Passbolt vs Passwork (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Passwork grades higher than Passbolt: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Passbolt grades higher on the free plan. Passwork grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Passbolt
Open-source password manager for teams, self-hosted or cloud
Passwork
Password and secrets manager for business, cloud or self-hosted
Which one is for you
Pick Passbolt if
- Fits if your team has someone who runs servers and wants open-source code
- Works for data that must stay in the EU, or secrets pulled into pipelines through an API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're one person, because no paid plan is aimed at individuals
- Pricey if you're a team of three or four, as every paid plan bills for at least 10 users
- Not for you if nobody wants to maintain a server and you won't pay, since free means self-hosted
- Tight if you stay free, as single sign-on, LDAP, account recovery and the activity log are paid
- Watch out: the browser extension is required, the desktop app is Windows only, and offline mode is beta
Pick Passwork if
- Fits if you want a team vault with roles and audit logs
- Works for IT teams that need SSO and directory sync
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because only a one-month trial is offered
- Tight if you use a personal email, as the trial needs a business address
- Watch out: SSO, the CI/CD integration and the Python SDK need the Advanced plan
- Watch out: the self-hosted edition is licensed separately, with a yearly maintenance renewal
- Watch out: the cloud page does not say whether EUR 3 and EUR 4.5 are billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPassboltFair | 2.6GPAPassworkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro and Cloud Business are both $4.90 a user a month billed annually, above the $3.99 where this category's dear quarter begins, and every paid plan bills for at least 10 users, so a team of three pays $588 a year. The free Community Edition costs nothing, if you host it. | CStandard is EUR 3 per user a month and Advanced EUR 4.5, around the dearer end of password managers. The page does not say if billing is monthly or yearly. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe Community Edition is free for unlimited users, with sharing, folders, groups, mobile apps and the API, so a team could really live on it. You have to install and maintain it yourself, and single sign-on, account recovery and the activity log are paid. | CA one-month free trial that needs a business email; the page does not mention a card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | CSharing covers passwords, one-time codes and notes shared with users and groups under fine-grained permissions, plus an API and CLI that feed secrets into pipelines. But its own pages name the rough edges. The browser extension is required, the desktop app is Windows only, and offline mode is still beta. | BShared vaults and roles, zero-knowledge encryption, directory and SSO, developer secrets, audit logs and compliance reports. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record, and the free route is a Linux server, a Docker container or a virtual machine that someone has to keep running. Paying to have it hosted means at least 10 seats, and either way everyone has to install the browser extension before anything works. | CNo store rating on record. Directory, SSO and roles take setup by an admin. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone, Android, browser extensions, an open API and a CLI, with hooks into Active Directory, OpenLDAP and OpenID. The desktop app is Windows only, though, so Mac and Linux people live in the browser. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and an extension, with Active Directory, LDAP, SAML, Docker, Kubernetes and an SDK. |
| Best for | open-source team passwords you can host yourself | a team password manager you can self-host |
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: Passbolt and Passwork. How we grade
Price against what you get
Passbolt starts at $4.90 a month for each person and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Passwork starts at about $3.35 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Passwork scores higher and starts $1.55 a month lower. Of the other password managers on the chart, 21 score higher than Passbolt for less, and 6 score higher than Passwork 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
- Passbolt is open source, according to its own site.
- Passwork also covers reports.
At a glance
| Passbolt | Passwork | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4.90 per user / month, billed annually (Pro, 10-user minimum) | €3 per user / month (Standard) |
| Free plan | Community Edition: free and open source under AGPLv3 for unlimited users, self-hosted on your own server, with password sharing, folders, users and groups, mobile apps and community support. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the self-hosted Pro Edition; 7-day free trial of Cloud Business | One-month free trial; business email required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Passbolt SA | Passwork Europe SL |
| Price read from | passbolt.com | passwork.pro |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Passbolt
- Every paid plan has a 10-user minimum, and there is no paid plan aimed at individuals.
- The free Community Edition has to be installed and maintained on your own server and comes with community support only.
- The browser extension is required to use Passbolt, the desktop app is listed for Windows only and offline mode is labeled beta.
- Single sign-on, LDAP provisioning, account recovery and the activity log are not part of the Community Edition.
Passwork
- Business email is required for the free trial; Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook addresses are not accepted.
