Codebook vs Strongbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Codebook and Strongbox share a 3.0 GPA, both have a free plan, and Strongbox starts cheaper, at $2.08 a month when paid by the year against $5 a month.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Codebook grades higher on value for money and platforms. Strongbox grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Codebook
Password manager from Zetetic, free for personal use
Strongbox
KeePass-compatible password manager for iPhone, iPad and Mac
Which one is for you
Pick Codebook if
- Fits if you want a free password app for personal use
- Works for households that want shared entries through a family plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want automatic sync, as that needs Codebook Cloud from $5 a month
- Not for you if you use it at work, since the free app is non-commercial only
- Watch out: the Cloud price is only 'starting at $5' with no billing basis stated
- Too light for browsers, as there is no extension
- Skip it if you run Linux, where Windows version runs under Wine
Pick Strongbox if
- Fits if your passwords already live in a KeePass file and you want them on an iPhone and a Mac
- Works for keeping the file where you choose, including on the device and nowhere else
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you also use Windows or Android, as Strongbox itself is Apple only
- Not for you if you want sharing and sync handled for you, because storage is yours to arrange
- Tight if you need to know what's free before you start, since the App Store listing doesn't say what Pro holds back
- Pricey if you go lifetime, at $99.99, four years of the $24.99 yearly price
- Watch out: the code is published but isn't open source by the OSI definition, and yearly Pro is listed at both $24.99 and $19.99
How we grade them
| 3.0GPACodebookVery good | 3.0GPAStrongboxVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for personal use, and a program anyone can download and run counts as free. Codebook Cloud starts at $5 a month, but you can skip it. | BPro is $24.99 a year on the US App Store, about $2.08 a month, inside the lowest-priced quarter of this category. Monthly is $2.99, the category's middle. Lifetime at $99.99 is four years of the yearly price, and the listing never itemizes what Pro includes. |
| Free plan and trial | BA person could live on the free app with manual sync. Business use needs a paid licence. | BThe app is free with what Strongbox calls a basic feature set, and the developer reckons most people find that enough, so you could live on it. The catch is that the App Store listing never says which features are held for Pro. There's an optional 90-day trial. |
| Features | CEntries, an authenticator and password review. Automatic sync and sharing need Cloud, and there is no browser extension. | BNothing the category expects is missing: KeePass and Password Safe files read and written, Face ID, Touch ID or a YubiKey to unlock, a duress PIN, passkeys, two-factor codes, a Have I Been Pwned check and a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. Storage is yours to pick, which also means yours to arrange. |
| Ease of use | BAn installed app that you start using, with no store rating on record. | A4.73 from about 4,100 App Store ratings, the top band here. You do pick where the database lives first, but it's a choice from a list, and cloud databases keep working offline. |
| Platforms and integrations | BMac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Dropbox and Google Drive sync. No native Linux app, and no browser extension. | CApple only: iPhone, iPad and Mac. It stores to iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, WebDAV or SFTP, but on Windows, Linux or Android you'd need a different KeePass app to open the same file. |
| Best for | a free personal vault with manual sync | KeePass password files on iPhone, iPad and Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Codebook and Strongbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Codebook starts at $5 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Strongbox starts at $2.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0.
Strongbox scores higher and starts $2.92 a month lower. Of the other password managers on the chart, 13 score higher than Codebook for less, and 2 score higher than Strongbox for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Strongbox can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Codebook also covers file sharing.
- Strongbox also covers passkeys.
At a glance
| Codebook | Strongbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month (Codebook Cloud sync subscription) | $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year (Pro, US App Store in-app price) |
| Free plan | The Codebook app is free for personal, non-commercial use, with manual sync through Dropbox, Google Drive or desktop Wi-Fi. | The app is free with a basic feature set on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The developer says most people find the free version adequate; Pro features are an optional upgrade. |
| Free trial | Codebook Cloud is described as free to try; the page does not state the length | Optional 90-day free trial of all the Pro features |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Zetetic, LLC | Phoebe Code Limited |
| Price read from | zetetic.net | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Codebook
- Automatic sync and secure sharing need a paid Codebook Cloud subscription; free sync is manual.
- Business use requires a business license; the free app is for non-commercial use only.
- The Codebook Cloud price is shown only as starting at $5 per month, with no billing basis stated.
- There is no native Linux app; the Windows version runs under Wine, and there is no browser extension.
