars). lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; Purse is written in Shell under MIT. lesspass has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Purse 7%. lesspass was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (password, 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 | Purse | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.1K | ★ 615 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-07-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 364 | ⑂ 43 |
| 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 Purse if
- You want the Purse feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and Purse fits your workflow better
About lesspass
LessPass is a stateless, open source password manager written in TypeScript and licensed under GPL 3.0 that generates passwords from a master password instead of storing them in a synchronized vault, built for individuals and self hosters who want the same passwords on every device without syncing an encrypted database.
read the full lesspass overview →
About Purse
Purse is a Bash script that stores passwords and secrets in GnuPG encrypted files, unlocking them with a YubiKey instead of a passphrase, for people who manage their own credentials on the command line.
read the full Purse overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lesspass or Purse more popular?
lesspass has 6,069 GitHub stars and Purse has 615. lesspass has the larger community by that measure.
Are lesspass and Purse free?
Both are open source. lesspass is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Purse under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lesspass and Purse?
lesspass is written in TypeScript and Purse in Shell. 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 Purse?
Choose lesspass if you want the larger community (6,069 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Purse if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.