# pass review (2026): is it any good? > Unix command-line password manager built on GPG and Git Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. pass stores each password in its own GPG-encrypted file under a folder in your home directory. It is a short shell script that works with ordinary Unix tools: files can be organized in folders, copied between machines and tracked with Git. It is free software under GPLv2 or later. - **Category:** Password Managers - **Made by:** Jason A. Donenfeld - **Website:** https://www.passwordstore.org - **Runs on:** Linux, macOS - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a graphical app, as there is no official one. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, pass is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free software under GPLv2 or later with no paid plans. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | The full command-line tool; third-party clients and extensions listed on the site are separate projects. | Read from https://www.passwordstore.org/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with pass before buying. ## Key features - **One GPG file per password:** Each entry is an encrypted file named for the site or resource, kept in folders under a single password-store directory. - **Git history:** The store can be tracked with Git, which records changes to passwords and helps copy the store between machines. - **Generate and copy:** Commands add, edit, generate and retrieve passwords, and can put one on the clipboard and clear it after 45 seconds. - **Plain Unix workflow:** Works alongside normal shell commands, with completion for bash, zsh and fish and a man page for documentation. - **Community clients:** The site lists third-party tools, including a cross-platform GUI, Android and iOS apps, and Firefox and Chrome plugins. ## Good for - Command-line users who already work with GPG and Git - People who want plain encrypted files they fully control - Developers who script password retrieval ## Worth knowing - It has no official graphical app; phone apps and browser plugins come from other projects. - The site describes it for Linux, BSD and Mac OS X; Windows use relies on a third-party client. - You manage your own GPG keys and any syncing through Git or file copying. - Sharing and team features are not described on the site. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. pass keeps one encrypted file per password and uses Git for history, all from a terminal. It costs nothing, but there is no official app, you manage your own GPG keys and syncing, and phones and browsers rely on other people's projects. - **Value for money: A.** Free software under GPLv2 or later with no paid plans, which sits under 60% of the cheaper quarter in a category where most tools charge $2.99. - **Free plan and trial: A.** No plan, no cap and no account. You download it and use it. - **Features: C.** It does the job of storing, generating and copying passwords, in a smaller scope than a full manager. Sharing and team features are not described on the site. - **Ease of use: D.** You work in a terminal and set up GPG keys and Git yourself. No store rating on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Linux and Mac, as the site describes, plus community clients such as qtpass, browserpass and passff. No official phone or Windows app. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from the project own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among password managers - pass's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 21 of the 49 other password managers we grade, and level with 6. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 38 of 49) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - pass has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/password-managers ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** pass is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. - You could not: A password vault, the last thing anyone should make for themselves. - You could not: A real app for macOS and Linux. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, GnuPG, Git and qtpass among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with GnuPG, Git, qtpass, browserpass, passff **Tags:** Password manager, Open source ## Alternatives - [gopass](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gopass): Command-line password manager built on Git and GPG. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gopass-vs-pass) - [KeePassXC](https://toolgpa.com/tools/keepassxc): Free, open-source offline password manager for desktop. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keepassxc-vs-pass) - [KeePass](https://toolgpa.com/tools/keepass): Free, open-source password manager for Windows with plugins. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/keepass-vs-pass) - [Passbolt](https://toolgpa.com/tools/passbolt): Open-source password manager for teams, self-hosted or cloud. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pass-vs-passbolt) - [Bitwarden](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bitwarden): Open-source password manager with a free plan and self-hosting. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bitwarden-vs-pass) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.passwordstore.org/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/pass Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).