OpenBao vs pass
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?
OpenBao
Open-source secrets management forked from Vault
VS
pass
The standard Unix password manager built on GPG and git
| Feature | OpenBao | pass |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,961 | ★ 4,200 |
| First released | 2024 | 2012 |
| Replaces | AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault | 1Password, LastPass |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenBao or pass better?
Neither is universally better. OpenBao has the larger community, while pass is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenBao and pass free and open-source?
Yes. OpenBao is licensed under MPL-2.0 and pass under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenBao and pass with Docker?
OpenBao: yes. pass: check the project docs for container support.