Knox vs OpenBao
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?
Knox
Service for storing and rotating application secrets
VS
OpenBao
Open-source secrets management forked from Vault
| Feature | Knox | OpenBao |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,268 | ★ 6,961 |
| First released | 2016 | 2024 |
| Replaces | HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager | AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Knox or OpenBao better?
Neither is universally better. OpenBao has the larger community, while Knox is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Knox and OpenBao free and open-source?
Yes. Knox is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenBao under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Knox and OpenBao with Docker?
Knox: yes. OpenBao: yes.