Buttercup 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?
Buttercup
Cross-platform password manager with multiple storage backends
VS
Knox
Service for storing and rotating application secrets
| Feature | Buttercup | Knox |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,394 | ★ 1,268 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass | HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Buttercup or Knox better?
Buttercup is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Knox if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Buttercup and Knox free and open-source?
Yes. Buttercup is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Knox under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Buttercup and Knox with Docker?
Buttercup: check the project docs for container support. Knox: yes.