What is Passbolt?
Passbolt is an open source password and secret management platform built for teams. It is designed primarily for security-conscious IT teams but aims to be simple enough for company-wide adoption. Its core purpose is to let teams share credentials securely, rather than passing them around insecurely. The platform is available as an on-premises installation or as Passbolt Cloud, and it is positioned for organizations of any size—from a team of 5 to an organization of 5000.
What Passbolt does
Passbolt manages passwords and secrets for teams. The central problem it addresses is that teams cannot stop sharing credentials, so the platform gives them a secure way to do it. Beyond storage, it is built around collaboration, compliance, and control.
Key characteristics from the official site:
- Open source — the code is open and the product is described as audited.
- Built for teams — sharing credentials is a first-class use case, not an afterthought.
- Security-focused — aimed at security-conscious IT teams while remaining adoptable across a company.
- Sovereign and adaptable — described as a sovereign solution that scales across organization sizes.
- Compliance-oriented — SOC 2 Type II compliant and GDPR compliant, with an audited report available.
- Made in Europe and a member of the FIDO Alliance.
Who uses it
The site states that 50,000+ organisations worldwide use Passbolt, including governments, defence agencies, and IT companies. Named examples include Bosch, the French Ministère de l'intérieur, GLS, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, TU Graz, ZIT-RLP, Hochschule Ruhr West, Information Services (Bulgaria), and CTIE (Luxembourg).
Deployment options
Passbolt can be run in two ways:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| On-premises | Install on your own infrastructure ("Install on-prem") |
| Passbolt Cloud | A hosted option ("Try Passbolt Cloud") |
The site also notes that Passbolt has entered the ANSSI CSPN certification process, which is relevant if you are evaluating it against French or European security expectations.
When Passbolt is a good fit
Passbolt is worth considering if you need a team credential-sharing tool that is open source, can be self-hosted, and is aimed at organizations with compliance and control requirements. It is presented as suitable for both small teams and large organizations. If you specifically need an on-premises deployment or a European-made, auditable option, those are explicit strengths highlighted on the site.
For current pricing and plan details, check the pricing page directly, since the available material only indicates that subscription and pricing information exists rather than stating specific figures.