head to head · open source
lesspass vs Strongbox
lesspass has 6,080 GitHub stars, 361 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. Strongbox has 1,474 stars, 126 forks, 230 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. lesspass leads on adoption by 312% (6,080 vs 1,474 stars). lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; Strongbox is written in Objective-C under AGPL-3.0. lesspass has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Strongbox 9%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| lesspass | Strongbox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.1K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Objective-C |
| Last push | 2026-10-21 | 2026-07-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 361 | ⑂ 126 |
| 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 Strongbox if
- You want the Strongbox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Objective-C
- You evaluated both and Strongbox 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 Strongbox
Strongbox A native Password Manager for iOS & macOS crafted by artisan Indie developers! Strongbox supports the well known, portable and open Password Safe (version 3) and KeePass file formats (KeePass 1 and 2, i.e. KDB, KDBX (3.1 and 4)). Strongbox uses encryption algoritms likes TwoFish, Argon2d, ChaCha20, Aes, Salsa20 and various other cryptographic techniques (SHA256s, HMACs, CSPRNGs) to store groups and entries, containing various secrets, mostly designed around password storage. You can also store file attachments in KeePass format safes. YubiKey is also supported. Localization Help Wanted If you would…
read the full Strongbox overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Identity & Access Management (IAM) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Identity & Access Management (IAM) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is lesspass or Strongbox more popular?
lesspass has 6,080 GitHub stars and Strongbox has 1,474. lesspass has the larger community by that measure.
Are lesspass and Strongbox free?
Both are open source. lesspass is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Strongbox under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lesspass and Strongbox?
lesspass is written in TypeScript and Strongbox in Objective-C. 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 Strongbox?
Choose lesspass if you want the larger community (6,080 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Strongbox if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.