Networking · head to head
Consul vs Passbolt
Passbolt
Cybersecurity
Open-source password manager for teams with self-hosted or cloud deployment
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
- They diverge on capability: Consul covers Service discovery, Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Consul and Passbolt actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Consul
- Service discovery
- Health checking
- Key/value store
- Multi-datacenter
- DNS interface
- Service mesh
- Load balancing
- Configuration management
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.
Consul
- Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Passbolt
- Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Passbolt
- Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot Passbolt
Passbolt
- Self-hosting a team password manager for data sovereigntynot Consul
- Provisioning vault access from an existing LDAP/AD directorynot Consul
- Sharing credentials across engineering or IT teams via folders and groupsnot Consul
- Automating credential retrieval through the CLI or open APInot Consul
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Consul
- Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
- Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
- Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
- Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
- Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
- HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead
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
Consul
Free- Open SourceFree
- Service discovery
- Health checking
- KV store
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 Consul if
- You need service discovery.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want health checking.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Consul or Passbolt better?
- Neither clearly leads. Consul starts at Free and Passbolt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Consul or Passbolt?
- Consul starts at Free and Passbolt at Free.
- Does Consul or Passbolt run on more platforms?
- Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Passbolt runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
- Can I use Consul for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Consul best used for?
- Consul is most often used for service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure, running a service mesh with mutual tls between services, distributed key value configuration storage for applications. Of those, service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure and running a service mesh with mutual tls between services are not what Passbolt is typically brought in for.
- What can Consul do that Passbolt cannot?
- Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Consul: How much does Consul cost?
Consul does not publish specific pricing. The open source Community edition is free. HashiCorp also offers a Consul Enterprise edition, but pricing details are not disclosed publicly and must be obtained by contacting HashiCorp sales.
SourcePassbolt: 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.
SourceConsul: Is Consul open source?
Consul includes a free, open source Community edition. HashiCorp also offers a proprietary Enterprise edition for organizations requiring advanced features, but no public pricing is available for the Enterprise version.
SourcePassbolt: 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.
SourcePassbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?
All Passbolt editions, including Pro and Enterprise, are distributed under the AGPL v3 open-source license.
SourceRelated pages
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