#12 in Secrets & Key ManagementUpdated 2026-08

PrivateBin

by PrivateBin · Zero-knowledge pastebin with browser-side encryption

28.3 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Overview

PrivateBin is an open source pastebin, forked from ZeroBin, for storing text, code samples and optional file uploads. Data is encrypted and decrypted in the browser using 256-bit AES in Galois Counter mode, so the server stores only ciphertext and the key travels in the URL fragment. Administrators self-host it and switch on options such as passwords, expiry times, discussions and syntax highlighting.

Best for: Server administrators who want to host a pastebin that cannot read the content it stores.
Pricing: No prices are shown; the page presents PrivateBin as open source software you install on your own server.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

Browser-side 256-bit AES-GCM; server holds only ciphertext
Optional passwords, expiry times and burn-after-reading
Markdown, syntax highlighting and optional file uploads
Open source and self-hosted, with swappable templates

Trade-offs

Decryption key sits in the URL, so anyone with the link can read the paste
Users must trust the admin not to serve code that logs the key
Needs HTTPS, and ideally HSTS, to be safe at all
Access logs can still reveal who read a paste and when

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support: 0 out of 100
Documentation: 0 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 53 out of 100
Changelog: 100 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 40 out of 100
Operational trust: 10 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness: 30 out of 100
Maintenance: 100 out of 100

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