Bitwarden and 1Password are password managers that appeal to security-focused organizations of all types and sizes. Both tools deliver strong protection through the expected core features required to improve user protection. My analysis compares key features and incorporates the enterprise features and support needed by businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
- Bitwarden: Best priced open-source and locally hosted options ($4 per user per month for unlimited Teams licenses, $6 per user per month for Business license)
- 1Password: Best for a balance of security and user experience ($19.95 flat fee for up to 10 Teams users per month, $7.99 per user per month for Business license)
Table of Contents
Bitwarden vs 1Password at a Glance
Here are the main similarities and differences between the Bitwarden and 1Password Password Manager solutions:
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Price* | • Teams: $4/user/month unlimited users • Business: $6/user/month | • Teams: $19.95/month for 10 users • Business: $7.99/user/month |
| Endpoint Support | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, watchOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, watchOS, Android |
| Browser Plugins | Chrome, Firefox, Brave, etc. | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc. |
| Password Vault Options | Bitwarden Azure cloud (US, EU), Customer data center | 1Password cloud (US, Canada, Germany) |
| Secure Sharing | Single password, password groups, credit cards, files | Single password, password groups, credit cards, files |
| 3rd Party Website & App MFA Options | Bitwarden Authenticator | 1Password One-time Password, Duo |
| Free Family Accounts** | 5 family members | 5 family members |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
*Billed annually, monthly option available for an additional fee.
**Each paid Bitwarden Enterprise license and 1Password Business license provides users with five free personal Family accounts for the user and their family members to promote better password hygiene.
In my comparison, I find both Bitwarden and 1Password deliver strong and secure password management solutions for professionals. Bitwarden costs less and enables local password vault storage but doesn’t offer as polished a user experience. 1Password provides more options for customer support, multifactor authentication (MFA), secure-sign on (SSO), and nice-to-have security features. For more information, read my scoring methodology below.
Bitwarden Overview
Best for Price, Open-Source Availability & Locally Hosted Options
Overall Rating: 3.7/5
- Pricing: 4/5
- Core features: 4.8/5
- Customer support: 4/5
- Enterprise management: 3.5/5
- Security: 3.2/5
- Extras and perks: 1.8/5
Bitwarden provides a full-featured Teams version to unlimited users and enables direct control over password vaults with an option for local hosting. The highly secure password management solution supports a full range of operating systems, browsers, and devices and even offers an option for developer secret management.
Published to GitHub publicly in 2016, Bitwarden maintains a commitment to open source and rigorous testing of their products. They continuously add new features and capabilities, such as the addition of passkey support for the Bitwarden-hosted solution in May of 2023 and full support for self-hosted passkeys by January 2024.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Open-source and heavily tested code | Limited website and app MFA options |
| Option for local data vault hosting | Doesn’t track app or website SSO logins |
| Supports passkeys and secure passwords | Clunky user and admin experience |
Key Features
- Vault health reports: Supplies on-demand reports that identify weak, reused, and exposed passwords as well as inactive 2FA logins and unsecure websites visited.
- Event and audit logs: Details 50+ events, stores records indefinitely, and enables exports to security tools, even for the inexpensive Teams license.
- Priority customer support: Offers 24/7 priority email support for both the low-priced Teams license and Enterprise licenses.
- Identity and access management integration: Connects with IAM solutions to automatically invite or disable Bitwarden account access with on- or off-boarding.
- Bitwarden public APIs: Provides APIs to connect, sync, and manage encrypted locally hosted vault information to users and integrate with security tools.
1Password Overview
Best for Security, Enterprise & Business Management Features, Customer Support & Extra Offerings
Overall Rating: 4.3/5
- Pricing: 2/5
- Core features: 4.8/5
- Customer support: 4.6/5
- Enterprise management: 3.7/5
- Security: 4.8/5
- Extras and perks: 4.3/5
The 1Password password management solution earns its market prominence through its capable and user-friendly approach balanced with strong security features. The solution anticipates user needs and adds features to manage SSO logins (such as Google or Facebook site login), generate single-use credit card numbers, or even hide certain vaults during travel.
1Password 8, the latest version released, fully embraces a single code base to support a range of operating systems and browsers. While this adoption also marks the discontinuation of local vault support, 1Password continues to develop integration options (for MFA, SSO, and security information and event management (SEIM) tools) and introduce new features such as passkey support (currently in beta).
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Adds 128 bit secret key to master password | No onsite vault storage options |
| More MFA and SSO options for site access | No code review option for security pros |
| More user-friendly experience | Costs more for each licensing option |
Key Features
- Customer support options: Offers 24/7 email, Twitter, website ticket, and community forum support as well as dedicated support for 75+ Enterprise licenses.
