GnuPG (GNU Privacy Guard) is the free, GPL-licensed implementation of the OpenPGP standard. A command-line tool for Linux, macOS, and Windows, it encrypts and signs files and email, and manages public-key directories.
Reviewed by Marco Wollank
GnuPG
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Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
GnuPG is the bedrock of open-source encryption, trusted by journalists, sysadmins, and security researchers for decades, with an active development team based in Germany and a record of prompt security advisories. The catch is the interface: the CLI is powerful but unforgiving for newcomers, and the OpenPGP web-of-trust model demands key management discipline. Pick GnuPG if you are comfortable at a terminal and need a proven, auditable foundation; pair it with a GUI frontend like Kleopatra or GPG Suite if you are not.
GitHub at a glance
gpg/gnupg
Stars
957
+ 8 this week
Last commit
10d ago
healthy
License
GPL-3.0
Stars, last 31d
Website at a glance
gnupg.org
C score 50
Basic website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 14d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
GnuPG alternatives
PrivacyNotes Zero-knowledge notes, tasks, files, passwords and journal secured by a single 12-word recovery phrase, with no email or password required. The crypto core and database schema are published for audit. No subscription model.
7-Zip File archiver with a high compression ratio and built-in encryption functionality.
FileVault FileVault is the built-in full-disk encryption feature in macOS. On Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip, data is encrypted by hardware by default; enabling FileVault adds a login-password gate that prevents decryption without your credentials.
BitLocker BitLocker is the built-in full-disk encryption feature in Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. It encrypts the operating system drive and fixed data drives using AES-XTS, with optional TPM-backed pre-boot authentication.
VERNAM A free, fully client-side file encryptor that runs in your browser. Drop in any file, set or generate a passphrase, and it seals the result into its own .vrn format. Nothing is ever uploaded, and it works offline.
VeraCrypt It can create a virtual encrypted disk that works just like a regular disk but within a file. It can also encrypt a partition or the entire storage device with pre-boot…
GnuPG license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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