Strongbox
- Strongbox runs on Apple devices only; using the same database elsewhere takes another KeePass-compatible app.
- The App Store listing does not itemize which features are limited to Pro. It describes the free version as a basic feature set.
- The source code is published for inspection, but the developers say it does not meet the OSI definition of open source and do not accept contributions.
- Prices here are from the US App Store; the listing says an upfront purchase option is also described on the Strongbox website.
Key features
Codebook
- Flexible entries and fields
- Data is organized into categories, entries and fields with labels you define; field labels control behavior, such as opening a URL or dialing a number.
- Encrypted database
- Data is stored with SQLCipher, using AES-256-CBC with HMAC-SHA512 and 256,000 rounds of PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 for key derivation, per the vendor.
- Autofill and built-in authenticator
- Fills logins through Password AutoFill on Android, iOS and macOS, and generates TOTP verification codes for sites that use 2-step verification.
- Password review
- Checks passwords against online breaches through HaveIBeenPwned and flags weak ones; a random password generator includes a DiceWare option.
- Codebook Cloud sync and sharing
- The subscription service syncs automatically in the background and shares entries with trusted contacts and Family Plan members.
- Images and PDFs
- Stores image and PDF files, such as scans of passports or insurance policies, alongside password entries.
Strongbox
- KeePass and Password Safe formats
- Reads and writes the open KeePass (KDB and KDBX 3.1 and 4) and Password Safe 3 formats, so an existing database can be opened and stays portable to other apps.
- Your choice of storage
- Databases can live in iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive, on a WebDAV or SFTP server, or only on the device, and cloud databases stay usable offline.
- Face ID, Touch ID and YubiKey
- Unlocks with Face ID or Touch ID, or with a PIN code that has a duress PIN option, and can protect databases with a YubiKey hardware token.
- Passkeys and one-time codes
- Supports passkeys and generates two-factor TOTP codes, which can be set up from a QR code or entered manually.
- Password audit
- Checks a database for weak passwords automatically and includes a 'Have I Been Pwned?' check for passwords found in breaches.
- Browser AutoFill extension
- The Strongbox AutoFill extension for Chrome, Chromium and Firefox fills usernames, passwords and authentication codes from your Strongbox databases.
Plans
Codebook
Codebook$0
The app on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows for personal use, with manual sync through Dropbox, Google Drive or Wi-Fi.
Codebook Cloud$5
per month, billing basis not shown, starting price
Automatic sync and secure sharing. Zetetic also lists a family plan; its price is not shown on the pages read.
Codebook for Business$5
per user / month, billed annually
Business license covering Codebook Cloud for every user; sold through sales, with volume discounts.
Strongbox
Free$0
The basic feature set of the freemium app. The App Store listing does not itemize which features are reserved for Pro.
Strongbox Pro (Monthly)$2.99
per month (US App Store in-app purchase)
All the Pro features as an auto-renewing monthly subscription. A 3-monthly term is also mentioned in the listing.
Strongbox Pro (Yearly)$24.99
per year (US App Store in-app purchase)
All the Pro features, billed yearly. The listing also shows a yearly entry at $19.99.
Strongbox Pro (Lifetime)$99.99
one-time (US App Store)
A one-off purchase of Pro, either in the app or as the separate Strongbox Pro app, which supports Family Sharing.
Strongbox Zero$99.99
one-time (US App Store)
A separate app for local-only databases, built without any of the networking code.
Ways to pay less
Codebook
No public discounts listed.
Strongbox
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Pro for a one-off $99.99
Strongbox Pro (Lifetime) costs $99.99 once, as an in-app purchase or as the separate Strongbox Pro app, which supports Family Sharing. A macOS-only build is listed at $44.99.
- Annual discount
About 30% less on the yearly plan
Strongbox Pro is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year on the US App Store. Twelve monthly payments come to $35.88, so the yearly plan costs about 30% less.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Codebook or Strongbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Strongbox is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $5 a month for Codebook. Codebook starts at $5 per month (Codebook Cloud sync subscription), and Strongbox starts at $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year (Pro, US App Store in-app price).
Which has a free plan, Codebook or Strongbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Codebook and Strongbox have a free plan.
Which platforms do Codebook and Strongbox run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Codebook lists Windows and Android apps and only Strongbox lists a browser extension. Both list macOS and iOS apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.