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Cybersecurity · head to head

Passbolt vs ThetaRay

Passbolt logo

Passbolt

Cybersecurity

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThetaRay logo

ThetaRay

Cybersecurity

Unsupervised AI transaction monitoring for cross-border and correspondent banking

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Passbolt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.; ThetaRay unsupervised models are harder to justify to an examiner than explicit rules, and some regulators still expect documented threshold logic, which can force you to run both systems.
  • They diverge on capability: Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, ThetaRay covers Unsupervised detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Passbolt and ThetaRay actually diverge.

Attributes where Passbolt and ThetaRay differ
AttributePassboltThetaRay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, windows, mac, linux, apiWeb

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 Passbolt

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

Only in ThetaRay

  • Unsupervised detection
  • Cross-border focus
  • Sanctions screening
  • Alert triage
  • Customer risk scoring
  • Cloud native

What people use each for

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

Passbolt

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

ThetaRay

  • A correspondent bank that cannot see the ultimate originator and needs behavioural signals rather than counterparty listsnot Passbolt
  • A cross-border payments fintech whose rules engine produces more alerts than its compliance team can clearnot Passbolt
  • A bank under a regulatory consent order needing demonstrable improvement in detection within a fixed periodnot Passbolt
  • A payment institution entering a high-risk corridor where existing thresholds were calibrated on domestic trafficnot Passbolt

Where each one falls short

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

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.

ThetaRay

  • Unsupervised models are harder to justify to an examiner than explicit rules, and some regulators still expect documented threshold logic, which can force you to run both systems.
  • The alert reduction claim depends heavily on your data, so a parallel run is essential and adds months and cost before you can decommission the incumbent.
  • Coverage is strongest in cross-border and correspondent flows; institutions whose risk is domestic retail fraud will find the fit weaker than a general-purpose monitoring platform.
  • It is a smaller vendor than the incumbents, so integration connectors into legacy core banking systems are often bespoke work rather than a supported adapter.
  • Model retraining and tuning are vendor-led, which means changing detection behaviour is a support conversation rather than something your own analysts can do that afternoon.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

ThetaRay

On request
  • ThetaRay Sonar$undefined/year
    • Priced by monitored transaction volume and number of monitored entities
    • SaaS on Azure with regional data residency options
    • Parallel run and model tuning included in onboarding

Which should you pick?

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

Choose ThetaRay if

  • You need unsupervised detection.
  • You also want cross-border focus.
ThetaRay review

Questions people ask

Is Passbolt or ThetaRay better?
Neither clearly leads. Passbolt starts at Free and ThetaRay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Passbolt or ThetaRay?
Passbolt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Passbolt and On request for ThetaRay.
Does Passbolt or ThetaRay run on more platforms?
Passbolt runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api. ThetaRay runs on Web.
Can I use Passbolt for free?
Yes. Passbolt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ThetaRay starts at On request.
What is Passbolt best used for?
Passbolt is most often used for self-hosting a team password manager for data sovereignty, provisioning vault access from an existing ldap/ad directory, sharing credentials across engineering or it teams via folders and groups, automating credential retrieval through the cli or open api. Of those, self-hosting a team password manager for data sovereignty and provisioning vault access from an existing ldap/ad directory are not what ThetaRay is typically brought in for.
What can Passbolt do that ThetaRay cannot?
Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API. ThetaRay covers Unsupervised detection, Cross-border focus, Sanctions screening, Alert triage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
ThetaRay: Does it replace a rules engine entirely?

Rarely on day one. Most institutions run it alongside existing rules during a parallel period, and some keep specific regulator-mandated rules permanently.

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
ThetaRay: Where is the data processed?

SaaS runs on Microsoft Azure with regional deployment options, which is the mechanism for meeting data residency conditions in regulated markets.

Passbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?

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

Source
ThetaRay: Is sanctions screening included?

Screening is available on the same platform but licensed as part of the commercial package rather than bundled by default. Confirm it is in your quote.

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