Passbolt alternative
The Passbolt Alternative, Run for You
Passbolt hands you open source code and, on Community, no per-seat charge. Somebody on your team still has to run the server, test the backups, and decide who sees what. Managed Zoho Vault puts that work with us. We migrate your Passbolt export, build the chamber and sharing structure, connect directory and single sign on, enforce two factor, and review password health every month, inside a Zoho account your company owns.
With Cascadia you get
- Migration is included, not extra
- Your team trained, not locked out
- We will say when Vault is wrong
- Access designed before anything imports
- Your account, your data
- Connected to the rest of Zoho
Cascadia vs Passbolt at a Glance
Three Questions That Decide It
Does Someone on Staff Enjoy Running Linux Services?
Does your auditor want to read the source code?
Do You Already Pay for Zoho One?
Side by Side
| Passbolt | Cascadia | |
|---|---|---|
| Source code | Open source, AGPLv3 on Community (October 2026) | –Runs inside Zoho, no source to host |
| Where it runs | Docker, packages, Helm, or Passbolt Cloud (October 2026) | Nothing for you to host |
| Directory and SSO | –LDAP and SSO start at Pro (October 2026) | Sync and SSO set up for you |
| Account recovery | –Pro and Cloud feature (October 2026) | Configured and tested in week one |
| Cost at ten people | Free on Community, $49 a month on Pro (October 2026) | –Our fee plus a Zoho license |
| Support | –Community forum, or next business day on Pro (October 2026) | Replies within two business days |
| Access design | ×Left to your admins | Chambers and roles mapped first |
| Leavers | ×Left to your admins | Secrets reassigned and rotated |
Source Code
Where It Runs
Directory and SSO
Account Recovery
Cost at Ten People
Support
Access Design
Leavers
Inside the Monthly Management Fee
Passbolt Community gives you the software for free and leaves the rest to you. This is the list of work we take off that pile. Your Zoho license is billed by Zoho and sits outside our fee.
- Vault setup and user provisioning inside an account registered to your company
- Migration from Passbolt, with the CSV or KDBX export cleaned before it goes in
- Browser extension and mobile app rollout to every device
- Chamber and folder structure designed around roles
- Custom secret types for API keys, SSH keys, licenses, and certificates
- Sharing rules and privilege levels per team
- Password policy and a rotation schedule
- IP restrictions and session controls
- Audit trails and access reports, reviewed monthly
- Alignment with Zoho Directory and Zoho One, plus monthly change requests
Where Our Team Picks up the Slack
A free license still has a cost. It shows up as an evening spent on a failed upgrade or a leaver nobody remembered to chase.
The Server Question Goes Away
Passbolt self-hosted means a database, a set of GPG server keys, configuration files, and TLS certificates that all have to be backed up and restored together. Zoho Vault has no machine on your side. You never schedule that restore test.
Your Admins and Staff Get Trained
We walk your people through the extension, the mobile app, and safe sharing, then teach your admins the settings they own. Written notes stay behind for whoever joins next.
A Straight Answer When Passbolt Wins
If you have a sysadmin who enjoys running Linux services and your auditors like open source code, Passbolt fits you better. We will tell you that on the first call and skip the sale.
Structure Decided Before the Import
Passbolt imports are quick, and that is the trap. A flat pile of logins moves across just as easily as a tidy one. We settle chambers and roles first, so the new vault starts clean.
Who Should Read This Comparison
Small Shops Currently on Passbolt Community
You run the free edition because it was easy to start. Nobody owns upgrades, and the last backup was never restored as a test.
Companies That Outgrew the 10-User Pro Floor Math
Pro bills at least ten seats a year in advance. If you have seven people, the invoice still assumes ten. Our own fee is quoted separately and the Zoho license is billed by Zoho.
Teams Already Inside Zoho One
Vault ships with Zoho One. If you already pay for the bundle, moving off Passbolt can retire a subscription and a server together.
Choose Passbolt if
- You want source code you can read and fork
- A sysadmin owns upgrades, backups, and certificates
- Community's free unlimited seats cover your needs
Choose Cascadia if
- No one wants to patch a password server
- Leavers' shared credentials need rotating
- You already pay for Zoho One and want Vault used
How a Move from Passbolt Runs
- 1
Export First, Judge Second
A Passbolt user exports resources to CSV or KDBX from the browser extension. We take that file and read it line by line, looking for duplicates, stale hosts, and logins shared far wider than they should be.
- 2
Rebuild the Groups as Chambers
Passbolt groups and folders become Vault chambers and folders, with privilege levels set to match the job rather than the old habit. You approve the map before anything is imported.
- 3
Import, Then Rotate What Matters
The cleaned secrets load into Vault. Anything a leaver could see, or anything that sat in a widely shared folder, gets a new password instead of a copy of the old one.
- 4
Run Both for a Short Overlap
Your team switches over with the extension and mobile app installed. Once nobody reaches for the old vault, you retire the server and cancel what you no longer need.
