Bitwarden at a Glance
Bitwarden’s free plan offers more features than competing password management providers offer. Low prices for paid individual, family and business plans help you stretch your budget to the max.
Plans and Pricing
Bitwarden is quite impressive in terms of the number of features it offers on all its plans. All free and paid plan users benefit from:
- A secure password generator (that creates exceptionally strong passwords)
- Unlimited vault items
- Unlimited number and types of devices
- Unlimited syncing
- Free cloud hosting
- Bitwarden Send (a tool that lets you securely transmit data to anyone)
- Encrypted data export
Featured Partner
1
NordPass
Free plan available; Paid plans start at $2.79
Yes
Multifactor authentication (MFA) availability
2
1Password
Begins at $7.99 per month, per user (billed annually)
No
Two secret key derivation (Account Password = Security)
Bitwarden has two types of personal plans: Individual and Sharing. The chart below breaks down the key differences among these personal-use plans.
| Free | Premium | Families | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost
|
$0
|
$10 per year
|
$3.33 a month
|
|
Max Users
|
1 | 1 | 6 |
|
Encrypted Sharing With Bitwarden Send
|
Text only
|
Text and files
|
Text and files
|
|
Enhanced Two-Step Login
|
–
|
YubiKey, U2F and Duo
|
YubiKey, U2F and Duo
|
|
Encrypted File Attachments
|
–
|
1 GB personal
|
1 GB personal + 1 GB for organizational items
|
|
Bitwarden Authenticator
|
–
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Emergency Access
|
–
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Self-Host Options
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
Bitwarden offers two types of business plans: Teams Organization and Enterprise Organization. The Team plan costs $3 per month per user, while the Enterprise plan costs $5 per month per user. Both business plans include the same core benefits provided in the individual plans, plus business-specific features such as:
- Directory sync
- API access
- Bitwarden Authenticator
- Vault health reports
- Event and audit logs
When you upgrade to the Bitwarden Enterprise plan, you also receive the following benefits:
- Enterprise policies
- Single sign-on (SSO) authentication
- Admin password reset
- Custom management role
- Self-host option
Platforms Supported
Bitwarden works with top operating systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux. Browser extensions are available for Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Edge. Mobile apps are available for Android and iOS.
Security
Bitwarden adopts a zero-knowledge encryption approach to protecting your data, which means not even Bitwarden staff can access the information you store. AES 256-bit encryption—considered a virtually unbreachable way to encrypt data—keeps every item in your password vault secure. In addition to keeping passwords and login information in your Bitwarden vault, you can also securely store notes, credit card numbers and personal or business information such as addresses.
Two-step authentication for account access is accomplished in a variety of ways. Creating a strong Master Password is the first way to protect your Bitwarden account. You can then use a second method to verify your identity, such as using an authenticator app like Authy or Google Authenticator, a YubiKey, TOP Security Key or Duo Push. You can also request a verification code be sent to you via SMS or email.
Bitwarden is compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and SOC 2 security standards.
While there is no way to recover your Master Password should you lose it, you can set up a master password hint link when you create your account that can help jog your memory. We recommend you also establish a trusted Emergency Access contact who could also help you access your account.
Customer Support
Bitwarden community forums contain discussion threads on user-to-user support, feature requests and GitHub contributions. You can also receive support via Reddit and Twitter threads.
The Bitwarden online Help Center includes a comprehensive directory of the software’s most discussed issues and questions. Ticket-based support is offered 24/7 for all plans; Premium, Family Organization, Teams and Enterprise plans receive priority ticket queuing. Online chat and phone support are not available.
Fine Print
Bitwarden’s nonintuitive interface lacks the user-friendliness that’s common with alternatives such as Dashlane. Also, since Bitwarden is open-source software, it’s highly customizable, but you may need some serious tech skills to access Bitwarden’s full power.
How Bitwarden Stacks Up
| Bitwarden | Dashlane | Norton Password Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost
|
$0 to $5 per month, per user
|
$0 to $8 per month, per user
|
$0
|
|
Free Trial
|
7 days
|
14 to 30 days
|
n/a
|
|
User-Friendliness
|
Good
|
Fair
|
Good
|
|
Open Source
|
✔
|
–
|
–
|
|
Two-Factor Authentication
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Import Data From Browsers
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Autofill Web Forms
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Biometric Functionality
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Learn More
|
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Read Reviews
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Low pricing and open-source software are two of the main differences between Bitwarden and its top alternatives. Bitwarden also has a shorter free trial—seven days compared to 14 and 30 days—but since you can check out many of Bitwarden’s key features on its free version, a shorter trial period isn’t necessarily a significant disadvantage.
Featured Partner
1
NordPass
Free plan available; Paid plans start at $2.79
Yes
Multifactor authentication (MFA) availability
2
1Password
Begins at $7.99 per month, per user (billed annually)
No
Two secret key derivation (Account Password = Security)
Is Bitwarden Right for You or Your Business?
Bitwarden is an excellent password manager for budget-conscious buyers. If you plan to use Bitwarden in a business environment, it’s helpful to assign a tech-savvy administrator to your account to customize Bitwarden for your exact business requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why do I need a password manager?
A password manager is a helpful tool for keeping your account passwords together, all accessed using a single master password. If you are prone to forgetting your passwords or use the same login details across multiple accounts, you should get password management software.
Is it safe to store passwords in Bitwarden?
Bitwarden’s open-source software is regularly audited by top third-party security firms and consistently scores high marks for keeping your passwords safe. End-to-end 256-bit encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA) plus a master password that not even Bitwarden can access provides stellar security for your passwords.
What is the most secure password manager?
Bitwarden is one of the most secure password managers around. Other highly secure password managers include Dashlane and NordPass. Read our guide to learn more about the best password managers.
Is Bitwarden free?
Bitwarden’s free plans allow you to manage unlimited passwords. Bitwarden is one of the few password managers that lets you sync multiple devices to your free account. Low-cost individual, family and business Bitwarden plans are also available and come with advanced features, including priority support.
Are there advantages to paid password managers compared to free password managers?
Free password managers offer basic features but may not offer all of the features you are seeking. If so, you should upgrade to a paid version. Most of the password managers on our list offer free trials, so you can try out the one that has the features you want or need before committing to a subscription plan.
