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Cybersecurity · head to head

One Identity vs Passbolt

One Identity logo

One Identity

Cybersecurity

Quest-owned identity governance, PAM and Active Directory management

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: One Identity the portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • They diverge on capability: One Identity covers Identity Manager, 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 One Identity and Passbolt actually diverge.

Attributes where One Identity and Passbolt differ
AttributeOne IdentityPassbolt
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Linuxweb, 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 One Identity

  • Identity Manager
  • Safeguard
  • Active Roles
  • OneLogin
  • Password Manager
  • syslog-ng
  • Starling connectors

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.

One Identity

  • An organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises Active Directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level controlnot Passbolt
  • A government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud servicenot Passbolt
  • A manufacturer with SAP and Active Directory needing provisioning governed under one certification processnot Passbolt
  • An enterprise consolidating Active Directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forestsnot Passbolt

Passbolt

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

Where each one falls short

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

One Identity

  • The portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • Identity Manager implementations are customisation-heavy and commonly run over a year, with the services spend exceeding the licence cost in the first year.
  • Quest has changed private equity ownership more than once since the Dell separation, and buyers should ask directly about product investment commitments before signing a multi-year deal.
  • Product documentation and support sit behind a customer portal, which makes independent evaluation before purchase harder than with vendors that publish openly.
  • The cloud-native and developer experience trails the pure-play identity vendors, so organisations moving decisively to SaaS applications find the on premises heritage becomes a constraint rather than an asset.

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

One Identity

On request
  • Identity Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed identity
    • On premises or hosted
    • Access certification and provisioning
  • Safeguard$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user or per appliance
    • Hardened appliance option for session management
    • Licensed separately from Identity Manager
  • Active Roles$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed Active Directory account
    • Delegated administration and automated provisioning
    • 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 One Identity if

  • You need identity manager.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want safeguard.
One Identity 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 One Identity or Passbolt better?
Neither clearly leads. One Identity 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, One Identity or Passbolt?
Passbolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for One Identity and Free for Passbolt.
Does One Identity or Passbolt run on more platforms?
One Identity runs on Web, Windows, Linux. 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. One Identity starts at On request.
What is One Identity best used for?
One Identity is most often used for an organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises active directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level control, a government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud service, a manufacturer with sap and active directory needing provisioning governed under one certification process, an enterprise consolidating active directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forests. Of those, an organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises active directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level control and a government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud service are not what Passbolt is typically brought in for.
What can One Identity do that Passbolt cannot?
One Identity covers Identity Manager, Safeguard, Active Roles, OneLogin. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

One Identity: Is One Identity the same company as Quest?

Yes. One Identity is Quest Software's identity and access management business unit, not a separate vendor.

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
One Identity: Does it include privileged access?

Safeguard provides it, but it is licensed separately from Identity Manager. Neither includes the other.

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
One Identity: Why choose this over SailPoint or Saviynt?

Almost always because of Active Directory depth via Active Roles or an appliance requirement for privileged sessions. For cloud-first estates the specialists are the stronger choice.

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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