Secrets vs Strongbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Strongbox grades higher than Secrets: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Strongbox grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Secrets
Apple-only password manager with one-time purchases or a subscription
Strongbox
KeePass-compatible password manager for iPhone, iPad and Mac
Which one is for you
Pick Secrets if
- Fits if you are all-in on Apple and want iCloud sync
- Works for people who would rather pay once than subscribe
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows or Android, as there is no app for either
- Tight if you want to stay free, since editing is locked after the 7-day trial
- Pricey if you want sharing too: it is a separate $39.99 unless bundled or subscribed
- Watch out: invited sharers get read-only access unless they pay too
- Watch out: the App Store shows promotional prices of $44.99 and $29.99 for the same items
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
| 2.2GPASecretsFair | 3.0GPAStrongboxVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, which is the category middle. One-time Editing is $59.99, or $79.99 with Sharing. | 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 | CA 7-day trial with no card stated. Once it ends, editing is locked until you buy or subscribe. | 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 | CSyncs through iCloud with extensions and shared vaults. Invited sharers are read-only unless they also hold an editing purchase. | 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 app you install and 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 | CMac, iPhone and browser extensions only. No Windows or Android apps, though a Windows extension can ask an iPhone for logins. | 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 | an Apple-only password app bought once | 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: Secrets and Strongbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Secrets starts at $2.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 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 $0.42 a month lower. Of the other password managers on the chart, 10 score higher than Secrets 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
At a glance
| Secrets | Strongbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year | $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year (Pro, US App Store in-app price) |
| Free plan | None | 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 | 7-day free trial starts when you install; editing needs a purchase or subscription afterward | Optional 90-day free trial of all the Pro features |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Outer Corner, Unipessoal LDA | Phoebe Code Limited |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Secrets
- There are no Windows or Android apps; on those systems a browser extension can request logins from Secrets on an iPhone or iPad.
- Editing is locked after the 7-day trial until you buy it or subscribe; sharing is a separate purchase unless you bundle it or subscribe.
- Invited sharers get read-only access unless they also hold an editing purchase or subscription.
- The App Store listing also shows promotional purchase prices of $44.99 for Editing and $29.99 for Sharing.
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
Secrets
- iCloud sync
- Syncs iPhone, iPad and Mac through iCloud, and puts selected items on Apple Watch; data is never synced to Secrets' own servers.
- Autofill and browser extensions
- Fills logins with Password AutoFill on iOS and macOS and with extensions for Safari, Chrome and Firefox, plus Chromium browsers.
- Passwords, passkeys and more
- Stores passwords, passkeys, credit cards, bank details, files and notes, with one-time password generation for two-factor logins.
- Shared vaults
- Shares logins and cards with family or a team, kept in sync; invited people have read-only access unless they also hold an editing purchase.
- Biometric unlock
- Unlocks with Face ID, Touch ID or an Apple Watch, with automatic locking, or with a strong passphrase.
- Import from other managers
- Brings data in from 1Password, LastPass, Enpass and others, or from a CSV file.
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
Secrets
Monthly$2.99
per month
Subscription that unlocks editing and sharing on all of your Apple devices.
Yearly$29.99
per year
The same subscription billed once a year.
Editing$59.99
one-time
In-app purchase to create, edit, delete and import items; valid on every platform.
Sharing$39.99
one-time
In-app purchase that unlocks shared vaults so others can be invited to your items.
Editing + Sharing$79.99
one-time
Bundle of both purchases for a single payment.
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
Secrets
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, Secrets or Strongbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Strongbox is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $2.50 a month when paid by the year for Secrets. Secrets starts at $2.99 per month, or $29.99 per year, 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, Secrets or Strongbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Strongbox has a free plan. Secrets does not, though it has a free trial.
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.