Bitwarden vs Knox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Bitwarden
Open-source password manager you can self-host
VS
Knox
Service for storing and rotating application secrets
| Feature | Bitwarden | Knox |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C# | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,782 | ★ 1,268 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane | HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Bitwarden or Knox better?
Neither is universally better. Bitwarden has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bitwarden and Knox free and open-source?
Yes. Bitwarden is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Knox under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bitwarden and Knox with Docker?
Bitwarden: yes. Knox: yes.