Guides/Compared with…
Elba vs Picocrypt — tiny installer vs one HTML file
Picocrypt is a well-regarded, small cross-platform installer that encrypts files with Argon2 and XChaCha20. Elba is a single HTML file with AES-256-GCM and PBKDF2, delivered without an installer.
Pick Picocrypt if
You want Argon2's stronger resistance to custom hardware and don't mind installing a small binary per OS.
Pick Elba if
You want zero installation, one file that works everywhere with a Chromium browser, a declining one-time price, and mortalware licensing to 2030.
Questions people actually ask
- Is AES-256-GCM weaker than XChaCha20?
- No — both are considered strong. The difference is real but small at the primitive level.
- Can I use both?
- Yes. Some people use Picocrypt for archives and Elba for a working folder.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
- €49MMXXVI· now ·
- €39MMXXVII2027
- €29MMXXVIII2028
- €19MMXXIX2029
- FreeMMXXX2030
the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
pay once · no account · nothing leavesCompare Elba with other tools
- Elba vs VeraCrypt: two different jobs, honestly compared
- Elba vs Cryptomator: local folder vs cloud-transparent vault
- Elba vs Boxcryptor (or: what to do now Boxcryptor is gone)
- Elba vs 7-Zip encryption: when a zip is enough (and when it isn't)
- Elba vs BitLocker: disk vs folder, two layers of the same idea
- Elba vs FileVault: macOS full-disk plus folder-level fencing
- Elba vs age: a GUI for the ‘just encrypt this folder’ case
- Elba vs GPG: signing and PKI vs a small local fence
Related guides
- AES-256-GCM, explained without a maths degree
AES-256-GCM in one page — what it is, why Elba uses it, and what it does and doesn't protect against.
- Elba vs age: a GUI for the ‘just encrypt this folder’ case
age is the modern command-line file encryption tool. Elba is a GUI fence around a folder. Different audiences, same seriousness.