Knox 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.
| Feature | Knox | Mozilla SOPS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,271 | ★ 23,200 |
| First released | 2016 | 2015 |
| Replaces | HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager | AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault |
What are Knox and Mozilla SOPS?
Knox
Knox is an open-source secret management service developed at Pinterest. It stores, rotates and provides access control for sensitive keys, passwords and certificates used by applications.
- Centralized secret storage
- Key rotation and versioning
- Access control lists
- Audit logging
Mozilla SOPS
SOPS is an open-source editor of encrypted files that supports YAML, JSON, ENV, INI and binary formats. It encrypts secret values so configuration with credentials can be safely stored in git.
- Encrypts only the values in config files
- Works with age, GPG and KMS keys
- Editor integration for encrypted files
- Git-friendly secrets management
Knox vs Mozilla SOPS: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Knox versus MPL-2.0 for Mozilla SOPS. Mozilla SOPS is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Knox. Mozilla SOPS has the considerably larger community, at 23,200 GitHub stars versus 1,271. Knox lists first-class Docker deployment; Mozilla SOPS does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Knox if…
- Battle-tested at Pinterest
- Simple Go service
Watch out for
- Smaller community
Choose Mozilla SOPS if…
- Keeps secrets in version control safely
- No server to run
Watch out for
- Not a vault with access control
Frequently asked questions
Is Knox or Mozilla SOPS better?
Neither is universally better. Mozilla SOPS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Knox and Mozilla SOPS free and open-source?
Yes. Knox is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mozilla SOPS under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Knox and Mozilla SOPS with Docker?
Knox: yes. Mozilla SOPS: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Knox or Mozilla SOPS?
Mozilla SOPS has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Knox. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.