head to head · open source
Passbolt vs PearPass
Passbolt has 6,204 GitHub stars, 406 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 14 days ago. PearPass has 542 stars, 72 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Passbolt leads on adoption by 1,045% (6,204 vs 542 stars). Passbolt is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; PearPass is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Passbolt has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, PearPass 13%. Passbolt 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
| Passbolt | PearPass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.2K | ★ 542 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-20 | 2026-08-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 406 | ⑂ 72 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Passbolt if
- You weight community size — 6.2K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick PearPass if
- You want the PearPass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and PearPass fits your workflow better
About Passbolt
The open source password manager for teams. Table of Contents Introducing Passbolt Get Started Run it on your own server, natively Available Clients & Apps Browser Extensions Mobile Apps CLI Desktop App Contributing Reporting a security issue License Introducing Passbolt Passbolt is a security first, open source password manager for teams. It helps organizations centralize, organize and share passwords and secrets securely. What makes passbolt different? Security: Passbolt security model features user owned secret keys and end to end encryption. It is audited multiple times annually, and findings are made…
read the full Passbolt overview →
About PearPass
[!WARNING] 🍐 PearPass is currently paused from active development, so please use at your own caution until further notice. PearPass Desktop The desktop app for PearPass, an open source, end to end encrypted password and identity manager built on Pear Runtime. Table of Contents Introduction Features Installation Usage Examples Logging Testing Staging to Dev Workspace Dependencies Dependencies Related Projects Contributing License Introduction PearPass is an open source, privacy first password and identity manager that gives you full control over your sensitive information. It makes storing and managing your…
read the full PearPass overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Passbolt or PearPass more popular?
Passbolt has 6,204 GitHub stars and PearPass has 542. Passbolt has the larger community by that measure.
Are Passbolt and PearPass free?
Both are open source. Passbolt is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and PearPass has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Passbolt and PearPass?
Passbolt is written in PHP and PearPass 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, Passbolt or PearPass?
Choose Passbolt if you want the larger community (6,204 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PearPass if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.