Passbolt vs Pleasant Password Server (2026): which should you pick?

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 Pleasant Password Server if

• Fits if you want KeePass users sharing one vault on your own hardware
• Works for regulated or air-gapped setups that cannot use a hosted vault

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you have no one to run a server, because there is no hosted version
• Not for you if you are one person: the price table starts at 5 users, so the floor is $55
• Pricey if you need more than Community, as Enterprise is $85 per user and Enterprise+SSO about $120
• Watch out: you get one year of upgrades, then pay for more, which the page puts under half the licence cost
• Tight if you want more than 15 users on the cheapest tier, which is not offered above that

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.

Pleasant Password Server

• Licenses include one year of upgrades; later upgrades and support are a separate plan costing under 50% of the license.
• The administrator counts as a user, and the price table starts at 5 users.
• The Community tier is not offered beyond 15 users in the price table.
• You host and maintain the server; there is no hosted version on the pricing page.

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.

Pleasant Password Server

Self-hosted deployment

Runs on infrastructure you control, including on-premises, private cloud, hybrid and air-gapped setups, with a perpetual-use license.

KeePass and Password Safe clients

A KeePass client for Windows is included, giving a familiar KeePass interface with multi-user support.

Role-based access

Administrators set access on single passwords or folders, group users into roles and enforce client policies.

Many ways in

A web client, a browser autofill extension, macOS and Linux clients, and Android and iOS apps.

Multi-factor sign-in

Supports authenticator apps (TOTP), biometrics, YubiKey, RADIUS and email codes, and can generate TOTP codes for stored entries.

Choice of database

The server can store data in SQLite, PostgreSQL, MSSQL or Azure SQL.

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.

Pleasant Password Server

• Community Edition$11

  per user, one-time; $55 for 5 users

  Lowest tier; offered for 5 to 15 users. Price per user falls with more users ($10.50 at 10).

• Enterprise Edition$85

  per user, one-time; $425 for 5 users

  Falls to $77 per user at 20 users. Includes one year of upgrades.

• Enterprise+$110.30

  per user, one-time, at 10 users ($1,103)

  Priced at $110.20 per user for 5 users as an introductory price; $102.30 at 20 users.

• Enterprise+SSO$119.90

  per user, one-time, at 10 users ($1,199)

  Enterprise+ with Universal SSO; $119.80 per user at 5 users, $111.90 at 20.

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.

Pleasant Password Server

• Other savings

  90-day money-back guarantee

  The purchase page says a full refund can be requested within 90 days if the server does not meet your needs.