Aegis vs 2FAS: The Best Open-Source Authenticator App in 2026

Short answer: Pick 2FAS if you want the easier life — it runs on both Android and iOS, backs up to iCloud or Google Drive automatically, and has a browser extension that pushes codes to your desktop. Pick Aegis if you are on Android and want maximum control — a locally encrypted vault, no cloud involvement, and the most thorough import/export support of any authenticator. Both are free, open source, ad-free, and neither requires an account.

Why these two, and not Google Authenticator?

Google Authenticator works, but it is closed source, ties your tokens to a Google account when you enable sync, and offers no vault encryption of its own. Authy is polished but proprietary and locks your secrets inside its ecosystem — we covered that trade-off in Authy vs Google Authenticator.

Aegis and 2FAS are the two apps that consistently come up when people want an authenticator whose code can be audited, whose backups they control, and which will let them leave whenever they like. Our wider survey of Google Authenticator alternatives covers the field; this is the head-to-head between the top two open-source options.

The comparison at a glance

• Platforms — Aegis: Android only. 2FAS: Android and iOS, plus browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera and Brave.
• Licence — Both open source. Aegis is GPLv3; 2FAS ships its apps and extension under open licences too.
• Backup — Aegis: manual or scheduled encrypted export to a file you control. 2FAS: automatic backup to iCloud or Google Drive, plus manual encrypted file export.
• Vault encryption — Aegis: full vault encryption with a password, unlockable by biometrics. 2FAS: app lock (PIN/biometric); backup files are password-encrypted.
• Desktop codes — Aegis: none. 2FAS: browser extension shows a prompt on your phone that you approve, then fills the code.
• Account required — Neither. No email, no sign-up, no telemetry account.
• Cost — Both free, no ads, no premium tier.

Where Aegis wins

The encrypted vault. Aegis encrypts your entire token database on disk with a password of your choosing, using proper key derivation. Even someone with a full filesystem dump of an unlocked-but-idle phone gets nothing without that password. Most authenticators, including Google’s, store tokens in app-private storage with no additional layer.

Import and export from almost anywhere. Aegis can import from Google Authenticator (including the export QR format), Authy, andOTP, FreeOTP, Bitwarden, 2FAS and more. This makes it the most reliable landing spot when you are consolidating tokens from several apps. If you are migrating, our guide on transferring Google Authenticator to a new phone pairs well with it.

No cloud, by design. Nothing leaves your device unless you export it. For anyone whose threat model includes their cloud account being compromised, this is the point of the app.

Detail and polish for power users. Icon packs, custom groups, HOTP and Steam token support, per-entry notes, and a UI that hides codes until you tap them — genuinely useful in an open-plan office.

Where 2FAS wins

It exists on iPhone. That alone decides it for a lot of people. Aegis has no iOS version and no realistic plan for one.

Backups that happen without you. Aegis’s biggest practical weakness is that its backup is only as current as the last time you remembered to run one. 2FAS syncs to iCloud or Google Drive automatically, so a phone lost in a taxi is an inconvenience rather than a disaster. This is the single most common way people lose their tokens — not a hack, just a broken screen.

The browser extension. Install it, pair it with your phone once, and when a site asks for a code the extension sends a prompt to your phone; approve it and the code fills in. Faster than typing digits, and unlike a desktop authenticator it does not put the secret on your computer.

Cross-device from day one. Same tokens on your phone and your partner’s, or on a personal and a work device, without file juggling.

Which should you choose?

Choose 2FAS if: you use an iPhone; you want automatic backups; you sign into things on a laptop all day; you want something a non-technical family member can use without a lecture about export files.

Choose Aegis if: you are Android-only; you prefer your secrets never touching a cloud service; you are consolidating tokens from several apps; you will actually maintain a backup routine.

There is also a legitimate hybrid: run 2FAS as your daily driver and keep an encrypted Aegis export as an offline cold backup. Nothing stops you scanning the same QR code into two apps — that is the correct time to create redundancy, while the code is still on screen.

The backup question is the real decision

Whichever you pick, the failure mode is identical and it is not a hacker. It is a lost, stolen, drowned or bricked phone with tokens on it and no backup.

Decide this before you migrate anything:

• If you choose Aegis, set a scheduled encrypted export to a folder that syncs somewhere, and check occasionally that it is actually producing files.
• If you choose 2FAS, confirm the cloud backup toggle is on and note the password protecting it.
• Either way, keep each service’s own backup codes stored separately. App backups protect against device loss; backup codes protect against everything else, including you locking yourself out of the app.

If it does go wrong, our guide on recovering accounts after losing your 2FA phone is the recovery path.

Frequently asked questions

Are Aegis and 2FAS compatible with all sites?

Yes. Both implement standard TOTP, so any service that says “use Google Authenticator” works with either. See how TOTP codes work for why apps are interchangeable.

Can I move from one to the other later?

Yes, in both directions. Aegis imports 2FAS backup files, and 2FAS accepts standard export formats. Vendor lock-in is precisely what these two apps exist to avoid.

Is 2FAS’s cloud backup safe?

The backup is encrypted before it leaves the device, so the storage provider holds ciphertext. The trade-off is that your recovery now depends on remembering that password. Losing it means the backup is unrecoverable — which is the point, but plan for it.

Is Aegis available on iPhone?

No, Aegis is Android-only. On iOS the closest equivalents are 2FAS, Raivo, or Ente Auth.

Do I still need a hardware key if I use these?

For most accounts, no. For email, banking and anything you cannot afford to lose, a hardware security key or a passkey is stronger, because neither can be phished. TOTP codes can be relayed through a fake login page in real time.

Are these apps really free?

Yes. Both are community and donation funded with no premium tier, no ads, and no account requirement. Neither has a business model that depends on your data.

The bottom line

2FAS is the better default: cross-platform, automatic backups, and a browser extension that removes most of the friction. Aegis is the better vault: encrypted at rest, cloud-free, and unmatched at importing from everything else. Pick based on whether you value convenience or control — and set up the backup on the same day you install it, because that is the step that decides everything.

Need to check a token without installing anything? Our browser-based 2FA code generator runs locally, and we explain the trade-offs in is an online 2FA code generator safe?