KeePass vs KeePassium

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?
FeatureKeePassKeePassium
CategoryPassword ManagersPassword Managers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC#Swift
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB64 MB
Deploymentbinary, bare-metalbinary
GitHub stars★ 1,000★ 1,663
First released20032019
Replaces1Password, LastPass1Password, LastPass

Why pick each one

Choose KeePass if…

  • Completely offline and private
  • Time-tested and audited
KeePass details

Choose KeePassium if…

  • Polished Apple-platform experience
  • Open source
KeePassium details

Frequently asked questions

Is KeePass or KeePassium better?

Neither is universally better. KeePassium has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are KeePass and KeePassium free and open-source?

Yes. KeePass is licensed under GPL-2.0 and KeePassium under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run KeePass and KeePassium with Docker?

KeePass: check the project docs for container support. KeePassium: check the project docs for container support.

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