- Guest accounts: Provides five (Teams license) to twenty (Business license) guest licenses to consultant, customer, or vendor vault access without license fees.
- Guided SIEM integration: Menu and token-driven integration with a number of popular SIEM tools such as Datadog, Elastic, Splunk, and Sumo Logic.
- Intuitive dashboard reporting: Proactively tests passwords and provides admins with an easy-to-read summary of status and issues (weak, multiple-use, breached).
- Robust login MFA options: Supports biometrics, SSO (Okta, Auth0, etc.), tokens (YubiKey, etc.), and authenticators (Google, Microsoft, etc.).
Best for Pricing: Bitwarden
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Teams Monthly Pricing | • Unlimited: $4/user • Teams Starter pack: $20/month for up to 10 users | $19.95 flat fee for 10 users |
| Business Monthly Pricing | $6/user (called Enterprise) | $7.99/user |
| Enterprise Pricing | Custom quotes available for larger organizations | Available, not disclosed |
| Free Trial | 7 days | 14 days |
| Billing Flexibility | Annual billing; monthly billing available with extra fee | Annual billing; monthly billing available with extra fee |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: Bitwarden’s robust Teams license supports most enterprise needs and the inexpensive Enterprise license adds extensive options for integration and self-hosting.
Many organizations will stick with the economical Teams license for Bitwarden that supports user groups and Duo 2FA and connects with Active Directory. Upgrade to the still-inexpensive Enterprise license to gain custom roles, organization-wide policies, free family plans, and self-hosted vaults and integrate with identity providers.
1Password only offers a limited Teams license for up to 10 users and requires the $7.99 per month per user Business licenses for SSO and MFA integration. However, the Business license provides value through additional features such as guest accounts, custom reports, account dashboards, and 5 GB of document storage space.
Best for Core Features: Tie
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Device Support | Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, watchOS, Android | Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, watchOS, Android |
| Browser Support | Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Tor, and more | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and more |
| Device Synch | Automated on launch, can be manually triggered | Automated, instantaneous, and continuous |
| Developer Secret Management | • Pay by the user • Free tier, 2 users, 3 service accounts • $6/month/user, 50 service accounts • $12/user/month, 200 service accounts | • Pay by vault access • Free tier, up to 3 access tokens • $29/month, up to 25 access credits • $99/month, up to 100 access credits • $299/month, up to 500 access credits |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: Both Bitwarden and 1Password offer secure and competitive password managers with an array of core features suitable for professional users.
Bitwarden offers all of the expected support for devices and browsers plus a few additional browser plugins, such as official support for Tor. The solution provides the expected secure sharing, clipboard erase, and digital wallet features common in many solutions. Vault synchronization (aka: sync) occurs on login or can be triggered on-demand. For the developer secret management option, Bitwarden offers more intuitive pricing based on users.
1Password also offers support for a wide range of devices, operating systems, and browsers and features such as customizable security policies for Business users, vault access using passwordless or MFA, and password autosave for new logins. The solution edges Bitwarden with continuous vault sync and doesn’t require manual sync. Users also report better password autofill performance and a more user-friendly experience in general.
Best for Enterprise Management Features: 1Password
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Supports Group Sharing | Easy to setup and manage | Easy to setup and manage |
| Integration for Identity & SIEM Solutions | SIEM exports supported, Identity requires Enterprise license | Included with business licenses only, supports both |
| Bulk Account Upload / Approvals | Bulk upload and bulk invitations provided | Bulk upload and approvals supported |
| Monitoring & Reporting | On-demand reports provided for all licenses | Business licenses provide automated dashboard and detailed reports |
| Migration Support | Available via email | Included with business licenses of 75 users or more |
| Local Vault Option | Self-hosted vault available with Enterprise licenses | No local vault option (cloud-based SaaS only) |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: 1Password wins this category with better reporting and a more admin-friendly onboarding process.
Bitwarden provides strong group sharing, integration, migration, and other features preferred by sophisticated customers with large numbers of users. Password reports generate on-demand and provide valuable information for password management. It also offers a self-hosting option for customers to install Bitwarden software in local, data center, or cloud-hosted servers for fully controlling password and developer secret management.
1Password delivers similarly useful group sharing, integration, and reporting features. It further empowers administrators with graphical dashboards to provide information at a glance to efficiently manage large numbers of users. For Business license customers with more than 75 users, 1Password also includes guided migration support. 1Password doesn’t support self-hosted vaults, but this permits faster set-up and deployment.
