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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Passbolt

Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Passbolt logo

Passbolt

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Passbolt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, 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 Cortex and Passbolt actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Passbolt differ
AttributeCortexPassbolt
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIweb, windows, mac, linux, api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

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.

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Passbolt
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Passbolt
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Passbolt
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Passbolt

Passbolt

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.

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

Cortex

On request
  • Cortex$undefined/year
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

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 Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex 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 Cortex or Passbolt better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex 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, Cortex or Passbolt?
Passbolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for Passbolt.
Does Cortex or Passbolt run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. 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. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Cortex best used for?
Cortex is most often used for a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services, an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions, enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident review, replacing a self-hosted backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgraded. Of those, a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services and an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions are not what Passbolt is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Passbolt cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

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
Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

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
Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

Passbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?

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

Source
Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

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