head to head · open source
vaultwarden vs Padloc
vaultwarden has 67,795 GitHub stars, 3,228 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Padloc has 2,922 stars, 266 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 1.5 years ago. vaultwarden leads on adoption by 2,220% (67,795 vs 2,922 stars). vaultwarden is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; Padloc is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. vaultwarden has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Padloc 9%. vaultwarden 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
| vaultwarden | Padloc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2025-03-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 266 |
| 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 Padloc if
- You want the Padloc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Padloc 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 Padloc
Padloc is an open source password and data manager for individuals and teams, distributed under the AGPL 3.0 license and written primarily in JavaScript and TypeScript. It lives in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem, and the repository is organized as a monorepo split into separate packages: a core logic library, a web based UI component library, a backend server, a Progressive Web App client, a localization package, an Electron desktop app, a Cordova project for iOS and Android, a Tauri based cross platform native app, and a browser extension. The project positions itself as an open alternative to 1Password…
read the full Padloc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vaultwarden or Padloc more popular?
vaultwarden has 67,795 GitHub stars and Padloc has 2,922. vaultwarden has the larger community by that measure.
Are vaultwarden and Padloc free?
Both are open source. vaultwarden is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Padloc under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vaultwarden and Padloc?
vaultwarden is written in Rust and Padloc in JavaScript. 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 Padloc?
Choose vaultwarden if you want the larger community (67,795 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Padloc if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.