Psono

German open-source password manager for teams, self-hostable with client-side encryption

Quick Overview

Company esaqa GmbH
Category Password Managers
Headquarters Germany
EU Presence EU (Germany)
Data Location Self-hosted, or German servers
Open Source Yes
Compliance GDPR
Pricing Free and open source / paid hosting and enterprise plans
Free Option Free self-hosted
Replaces 1Password Teams, LastPass, Bitwarden

Detailed Review

Psono is a team password manager you can host yourself, which is the combination most of this category does not offer. Personal managers self-host badly and team managers are almost always someone else's service — Psono is open source, designed for organisations, and deployable on your own infrastructure.

Encryption happens client-side before anything is transmitted, so a self-hosted Psono server stores material it cannot read, and the same is true of the hosted option on German servers. For team use the sharing model is the part that matters: credentials shared with a group rather than pasted into chat, with access removed when someone leaves rather than remaining in a colleague's notes app.

It is developed in Germany with servers in Germany for the hosted version, using TLS 1.2 with perfect forward secrecy in transit on top of the client-side encryption. Free and open source to self-host, with paid hosting and enterprise plans including the administration features larger deployments need. The costs are the usual ones: self-hosting means you run and update it, the interface is functional rather than polished next to 1Password, and the ecosystem of integrations is smaller.

What Psono does well

  • Open source and self-hostable for team use
  • Client-side encryption — the server stores unreadable data
  • Proper group sharing with revocable access
  • German company, German servers on the hosted option
  • Free to self-host at any team size

Where Psono falls short

  • Self-hosting means you run and update it
  • Interface functional rather than polished
  • Smaller integration ecosystem than commercial rivals
  • Enterprise administration features are paid

Standout feature. A team password manager on your own server — the combination that personal managers and SaaS both miss.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Open source and self-hostable for team use
  • Client-side encryption — the server stores unreadable data
  • Proper group sharing with revocable access
  • German company, German servers on the hosted option
  • Free to self-host at any team size

Cons

  • Self-hosting means you run and update it
  • Interface functional rather than polished
  • Smaller integration ecosystem than commercial rivals
  • Enterprise administration features are paid

Alternatives to Psono

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Psono?

Psono is a team password manager you can host yourself, which is the combination most of this category does not offer. Personal managers self-host badly and team managers are almost always someone else's service — Psono is open source, designed for organisations, and deployable on your own infrastructure.

Where is Psono based?

Psono operates from Germany, which places it under EU (Germany). Compliance: GDPR.

What does Psono cost?

Free and open source / paid hosting and enterprise plans. Free self-hosted.

Who is Psono best for?

Teams that want a shared password manager on their own server. A team password manager on your own server — the combination that personal managers and SaaS both miss.

What are the drawbacks of Psono?

Self-hosting means you run and update it. Interface functional rather than polished. Smaller integration ecosystem than commercial rivals. Enterprise administration features are paid.

Is Psono a good alternative to 1Password Teams?

Psono is built as a European alternative to 1Password Teams: German open-source password manager for teams, self-hostable with client-side encryption. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.

How does Psono compare to other Password Managers?

Psono is one of several European Password Managers we cover. It is most often compared with 1Password Teams, LastPass, Bitwarden.

About the author

One person researches and writes every tool page on European Purpose and checks the compliance and pricing claims against the vendor's own documentation.

Sebastiaan Smits

Sebastiaan Smits

Founder · Amsterdam, Netherlands

Founder of European Purpose. Researches and writes the reviews and checks where each company is actually established.

Read our editorial process for how we source, verify and update these pages, and how paid placement works.

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