Best for Customer Support: 1Password
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-Time Rapid Support Options (Phone, Slack, etc.) | No rapid support options disclosed | Phone support cited |
| Asynchronous Support Options (Web Tickets, Social Media, etc.) | 24/7 email and customer forum support | 24/7 support via web ticket, social media, community forum, and email |
| Website Resources | Self-help website resources, community forum, cloud-hosted status | Self-help website resources, community forum, cloud-hosted status |
| Dedicated Enterprise Customer Service Support | No dedicated support options disclosed | Available for customers with 75+ Business licenses |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: 1Password takes the customer service category with more customer support options and the availability of dedicated support for larger customers.
Bitwarden customers praise the quick response times and helpfulness of their 24/7 email support that can also be accessed via a form in the customer support section of the Bitwarden website. Additionally, customers can bypass formal support and obtain process and procedure information from a robust website that hosts the community forum, self-help resources, and the status of the Bitwarden software-as-a-service (SaaS) cloud-hosted service.
1Password also provides email support and adds 24/7 social media, formal community forum support options, and a web ticketing system. Combined with the self-help resource library, 1Password simply provides more options for a customer to obtain assistance. A customer with more than 75 business licenses also becomes eligible for dedicated customer service support, which accelerates issue resolution over the long term.
Best for Security: 1Password
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Password Checker | Password strength report, on-demand breach analysis | Security Dashboard, automated password breach notification |
| MFA Support | Included; supports authenticator app, email, SMS, Duo, or security key | Included; requires free authenticator app (Authy, Okta, etc.) or security key |
| SSO Support | Supports SSO (Okta, auth0, etc.) for vault access but doesn’t natively track SSO access for websites or applications | Requires business account, to use Okta, Duo, and others for vault access; website or app SSO storage included |
| Biometric Support | Supports device biometrics | Supports device biometrics |
| Master Password Protection | PBKDF2-SHA-256, multiple rounds + salting; no master password storage | PBKDF2-SHA-256, multiple rounds + salting + 128-bit secret key; no master password storage |
| Breach History | No known breaches | No known breaches |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: 1Password includes more support for MFA and SSO options to access websites and apps as well as adds extra protection to the master password.
The Bitwarden Enterprise license includes password checker, MFA and SSO vault access, biometric support, and master password protection that satisfy the security needs of many customers. However, Bitwarden only offers the Bitwarden Authenticator as an option for MFA for website and phone app access. The solution lacks SSO website login tracking so users must use multi-step manual workarounds to track those sites within Bitwarden.
The 1Password password checker similarly checks for strength and reuse but also provides automated detection and reporting of password breaches. It also provides more MFA options for website access and tracks SSO logins for Business license subscribers. For master passwords, 1Password extends the master password with a 128-bit secret key before performing the SHA-256 hashing algorithm for stronger master password security protection.
Best for Extras & Perks: 1Password
| | |
|---|---|---|
| Free Family Accounts | 5 per Enterprise license | 5 per Business license |
| Travel Mode | Not available | Yes |
| Virtual Payment Cards | Not available | Yes |
| Guest Accounts | None noted | 5 per teams license, 20 per business license |
| Passkey Support | Available in beta for both cloud-hosted and self-hosted password vaults | In beta, not widely available |
| Visit Bitwarden | Visit 1Password |
Winner: 1Password generally offers more nice-to-have features that improve user security and customer experience.
Bitwarden offers Enterprise license customers five free family accounts so that each user can spread the use of good password management habits to four other users. The solution also provides support for passkey access, currently in beta mode, for the cloud-hosted SaaS application and, as of January 2024, for self-hosted vaults. Passkeys store within vaults similarly to passwords and provide one-tap, passwordless access.
1Password also offers free family accounts for each Business license. Additionally, the solution provides numerous additional perks to improve security for the user directly through conditionally hidden vaults in travel mode and privacy cards for secure payments. The five guest accounts per Team license and 20 guest accounts per Business license further enable sharing access with non-employee associates such as contractors, vendors, and customers.
Who Shouldn’t Use Bitwarden or 1Password?
Deploy password managers to improve management and security for shared secrets or website and application logins. While either Bitwarden or 1Password can improve security for an organization, other solutions might provide a better fit for specific needs.
Who Shouldn’t Use Bitwarden
Bitwarden might not provide the best fit for:
- Companies with basic needs: When you don’t need all of Bitwarden’s features, a lower-cost, or even a free, basic password manager might fit your needs.
- Users with heavy SSO use: Use of SSO solutions such as Google or LinkedIn sign on to third-party sites isn’t supported natively by Bitwarden.
- Users who favor ease of use: Some users find Bitwarden’s autofill, autosave, and some other functions clunky and challenging to execute.
Who Shouldn’t Use 1Password
Some instances where 1Password may not be the best fit include:
- Companies seeking full control: Use a self-host option to store password manager vaults in fully controlled data centers or other corporate resources.
