Secrets vs Strongbox
Both are bought outright, both sit in privacy, and both are bought by people leaving 1Password, Dashlane. Here is what actually differs — including what each price does not buy.
The short answer
- Secrets costs $59.99 against $124.99 — 52% less.
- Secrets has the cleaner licence: own it, pay for major upgrades, against lifetime plan available for Strongbox.
Side by side
 Secrets$59.99Paid upgrades |  Strongbox$124.99Lifetime tier | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | small apple-only password manager you unlock with a one-time purchase | native keepass client for mac and ios with a lifetime licence |
| Price | $59.99 | $124.99 |
| Licence | Own it, pay for major upgrades | Lifetime plan available |
| What you get | One payment, and the developer charges for major versions on a stated cadence. | Normally sold as a subscription, but a genuine one-time lifetime option exists. |
| The catch | Editing and Sharing unlock separately; both together is $79.99, not $59.99 | 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 | Yes | Yes |
| On Setapp | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum macOS | not established | not established |
| App Store rating | 4.6 from 186 | 4.7 from 4,069 |
| Last updated | 2026-08-03 | 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
Secrets
A native Mac, iPhone and iPad password manager from a tiny studio, synced over iCloud and unlocked with one-time in-app purchases rather than a subscription.
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.