head to head · open source
SuperTokens vs lesspass
SuperTokens has 15,315 GitHub stars, 842 forks, 155 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. lesspass has 6,062 stars, 365 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. SuperTokens leads on adoption by 153% (15,315 vs 6,062 stars). SuperTokens is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence; lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. SuperTokens has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, lesspass 6%. SuperTokens was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (password), 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
| SuperTokens | lesspass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 6.1K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 842 | ⑂ 365 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SuperTokens if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lesspass if
- You want the lesspass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and lesspass fits your workflow better
About SuperTokens
SuperTokens is an open source authentication and session management platform for applications that need login, sign up, sign out, and user data control. It sits in the identity and access management ecosystem and is described as an alternative to Auth0, Firebase Auth, and AWS Cognito. It separates work into a frontend SDK, a backend SDK, and a Java based SuperTokens Core service that handles authentication logic and database operations.
read the full SuperTokens overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SuperTokens or lesspass more popular?
SuperTokens has 15,315 GitHub stars and lesspass has 6,062. SuperTokens has the larger community by that measure.
Are SuperTokens and lesspass free?
Both are open source. SuperTokens has no licence declared in this registry, and lesspass is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SuperTokens and lesspass?
SuperTokens is written in Java and lesspass 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, SuperTokens or lesspass?
Choose SuperTokens if you want the larger community (15,315 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose lesspass if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.