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Cybersecurity · head to head

BigID vs Passbolt

BigID logo

BigID

Cybersecurity

Data discovery and classification across cloud, on-premise and unstructured stores

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Passbolt logo

Passbolt

Cybersecurity

Open-source password manager for teams with self-hosted or cloud deployment

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Passbolt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BigID pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • They diverge on capability: BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigID and Passbolt actually diverge.

Attributes where BigID and Passbolt differ
AttributeBigIDPassbolt
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, API, Self-hostedweb, windows, mac, linux, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BigID

  • Structured and unstructured scanning
  • Identity correlation
  • Data security posture management
  • Access intelligence
  • Privacy request support
  • Retention and minimisation
  • AI data controls
  • Policy and remediation workflow

Only in Passbolt

  • Password sharing and folders
  • Groups and role-based access
  • Browser extensions and CLI
  • Open API
  • LDAP provisioning and SSO
  • Activity audit log

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BigID

  • A bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migrationnot Passbolt
  • A privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s recordsnot Passbolt
  • A security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker doesnot Passbolt
  • A company building retrieval augmented AI that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a modelnot Passbolt

Passbolt

  • Self-hosting a team password manager for data sovereigntynot BigID
  • Provisioning vault access from an existing LDAP/AD directorynot BigID
  • Sharing credentials across engineering or IT teams via folders and groupsnot BigID
  • Automating credential retrieval through the CLI or open APInot BigID

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BigID

  • Pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
  • Scanning large unstructured estates is slow and computationally expensive, so most organisations sample rather than scan everything, which reintroduces uncertainty into the very question they bought the tool to settle.
  • Classification accuracy on messy unstructured content requires tuning, and out of the box false positives on things like reference numbers create a large triage backlog that a small governance team cannot clear.
  • It discovers and reports but does not remediate, so realising value requires a separate process and often separate tooling to actually delete, restrict or move the data it flags.
  • It is built for large enterprises and both the price and the administrative overhead are disproportionate below a few thousand employees, where a lighter DSPM tool covers the security use case for far less.

Passbolt

  • Pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • Community Edition lacks SSO and LDAP provisioning, which many organizations need for onboarding at scale.
  • Self-hosting the Community Edition requires infrastructure and maintenance effort compared to fully managed competitors.
  • Enterprise-tier support and HA consulting require custom, quote-based pricing rather than transparent rates.

Pricing, plan by plan

BigID

On request
  • BigID Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by number of data sources and data volume
    • Discovery and classification core
    • Optional DSPM, access intelligence and AI security modules licensed separately

Passbolt

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Password sharing and folders
    • Role-based access control
  • Pro Edition$4.9/month
    • Minimum 10 users, billed annually
    • LDAP/AD provisioning
    • Single sign-on
  • Enterprise Edition$undefined/month
    • High availability and disaster recovery consulting
    • White-glove migration
    • Custom feature development

Which should you pick?

Choose BigID if

  • You need structured and unstructured scanning.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
  • You also want identity correlation.
BigID review

Choose Passbolt if

  • You need password sharing and folders.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
  • You also want groups and role-based access.
Passbolt review

Questions people ask

Is BigID or Passbolt better?
Neither clearly leads. BigID starts at On request and Passbolt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigID or Passbolt?
Passbolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for BigID and Free for Passbolt.
Does BigID or Passbolt run on more platforms?
BigID runs on Web, API, Self-hosted. Passbolt runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
Can I use Passbolt for free?
Yes. Passbolt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigID starts at On request.
What is BigID best used for?
BigID is most often used for a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration, a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records, a security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker does, a company building retrieval augmented ai that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a model. Of those, a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration and a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records are not what Passbolt is typically brought in for.
What can BigID do that Passbolt cannot?
BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Identity correlation, Data security posture management, Access intelligence. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BigID: What does BigID cost?

It is quoted by data source count and volume. Reported contracts run from roughly 15,000 to 175,000 US dollars a year, and add-on modules such as AI security posture are licensed on top.

Passbolt: Is Passbolt free to use?

Yes. The Community Edition is free forever with unlimited users, including password sharing, folders, groups, role-based access, browser extensions, a CLI, and an open API.

Source
BigID: Does it handle unstructured data?

Yes, and that is its main advantage. It classifies data in files and shares and correlates findings back to individuals, not just to data types.

Passbolt: What does the Pro Edition cost and add?

Pro Edition costs $4.90 per user per month billed annually, with a 10-user minimum, and adds LDAP/AD provisioning, single sign-on, account recovery escrow, activity audit logs, and next-business-day support.

Source
BigID: Will it delete the data it finds?

Not by itself in most deployments. It identifies and routes findings; deletion and remediation happen through your own processes or connected systems.

Passbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?

All Passbolt editions, including Pro and Enterprise, are distributed under the AGPL v3 open-source license.

Source
BigID: Is it a privacy tool or a security tool?

Both are sold from the same discovery core. Buyers increasingly come from security wanting data security posture management rather than from legal wanting privacy.

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