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Networking · head to head

LibreNMS vs Passbolt

LibreNMS logo

LibreNMS

Networking

Free, community-driven network monitoring with commercial support sold by a third-party partner, not the project itself

From
Free
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

  • Each has a real cost: LibreNMS there is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • They diverge on capability: LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LibreNMS and Passbolt actually diverge.

Attributes where LibreNMS and Passbolt differ
AttributeLibreNMSPassbolt
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partneropen-source
PlatformsLinux, Webweb, windows, mac, linux, api
CategoryNetworkingCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 LibreNMS

  • SNMP auto-discovery
  • Device and OS support
  • Alerting
  • API
  • Distributed polling

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.

LibreNMS

  • A network team wanting SNMP-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deploymentnot Passbolt
  • An organisation with in-house Linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contractnot Passbolt
  • A team wanting an alternative to Icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoringnot Passbolt
  • A company wanting SLA-backed support for LibreNMS but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner insteadnot Passbolt

Passbolt

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

Where each one falls short

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

LibreNMS

  • There is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market
  • Self-hosting and maintaining LibreNMS requires real Linux and SNMP expertise, and there is no vendor obligated to fix issues without a separate paid support arrangement
  • Device and OS support quality varies because it is community-contributed, so obscure or newer hardware may have thinner or less accurate polling templates than mainstream vendors
  • The web interface, while functional, is less polished out of the box than commercial tools like PRTG, and dashboard customisation takes more manual configuration
  • Scaling to a very large device count requires manually configuring distributed polling, which is more operational work than a SaaS tool that scales transparently
  • Project direction depends on community and contributor priorities rather than a company roadmap, so feature development pace and priorities can be less predictable than a commercial vendor's

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

LibreNMS

Free
  • LibreNMSFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community forum and GitHub support

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 LibreNMS if

  • You need snmp auto-discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want device and os support.
LibreNMS 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 LibreNMS or Passbolt better?
Neither clearly leads. LibreNMS 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, LibreNMS or Passbolt?
LibreNMS starts at Free and Passbolt at Free.
Does LibreNMS or Passbolt run on more platforms?
LibreNMS runs on Linux, Web. Passbolt runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
Can I use LibreNMS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is LibreNMS best used for?
LibreNMS is most often used for a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment, an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract, a team wanting an alternative to icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoring, a company wanting sla-backed support for librenms but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner instead. Of those, a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment and an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract are not what Passbolt is typically brought in for.
What can LibreNMS do that Passbolt cannot?
LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Device and OS support, Alerting, API. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LibreNMS: Is LibreNMS really free with no paid tier of the software?

Yes, the software itself has no licence fee; only optional third-party support is paid.

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
LibreNMS: Who provides paid support?

Config Services Ltd is the designated partner offering SLA-backed support and consultancy for LibreNMS.

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
LibreNMS: Does LibreNMS require SNMP access to every device?

Yes, its core monitoring approach relies on SNMP polling, so devices must have SNMP enabled and reachable.

Passbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?

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

Source
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