head to head · open source
lesspass vs sysPass
lesspass has 6,069 GitHub stars, 359 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. sysPass has 994 stars, 220 forks, 280 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. lesspass leads on adoption by 511% (6,069 vs 994 stars). lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; sysPass is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. lesspass has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, sysPass 22%. sysPass 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 | sysPass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.1K | ★ 994 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-10-21 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 359 | ⑂ 220 |
| 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 sysPass if
- You want the sysPass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and sysPass 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 sysPass
sysPass Systems Password Manager Join us in the Gitter chat room: PHP web based Password Manager for business and personal use. [x] AES 256 encryption in CTR mode [x] RSA for sending passwords from forms [x] Two factor authentication [x] HTML5 and Ajax interface [x] Users, groups and profiles management with up to 29 access levels [x] MySQL, OpenLDAP and Active Directory authentication [x] Tags, custom fields, public links, private accounts, favorites, history, etc. [x] Activity notifications by email and in app, and event log [x] Multilanguage [x] JSON RPC API Installation instructions and documentation at Doc…
read the full sysPass overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lesspass or sysPass more popular?
lesspass has 6,069 GitHub stars and sysPass has 994. lesspass has the larger community by that measure.
Are lesspass and sysPass free?
Both are open source. lesspass is licensed under GPL-3.0 and sysPass under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lesspass and sysPass?
lesspass is written in TypeScript and sysPass in PHP. 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 sysPass?
Choose lesspass if you want the larger community (6,069 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose sysPass if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.