Infisical is $6/user/mo (Pro). Strongbox is a self-hosted alternative at $1.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Strongbox | Infisical | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | Open source, self-hostable with Docker, Postgres, and Redis |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 25 secrets, 1 vault | Paid only |
| Pro pricing | $1.99/mo | $6/user/mo (Pro) |
| Dependencies | None (single binary + SQLite) | Docker, Postgres, etc. |
| Setup time | ~30 seconds | 15-30 minutes (self-host) |
| Dashboard | Built-in at /ui | Web UI |
| License | BSL 1.1 | Open source |
Strongbox is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.
curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/strongbox/install.sh | sh
Infisical is a strong product. There is no point pretending otherwise. Where Strongbox earns its place is in situations where Infisical cannot be used — airgapped environments, regulated industries, teams with strict data sovereignty requirements, or simply developers who prefer tools they can inspect end to end. If none of those constraints apply, Infisical may genuinely be the better choice.
Strongbox runs as a single static binary with an embedded SQLite database. There is no application server, no cache layer, no background worker. One process handles HTTP requests and reads from and writes to the database file directly. This simplicity is the entire point — fewer moving parts means fewer things that can break at 2 AM.
Infisical can be self-hosted, but the experience differs significantly from Strongbox. Open source, self-hostable with Docker, Postgres, and Redis With Strongbox, self-hosting means downloading one file and running it. The gap in operational complexity matters most for small teams without dedicated DevOps staff.
If you are currently using Infisical and considering Strongbox, start by running both in parallel. Install Strongbox on a test server, point your workflow at it for a week, and compare the experience. Strongbox's data directory is isolated — running a trial costs nothing beyond the compute. If Strongbox does not fit, delete the binary and the data directory. There is nothing else to clean up.
Single binary. Free to start. $1.99/mo for Pro.