KeePassXC vs Strongbox
Both are bought outright, both sit in privacy, and both are bought by people leaving 1Password, Dashlane, LastPass. Here is what actually differs — including what each price does not buy.
The short answer
- KeePassXC is free; Strongbox costs $124.99.
- KeePassXC has the cleaner licence: free and open source, against lifetime plan available for Strongbox.
Side by side
 KeePassXCFreeOpen source |  Strongbox$124.99Lifetime tier | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | offline password manager with no account and no cloud | native keepass client for mac and ios with a lifetime licence |
| Price | Free | $124.99 |
| Licence | Free and open source | Lifetime plan available |
| What you get | No licence to buy, and the source is public. | Normally sold as a subscription, but a genuine one-time lifetime option exists. |
| The catch | No sync of its own, and the iOS app is a separate paid purchase from someone else | Lifetime costs five years of the yearly plan before it starts paying off |
| Macs per licence | not established | not established |
| Account required | no | no |
| Works offline | yes | yes |
| Apple Silicon | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | No | Yes |
| On Setapp | No | Yes |
| Minimum macOS | not established | not established |
| App Store rating | not established | 4.7 from 4,069 |
| Last updated | not established | 2026-09-01 |
| Price checked | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-22 |
Apple’s public API reports a rating for only a small minority of Mac apps, and returns zero for most of the rest even when the store page plainly shows reviews. A blank here means we could not read a number, never that an app is unrated or disliked.
In their own right
KeePassXC
Keeps your passwords in an encrypted KDBX file on your own disk, with browser integration, TOTP codes and hardware key support. No account, no server, no subscription, GPLv3.
Strongbox
A polished Mac and iOS client for standard KDBX (KeePass) and Password Safe databases, with AutoFill, biometric unlock and an SSH agent. Sold as a subscription or as a genuine one-time lifetime purchase.