- SSO, the CI/CD integration and the Python SDK need the Advanced plan.
- The self-hosted edition is licensed separately: its FAQ lists Standard at 3€ per user/month billed annually, with a yearly maintenance renewal.
- The cloud pricing page does not say whether €3 and €4.5 are billed monthly or annually.
Key features
Passbolt
- Granular credential sharing
- Shares passwords, TOTP codes and encrypted notes with individual users and groups, organized in private and shared folders under role-based access control.
- End-to-end encryption
- Passbolt says secrets are end-to-end encrypted through a public-private key architecture, and it requires its browser extension in order to guarantee that.
- Self-hosted or cloud
- Install it on your own Linux server with packages, a Docker container or a virtual machine, or use Passbolt Cloud, which the company hosts in the EU.
- Open source, paid editions included
- The Community, Pro and Enterprise editions are all distributed under AGPLv3, so the entire source code is available to inspect and modify.
- API and command line interface
- An open API and a CLI let DevOps teams create, retrieve and rotate secrets and inject them into CI/CD pipelines as environment variables.
- SSO, directory sync and audit log
- Paid editions add single sign-on with Microsoft, Google and OpenID, LDAP and Active Directory provisioning, account recovery and an activity log.
Passwork
- Shared vaults and roles
- Share credentials through vaults with granular permissions, role-based access and a record of who did what.
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- The vendor says data is encrypted on the client, so the server never sees it, and is also encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Directory and SSO integration
- Supports Active Directory and LDAP, with LDAP group mapping to provision users, and SAML single sign-on.
- Secrets for developers
- An API, a command-line tool, container images and a Python library deliver secrets to CI/CD pipelines, Docker and Kubernetes.
- Audit logs and compliance reports
- Security teams get audit logs, compliance reports, advanced two-factor options and security policies.
- Apps for every device
- Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and iOS and Android apps.
Plans
Passbolt
Community Edition$0
Self-hosted and open source with unlimited users: sharing, private and shared folders, groups, browser extensions, CLI, open API and community support.
Pro Edition$4.90
per user / month, billed annually
Self-hosted, minimum 10 users. Adds LDAP provisioning, single sign-on, account recovery, an activity log, tags and next-business-day support.
Cloud Business$4.90
per user / month, billed annually ($5.40 billed monthly)
Hosted by Passbolt in Belgium and Germany, minimum 10 users, with a yearly database backup and next-business-day email support.
Cloud Sovereign$8
per user / month, billed annually
Hosted in a sovereign private data center in Luxembourg with ISO 27001 certified hosting. Minimum 10 users.
Enterprise EditionCustom
Self-hosted, with high-availability and disaster-recovery consulting, custom feature development and a 4-hour support SLA.
Cloud EnterpriseCustom
Isolated hosting in Luxembourg with a custom domain, custom backup policies, 24/7 SOC monitoring and a 4-hour support SLA.
Passwork
Standard€3
per user / month (price shown in euros)
Core features for small and medium businesses: shared vaults and access without training.
Advanced€4.5
per user / month (price shown in euros)
Adds SSO, a role-based model, the CI/CD integration, the Python SDK, a personal manager and priority support.
Ways to pay less
Passbolt
- Annual discount
10% off Cloud Business with yearly billing
Cloud Business costs $5.40 per user a month billed monthly or $4.90 billed annually; the pricing page labels yearly billing as 10% off.
- Nonprofit
Discounts for non-profits and education
Non-profits, charities, foundations, associations and educational institutions can request a discount on Passbolt Pro or Cloud. The amount is at Passbolt's discretion.
- Other savings
Discounts for open source projects
Maintainers and contributors of public open source projects and communities can request a discount through the same form.
- Other savings
Volume discounts above 100 users
The Pro Edition pricing notes that volume discounts apply after 100 users, arranged through a quote.
Passwork
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Passbolt or Passwork?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Passwork is cheaper to start with: about $3.35 a month for each person, against $4.90 a month for each person for Passbolt. Passbolt starts at $4.90 per user / month, billed annually (Pro, 10-user minimum), and Passwork starts at €3 per user / month (Standard).
Which has a free plan, Passbolt or Passwork?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Passbolt has a free plan. Passwork does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Passbolt and Passwork run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Passwork lists macOS and Linux apps. Both list a web app, Windows, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. 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.