Passbolt review 2026: open-source team password manager pricing, self-hosted vs cloud options, security features, pros and cons, and top alternatives.
Passbolt is an open-source password manager purpose-built for teams rather than individuals, letting organizations centralize, organize, and securely share credentials across departments and projects. The software is built on the OpenPGP encryption standard and is released under the AGPLv3 license, meaning its full source code is publicly auditable, a point of differentiation from closed-source competitors that ask customers to trust their security claims without independent verification.
The company behind Passbolt is headquartered in Belvaux, Luxembourg, and positions itself explicitly as a European, GDPR-aligned alternative to US-based password managers. Passbolt can be self-hosted on a customer's own servers for maximum control over data residency and encryption keys, or run on Passbolt's own cloud infrastructure for teams that prefer a managed service without giving up the open-source codebase.
Passbolt's core feature set covers encrypted password storage and one-click sharing, private and shared folders for organizing credentials by team or project, and group-based role access control so admins can grant or revoke access without exposing the underlying secret. Two-factor secret-key authentication protects account access, and an activity log records changes for audit and compliance purposes.
Paid tiers add enterprise directory and identity integrations, including single sign-on through Microsoft, Google, or OpenID, and LDAP or Active Directory provisioning for automated user lifecycle management. Higher tiers also add account recovery workflows (escrow), tagging for large credential libraries, and options like a downloadable VM appliance for teams that want a turnkey self-hosted deployment.
Passbolt uses a freemium, self-hosted-first pricing model. The Community edition is free forever, open source under AGPLv3, and supports unlimited users with core password management and sharing features, making it accessible to small teams and open-source projects with engineering resources to self-host.
The Pro edition costs EUR 4.50 per user per month billed annually (roughly USD 4.90), requires a minimum of 10 users, and unlocks SSO, LDAP/AD provisioning, and account recovery; volume discounts apply above 100 users. An Enterprise edition adds white-glove migration, custom feature development, and SLA-backed support for organizations with stricter compliance or uptime requirements, priced on request.
Yes, the Community edition is free forever, open source, and supports unlimited users, though it requires self-hosting and lacks SSO and LDAP integrations found in paid tiers.
Yes, Passbolt can be deployed on a company's own servers, which is the primary way most Community and many Pro edition customers run it, alongside an optional Passbolt-hosted cloud version.
Passbolt Pro costs EUR 4.50 per user per month billed annually, with a minimum of 10 users and volume discounts available above 100 users.
Yes, Passbolt's full source code is published and distributed under the AGPLv3 license, allowing independent security review.
Passbolt is best suited for software development, IT, and DevOps teams, as well as privacy- or compliance-conscious organizations that want an auditable, self-hostable password manager.
SSO via Microsoft, Google, and OpenID is available on the paid Pro and Enterprise editions, not the free Community edition.
Passbolt is headquartered in Belvaux, Luxembourg.
Community is free with unlimited users and core password sharing; Pro adds SSO, LDAP/Active Directory provisioning, tagging, account recovery, and priority support for a per-user monthly fee.