Open Source Password Managers alternatives in 2026
Keep your team's passwords on your own infrastructure.
Quick comparison
Sorted by featured first, then GitHub stars as a tiebreaker — the same rule we use across the whole site.
| Tool | License | Minimum RAM | GPU | Docker | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaultwarden Lightest option100% FOSSMost popular on GitHub1-Click Deploy | GPL-3.0 | ~256MB | — | ✅ | ★ ~40,000 |
| Bitwarden (self-hosted) Lightest option | AGPL-3.0 | ~256MB | — | ✅ | ★ ~16,000 |
| KeeWeb Lightest option100% FOSS | MIT | ~256MB | — | ✅ | ★ ~10,000 |
| Passbolt | AGPL-3.0 | ~1GB | — | ✅ | ★ ~4,000 |
| Psono | AGPL-3.0 | ~1GB | — | ✅ | ★ ~2,000 |
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Build my stackDetailed profile of each alternative
Alternative to 1Password, LastPass
Lightweight Rust Bitwarden server, a self-hosted alternative to 1Password.
Alternative to 1Password, LastPass
Official self-hosted Bitwarden server, a complete alternative to 1Password.
Alternative to 1Password Business
Team password manager with OpenPGP encryption, an alternative to 1Password Business.
Alternative to LastPass Teams
Team password and secrets manager, an alternative to LastPass Teams.
Alternative to LastPass
Web client for KeePass vaults, a lightweight alternative to LastPass.
Frequently asked questions
What's the minimum server I need to host Security tools?
Vaultwarden is one of the lightest options in the whole catalog: its own listing describes it as "ideal for small VPS instances," and it runs fine on 1 vCPU and 512MB-1GB of RAM — the entry-level ~$4-6/month plan from any provider.
How are backups of the data volumes handled?
Your entire vault lives in a single database (SQLite or Postgres) plus the attachments volume — back up both. Treat that backup with the same care as the vault itself: if someone steals an unencrypted backup, they've stolen your whole password manager.
Is it safe to expose these tools to the internet, or is a VPN/Tailscale preferable?
This is the one category where we'd lean towards NOT exposing it directly if you can avoid it. Even though Vaultwarden requires a master password and supports 2FA, a password vault is the single highest-value target in your whole stack — putting it behind Tailscale/WireGuard (or, at minimum, fail2ban plus a properly configured reverse proxy) is worth the extra friction more here than almost anywhere else in this catalog.
How do the costs compare against commercial SaaS alternatives?
Compared to 1Password ($7.99/user/month on the Business plan), Vaultwarden on a $4-6/month VPS covers your whole team regardless of size — it comes out cheaper than 1Password from your second user onward, and the gap widens fast with larger teams.
Which Password Managers tools are 100% free?
2 out of 5 are 100% FOSS. The rest are Open-Core: the core is free, but some advanced feature may stay paid — we call it out on each tool's page.
Do I need a GPU to use these tools?
No, none of the 5 tools in this category need a GPU — they all run fine on CPU alone.
How much RAM do I need at minimum?
The lightest option on this list is Vaultwarden, which runs on as little as 256MB of RAM — enough for a cheap VPS.