Security & privacy tools / GnuPG
GnuPG
GnuPG is listed for: file encryption.
Where it stands
3.6 / 5
Signals score
Not a hands-on test
Based on 1 of 3 signals
- Website health3.9 / 5 · weight 50%
Measured from the tool's public website
Built only from what we can measure or quote without using the tool. How ranking works
Rank by signals
We have not run our own hands-on test on GnuPG yet. Facts checked 2026-11-08. How tests work
Disclosure: agathox makes some of the tools listed here. They are labelled and scored by the same method as every other tool.
Should you use GnuPG?
A quick read built only from what the tool's own pages state and from our tests, not from opinion. Facts checked 2026-11-08.
A good fit if…
- You want a free option. It states: “GnuPG is free software that can be freely used, modified, and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The…”
Check first
- Its pages do not state: pricing, signup, watermark, where your files go. Check on the tool's site before you rely on it.
Does: File encryption
Measured signals
3.9 / 5 · measured 2026-11-08Read automatically from GnuPG's public website: how reliable, secure, private and open the site is. This is not a test of how well the tool does its job. How this is measured
- Reliability5 / 5The page answered and finished downloading in 522 ms.
- Security2 / 50 of 5 protective headers set.
- Privacy5 / 5No third-party tracking services found on the page.
- Transparency3 / 5Links a privacy policy; no pricing page linked.
Community feedback
Not enough discussion yet: 11 classified comments from 4 threads. We need at least 12 from 2 threads.
- Positive
“>The reasons you've provided in the past for defaulting to GnuPG --- such as its avoidance of authenticated encryption being a good data recovery mechanism --- have, to put it gently, not seemed especially informed by…”
Read in the thread - Positive
“The project got a nice boost after that article, leading to this Ars Technica story about the windfall: > Given the ramshackle state of massive GnuPG code base, it's not clear what's the best path forward. Nonetheless, a…”
Read in the thread - Critical
“This is what bugs me most about GnuPG - there's no real API, just an executable program with sometimes unreliable output. I mean, there is the GPGME library which wraps the executable calls in a C API (plus few other…”
Read in the thread - Critical
“GnuPG has very poor UX and it's also so old and so well-known that it kills a lot of the "unknown upstarts". I think on balance GnuPG reduces the security of network communications and the appeal of a web of trust PKI…”
Read in the thread
Threads: GnuPG can now be used to perform notarial acts in the State of Washington (2018, 175 comments) · GnuPG used to ask for your support to help protect online privacy (2021, 144 comments) · GnuPG – post-quantum crypto landing in mainline (2026, 68 comments) · GnuPG 2.1.0 “modern” released (2014, 66 comments)
- Free tier
- GnuPG is free software that can be freely used, modified, and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The page says: “Since its introduction in 1997, GnuPG is Free Software (meaning that it respects your freedom). It can be freely used, modified and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.”
- Paid plan
- Not stated.
- Signup
- Not stated.
- Watermark
- Not stated.
- Where files go
- Not stated.
From the tool's own pages, checked 2026-11-08. Sources: Home. Prices and limits change; check the tool before you rely on them.
Read automatically by a program, not by a person. Each fact quotes the sentence it came from, and a fact is shown only if that sentence is on the page. Where a page did not say, it reads “Not stated.”
Get an email if GnuPG changes
We check its official pages every week. If they change, we tell you, so you can see if the price or limits moved. No other email, and one click stops it.
Are you the maker of GnuPG? Link to this page
Copy this into your site. The link goes to this page, and it does not change any score.
<a href="https://agathox.com/tools/gnupg">GnuPG on agathox: compared and tested</a>
Tasks and scores
- File encryptionNot tested yet
Similar tools
Top signals in File encryption.
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