How Passbolt Works
Passbolt Plans and Hosting Options
Passbolt is open source and comes in self-hosted and cloud forms. Every figure below was read from their own pages in October 2026.
Taken from Passbolt self-hosted pricing and Passbolt Cloud pricing. Checked October 2026.
What Clients Say About Working with Cascadia
“I’ve always dreaded website management, but Cascadia has done an incredible job with my WordPress site, making it one less thing for me to worry about.”
“I’ve worked with Cascadia for several years now. They are always ready to help in any way I ask and can implement my ideas with ease. A company that values their clients!”
“Cascadia has been great to work with! We recently needed some updates, and Cascadia was quick to get them completed! We highly recommend Cascadia Web Services.”
“Cascadia is very responsive and we’re happy with them as our primary IT vendor.”
“They do great work, been using for years. Prompt responses to requests.”
Weighing Passbolt Against Vault?
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Passbolt Alternative Questions
What Passbolt costs, what self-hosting asks of you, and how the move works.
See Managed Zoho VaultStill have a question?
What is Passbolt, in plain terms?
Passbolt is an open source password manager aimed at teams. It runs on OpenPGP, so every secret is encrypted separately for each person allowed to see it. You can host it yourself or buy their cloud service. The code is public, which is a large part of why technical teams choose it (October 2026).
Is Passbolt Community really free for unlimited users?
Yes. The Community edition is listed as free forever with unlimited users, under the AGPLv3 license. It includes sharing, folders, user and group management, two factor, browser extensions, a CLI, and password expiry. What it lacks is directory provisioning, single sign on, account recovery, and activity logs, which start at Pro (October 2026).
What does Passbolt Pro cost for a small team?
Pro is listed at $4.9 per user a month, billed annually, with a minimum of 10 users. That makes the smallest invoice $49 a month, or $588 a year, even if you have six people. Volume discounts only begin after 100 users, so mid sized teams pay the published monthly plan (October 2026).
Does Passbolt offer a hosted version?
It does. Cloud Business is $5.4 per user a month billed monthly, hosted in Belgium and Germany on Google Cloud, with a 7 day trial. Cloud Sovereign is $8 per user a month billed annually, hosted in Luxembourg. Both need at least 10 users, and Enterprise is by quote (October 2026).
What does running Passbolt yourself actually involve?
Their backup guide lists four things to protect: the database, the GPG server keys, the configuration files, and TLS certificates. After a restore, the keys are imported with the passbolt keyring_init command. Installs run on Docker, Helm, or distribution packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat family systems, and SUSE (October 2026).
How does Passbolt encrypt what I store?
Secrets are encrypted once for each user who can access them, and every secret is signed so the creator can be verified. Users can bring their own PGP key. Their security page lists Cure53 audits in 2021, then 2023 through 2026, and a SOC 2 Type II certification from 2021 (October 2026).
Which Passbolt features sit behind a paid plan?
On the self-hosted side, Pro adds tags, LDAP provisioning, single sign on with Microsoft, Google, and OpenID, account recovery, activity logging, and a VM appliance. Enterprise adds high availability consulting, disaster recovery, white glove migration, and custom development. Everything else in Community stays free (October 2026).
What support comes with Passbolt?
Community users rely on the community. Pro lists next business day support. Enterprise lists a 4 hour SLA by phone and email, covering Monday 9AM to Friday 6PM Central European time. Check that window against your own working hours (October 2026).
Can you move our Passbolt vault into Zoho Vault?
Yes. Passbolt exports resources to CSV or KDBX, and that file is our starting point. We clean it, rebuild your groups as chambers, import, and rotate anything a leaver could see. Migration runs on your monthly plan, with no setup fee.
What do we lose by leaving Passbolt?
Source code you can read, a free tier with unlimited users, and the choice to host wherever you like are Passbolt strengths we do not match. What you get back is no server to run, a managed directory and single sign on setup, and a monthly review someone else performs.
What happens when someone loses their passphrase?
In Passbolt, account recovery is a Pro and Cloud feature. Our reading of their docs stops there, so ask Passbolt what Community does. Vault recovers through a designated super administrator and emergency contacts, but only if those exist beforehand. We set both up and test them in week one.
What will Cascadia not do for a Passbolt shop?
We will not run or patch your Passbolt server, and we will not keep Passbolt alive alongside Vault. We do not hold your master password, and we cannot read your secrets. Our scope is Managed Zoho Vault, so if you decide to stay on Passbolt, we will say so.
Who owns the Vault account after the move?
Your company does. The Zoho organization is registered to you, the subscription is in your name, and the secrets belong to you. Nothing sits behind a Cascadia login. Zoho bills the license directly and we add no markup. If Vault is already in your Zoho One plan, there is nothing extra to buy.
When should a team just stay on Passbolt?
When you have someone who maintains the server, tests restores, and reviews access without being asked. Also when open source code is a hard requirement for compliance or principle. In those cases the free edition or Pro is a sound buy, and our fee would buy you little.