Authy makes exporting your 2FA secrets deliberately impossible, and 1Password wants $2.99+ a month, about $36 a year, just to hold the same codes in someone else's cloud. Keyloop is a desktop authenticator where you hold the vault: AES-256 encrypted on your own disk, exportable to an encrypted file, a printable QR paper backup, or a standard otpauth:// list. Pay $19 once, and you are never locked out or locked in.
If you've searched for a 1Password alternative, Keyloop is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Keyloop is $19, one time, and covers the same core job 1Password charges $2.99+/mo for.
What makes Keyloop the pick for 2026
- Live 6-digit codes — Per-account countdown rings and click-to-copy with a clipboard that auto-clears.
- Add accounts three ways — Scan a QR screenshot, paste an otpauth:// URI, or type the secret manually, with SHA1/256/512, 6-8 digits and custom periods.
- Encrypted local vault — scrypt key derivation into AES-256-GCM using Node built-in crypto; the master password is never stored and it auto-locks after five minutes idle.
- Encrypted .keyloop backups — One file, one password, restore anywhere.
- Printable QR paper backup — Every account as a QR code on one sheet for your safe or deposit box, the escape hatch Authy refuses to give you.
Keyloop vs 1Password, at a glance
| Keyloop | 1Password | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19 once | $2.99+/mo |
| 3 years | $19 | ~$108 |
| Export your secrets | Yes — encrypted file + QR sheet + URIs | Partial |
| Works fully offline | Yes | No |
| Encrypted local vault | Yes, AES-256-GCM | Yes |
| Your data leaves the machine | Never | Always |
| Desktop-first | Yes | Yes |
Seven months of 1Password 2FA costs more than Keyloop, which then never bills you again and, unlike Authy, always lets you walk away with your secrets.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes. Keyloop is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/2fa-authenticator-backup-mvp and always will be. The $19 buys the packaged Windows installer; building from source is free.
Does anything leave my computer?
No. Keyloop makes no network calls at all, has no accounts and no telemetry; the encrypted vault lives only on your disk.
What if I forget my master password?
With no backup you are locked out, because there are no custom primitives and no reset. Keyloop gives you three backup formats (encrypted file, QR paper sheet, URI list); use one. A paper QR backup holds your raw secrets, so store it like cash.
The bottom line
Keyloop won't out-feature 1Password on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $19 once against $2.99+/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Keyloop is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Keyloop — $19, once
A desktop TOTP authenticator with an encrypted local vault and encrypted, QR and URI exports.