gopass vs pass
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gopass | pass |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,220 | ★ 4,200 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass | 1Password, LastPass |
What are gopass and pass?
gopass
gopass is a feature-rich command-line password manager written in Go that is compatible with the standard Unix password store. It adds team features, multiple stores and improved tooling.
- pass-compatible encrypted store
- Multiple mounted stores
- Team and per-secret access control
- Browser and editor integrations
pass
pass is a minimalist password manager that stores each secret in a GPG-encrypted file, optionally versioned with git. It follows the Unix philosophy and works entirely from the command line.
- GPG-encrypted password files
- Optional git versioning and sync
- Scriptable command-line workflow
- Many compatible GUI and mobile clients
gopass vs pass: key differences
Gopass is written in Go, while pass is built with Shell. Licensing differs — MIT for gopass versus GPL-2.0 for pass. Pass is the more established project (first released 2012), while gopass arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose gopass if…
- Great for teams using git
- Single static binary
Watch out for
- Still command-line focused
Choose pass if…
- Simple and transparent storage
- Composes well with other tools
Watch out for
- Command-line oriented
- Requires GPG knowledge
Frequently asked questions
Is gopass or pass better?
Neither is universally better. gopass has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are gopass and pass free and open-source?
Yes. gopass is licensed under MIT and pass under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gopass and pass with Docker?
gopass: check the project docs for container support. pass: check the project docs for container support.