gopass vs Spectre
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gopass | Spectre |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,220 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass | 1Password, LastPass |
What are gopass and Spectre?
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
Spectre
Spectre, the successor to Master Password, is an open-source stateless password manager. It derives strong, unique passwords from your name and a master password rather than storing them in a vault.
- Deterministic password derivation
- No vault to store or sync
- Cross-platform clients
- Works fully offline
gopass vs Spectre: key differences
Gopass is written in Go, while Spectre is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for gopass versus GPL-3.0 for Spectre. Gopass is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Spectre. Spectre is the more established project (first released 2012), while gopass arrived in 2017. Gopass has the considerably larger community, at 7,220 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose gopass if…
- Great for teams using git
- Single static binary
Watch out for
- Still command-line focused
Choose Spectre if…
- Nothing to back up
- Stateless by design
Watch out for
- Niche project
- Hard to change individual passwords
Frequently asked questions
Is gopass or Spectre 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 Spectre free and open-source?
Yes. gopass is licensed under MIT and Spectre under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gopass and Spectre with Docker?
gopass: check the project docs for container support. Spectre: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, gopass or Spectre?
gopass has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Spectre. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.