Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

LUKS VS Cryptomator

Compare LUKS VS Cryptomator and see what are their differences

LUKS logo LUKS

LUKS is the standard for Linux hard disk encryption.

Cryptomator logo Cryptomator

When it comes to saving your files on a cloud server, it is important to ensure the security of those files. Keeping your delicate files out of the wrong hands can save you a lot of time and hassle. Read more about Cryptomator.
  • LUKS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03
  • Cryptomator Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

LUKS features and specs

  • Strong Encryption
    LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup) utilizes industry-standard encryption algorithms (like AES), offering robust protection against unauthorized data access.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    LUKS is widely supported across different Linux distributions, allowing for flexibility in system and software choices.
  • Management Tools
    LUKS integrates well with cryptsetup, providing a range of command-line tools for managing encrypted volumes, such as creating, formatting, and unlocking partitions.
  • Passphrase Security
    Supports multiple passphrases for a single encrypted volume, enhancing security by allowing different keys for different users or recovery scenarios.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, LUKS benefits from community scrutiny, contributions, and transparency, potentially leading to more secure and reliable software.
  • Compatibility with Filesystems
    LUKS works at the block device level, making it compatible with a wide range of filesystems and not dependent on any specific file system.

Possible disadvantages of LUKS

  • Performance Overhead
    Encryption and decryption processes introduce extra CPU overhead, which can impact system performance, especially on lower-end hardware.
  • Complexity
    Requires a certain level of expertise to set up and manage, making it less accessible to inexperienced users or those unfamiliar with command-line interfaces.
  • Limited Native OS Support
    Native support is generally limited to Linux-based systems. Windows and macOS users need additional software to interact with LUKS-encrypted volumes.
  • No Built-in Data Recovery
    If the encryption keys or passphrases are lost, the data is essentially unrecoverable without prior backups, leading to potential data loss incidents.
  • Initialization Time
    Initial setup, such as encrypting large volumes, can be time-consuming depending on the size of the data and the performance of the hardware.

Cryptomator features and specs

  • Open Source
    Cryptomator is open source, meaning its source code is available for review and audit by the community, ensuring transparency and trustworthiness.
  • User-Friendly
    The application has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical skill.
  • Encryption Standard
    Cryptomator uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 256-bit key length to secure your data, providing robust protection against unauthorized access.
  • Cross-Platform
    It supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, allowing for seamless synchronization across devices.
  • No Account Required
    Users do not need to create an account to use Cryptomator, enhancing user privacy and data protection.
  • Integration with Cloud Services
    Cryptomator can integrate with various cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, providing an extra layer of security for your cloud-stored files.

Possible disadvantages of Cryptomator

  • Performance Limitations
    Because files are encrypted and decrypted on-the-fly, the application may experience slower performance, especially for large files or folders.
  • Mobile App Cost
    While the desktop version is free, the mobile apps require a one-time purchase, which might deter some users.
  • No Native Cloud Backup
    Cryptomator itself does not offer native cloud backup services. Users must rely on third-party cloud providers for storing encrypted files.
  • No Live Collaboration Features
    The application does not support live collaboration on encrypted documents, limiting its utility for team-based projects.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Certain cloud providers may occasionally change their APIs or policies, potentially causing compatibility issues until updates are made.

LUKS videos

#1092 - My MUK LUKS Review

More videos:

  • Review - LUKS & Full Disk Encryption

Cryptomator videos

Cryptomator Tutorial: Get Started

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How To Easily Encrypt Anything - Cryptomator The Best FREE Encryption Software! (multiplatform)
  • Review - Cryptomator and Nextcloud

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to LUKS and Cryptomator)
Security & Privacy
19 19%
81% 81
Cloud Storage
0 0%
100% 100
Encryption
25 25%
75% 75
File Sharing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LUKS and Cryptomator

LUKS Reviews

Best Disk Encryption Software – the 5 top tools to secure your data
For Linux users, LUKS is based on cryptsetup and uses dm-crypt as the disk encryption backend. Short for Linux Unified Key Setup, LUKS specifies a platform-independent standard on-disk format for use in various tools.

Cryptomator Reviews

6 TrueCrypt Alternatives for Reliable Data Encryption
Cryptomator is a great free encryption software tool for users looking to encrypt individual files rather than a large volume of data as seen with TrueCrypt or other alternatives mentioned here. This makes sense if you update only a few files regularly and the rest of your files remain relatively unchanged. Cryptomator is supported on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating...
15 Best Rclone Alternatives 2022
With Cryptomator, what you get is a simple digital protection tool. Rclone syncs your files to cloud storage, while Cryptomator syncs and locks your files to cloud storage. Cryptomator gives you access to your files on any device and only you hold the keys to access them.
5 Best TrueCrypt Alternatives - Open source encryption apps
Cryptomator for the desktop works on a pay what you want model. It can be had for free, but users are encouraged to donate towards its development. The mobile apps (which support fingerprint unlock) cost $8.99 at time of writing.
Source: proprivacy.com
16 Tresorit Alternatives
Cryptomator will be giving you the full permission in which you can choose to encrypt the whole of your data on your series of workstations or top of any cloud devices or any storage media. It will be working all through the creation of the virtual device right through which the encrypted content can be readily displayed.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Cryptomator seems to be a lot more popular than LUKS. While we know about 298 links to Cryptomator, we've tracked only 3 mentions of LUKS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

LUKS mentions (3)

  • Accessing tails persistent storage from a different computer
    As I understand Arch if you don’t make a point of adding things it won’t have it. You may need something like cryptsetup. Source: over 3 years ago
  • You really should encrypt your disks if you don't, because changing the root password from GRUB is the easiest thing in the world
    You'll probably want to use cryptsetup. How to install depends on your distro, but you should be able to find tutorials if you google something like mydistro cryptsetup. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Go bindings for libcryptsetup (LUKS)
    Hey guys, for a few years now I’ve been maintaining a set of Go bindings for libcryptsetup. They’re available here: https://github.com/martinjungblut/go-cryptsetup. Source: almost 4 years ago

Cryptomator mentions (298)

  • Owning my own data, part 1: Integrating a self-hosted calendar solution
    I know this is not what people want to hear, but your data will never be safer than it is in the cloud. No setup you can dream up at home with in a reasonable budget will ever come close to the resilience and redundancy you have in the cloud. Ownership is not about storing everything at home (or well, it's part of it), but having control over your data, which you can easily have while at the same time using the... - Source: Hacker News / 23 days ago
  • Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row
    It's a drag that we're seeing this crap happen, but authoritarians will be authoritarians. What's the general opinion of tools like Cryptomator? [^1] [^1]: https://cryptomator.org. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Cryptomator: end-to-end encrypt files in any cloud
    To prevent this from happening, you can use a tool like Cryptomator to automatically encrypt your files before uploading them to the cloud. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Dropbox: How to opt out of 3rd party AI partner access to your Dropbox
    The best way to do this is with https://cryptomator.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Is it private if I lock my pdf
    Before putting anything on a cloud service I would recommend 3rd party tools, like Cryptomator, to encrypt folders and such, then upload to a cloud service. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing LUKS and Cryptomator, you can also consider the following products

Knox - Knox offers easy disk image encryption and comes with a built-in backup service.

VeraCrypt - VeraCrypt is a free open source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux.

Exocet - Exocet creates a Folder on your System.

BoxCryptor - Boxcryptor encrypts your sensitive files before uploading them to cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Box, and many others.

Mega - Secure File Storage and collaboration

Advanced File Security Basic - Download Advanced File Security Basic. Protect files by encrypting them with a strong password, a series of questions, or even an USB key you can carry around with this powerful security solution