Buttercup vs Mozilla SOPS
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
Mozilla SOPS
Encrypt secrets in config files for version control
| Feature | Buttercup | Mozilla SOPS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,394 | ★ 22,713 |
| First released | 2015 | 2015 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass | AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Buttercup or Mozilla SOPS better?
Neither is universally better. Mozilla SOPS has the larger community, while Buttercup is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Buttercup and Mozilla SOPS free and open-source?
Yes. Buttercup is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Mozilla SOPS under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Buttercup and Mozilla SOPS with Docker?
Buttercup: check the project docs for container support. Mozilla SOPS: check the project docs for container support.