head to head · open source
vaultwarden vs KeePassXC
vaultwarden has 67,795 GitHub stars, 3,228 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. KeePassXC has 28,842 stars, 1,910 forks, 910 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. vaultwarden leads on adoption by 135% (67,795 vs 28,842 stars). vaultwarden is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; KeePassXC is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence. vaultwarden has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, KeePassXC 7%. KeePassXC 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.
← all 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| vaultwarden | KeePassXC | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 29K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Rust | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vaultwarden if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick KeePassXC if
- You want the KeePassXC feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and KeePassXC fits your workflow better
About vaultwarden
Vaultwarden is an unofficial, Bitwarden compatible server implementation of the Bitwarden Client API written in Rust, aimed at self hosters who want to run their own vault backend for the official Bitwarden clients without the resource demands of the official service.
read the full vaultwarden overview →
About KeePassXC
KeePassXC is a cross platform, open source password manager derived from the Windows application KeePass Password Safe. It runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux, storing sensitive data—such as usernames, passwords, URLs, notes, and file attachments—in a single, encrypted database file using the KDBX format (KDBX4 and KDBX3). The project is community driven, hosted on GitHub, and maintained under the NOASSERTION license.
read the full KeePassXC overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Password & Secret Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Password & Secret Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is vaultwarden or KeePassXC more popular?
vaultwarden has 67,795 GitHub stars and KeePassXC has 28,842. vaultwarden has the larger community by that measure.
Are vaultwarden and KeePassXC free?
Both are open source. vaultwarden is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and KeePassXC has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between vaultwarden and KeePassXC?
vaultwarden is written in Rust and KeePassXC in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, vaultwarden or KeePassXC?
Choose vaultwarden if you want the larger community (67,795 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose KeePassXC if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.