- Government buyers requiring certification: Some agencies require formal ISO 27001 certification, FedRAMP, or StateRAMP authorization to even consider a product.
- Security teams that demand code review: 1Password’s proprietary code can’t be reviewed, so some will prefer open-source solutions that permit independent review.
3 Best Alternatives to Bitwarden & 1Password
A security-focused enterprise often needs at least three vendors to consider prior to a purchase and may find the alternatives to be an even better fit. Each of these three alternatives, Enpass, Keeper, and RoboForm, offers unique differences to consider.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | • Starter Plan: $9.99/month up to 10 users • Standard Plan: $2.99/user/month • Enterprise Plan: $3.99/user/month | • Business Starter: $2/user/ up to 10 users • Business: $5/user/month | Starts at $39.95/user/year ($3.32/user/month equivalent) with volume and multi-year discounts |
| Self-Hosting Option | Available | Available | Available |
| Key Differentiator | Local network and shared drive secrets sharing | ISO 27001 certified and FedRAMP and StateRAMP Authorized | Superior user experience with autofill for passwords and web forms |
| Visit Enpass | Visit Keeper | Visit Roboform |
Enpass
The Enpass password manager stores vault data locally to provide offline access. Instead of using a proprietary cloud for synchronization, Enpass enables storage and sync through corporate resources (networks, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.). All encryption occurs on the local device so all sharing is encrypted end-to-end without Enpass in possession of any data. The Enpass Standard plan starts at $2.99/user/month and the Enterprise Plan is $3.99/user/month.
Keeper
Keeper allows customers to use local self-hosted vaults or to sync through Keeper’s AWS cloud instances in Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, the USA, and even GovCloud. Government agencies and contractors will find strong value in Keeper’s SOC 2 attestation, ISO 27001 certification, and both FedRAMP and StateRAMP authorization. Keeper publishes prices for a Business Starter plan of $2/user/month (<10 users) and a Business plan at $5/user/month.
RoboForm
RoboForm also allows self-hosted vault storage, but the password manager tends to win the most praise for its user experience. Users regularly cite the outstanding autofill capabilities for passwords and web forms as one of Roboform’s primary benefits, but in addition to website logins, the tool even allows users to save Windows application passwords. Roboform prices start at $39.95 per user per year and will be decreased with volume and multi-year discounts.
How We Evaluated Bitwarden vs 1Password
A buyer choosing between Bitwarden and 1Password prioritizes security concerns yet still needs a viable password manager with a good user experience. Using this lens, I compared and weighted the subcriteria to produce a five point scale for both the overall rating and the categories of core password management features, security capabilities, customer support, enterprise business management features, business pricing, and extras and perks.
Core Password Management Features – 25%
Any password manager has to meet the basic requirements to store login information and protect the credentials to access websites and apps. Therefore, this fundamental evaluation criteria earns a quarter of the evaluation weighting. The criteria sub-components include support for OS, browsers, and devices, autofill and autosave options, device sync, recovery options, clipboard erase, and developer secret management support.
Security – 25%
An enterprise considering Bitwarden and 1Password prioritizes security, so the security criteria carried an equal weight to core features in the evaluation. Security encompasses security features built into the tool, such as password checkers, master password protection, and support for biometrics, MFA, and SSO. Breach history is also considered but isn’t a factor for either of these solutions.
Customer Support – 15%
Large organizations require responsive professional support to install, migrate, and maintain the password management solution, so customer support receives a significant weight. I considered real-time support options (phone, chat, etc.), time-delayed support options (web tickets, email, etc.), self-help support, information available for SaaS status, customer support hours of operation, and the availability of dedicated enterprise customer support in the scoring.
Enterprise Business Management Features – 15%
Enterprise features earn significant weight because they enable efficient management of large user bases. The subcriterion includes setup and sharing by groups, integration with identity managers, bulk upload and approval for users, monitoring and reporting, migration support, and support for self-hosted instances.
Business Pricing – 10%
Pricing always matters, but the larger organizations choosing between Bitwarden and 1Password focus more on delivered value. This leads to a smaller weighting overall on subcriteria that includes the teams pricing, business pricing, the number of users supported in the teams tier, free trial availability and duration, and options for monthly billing.
Extras & Perks – 10%
The other categories cover must-have requirements thus the nice-to-have features receive less weighting. Features such as added family accounts, travel mode, virtual payment cards, guest accounts, passkey support, and flat fee site licenses comprise the subcategories used in the scoring of this category.
Bottom Line: Bitwarden vs 1Password
Choosing between Bitwarden and 1Password will likely boil down to preferences and fit with specific needs. Pick Bitwarden for self-hosting or open source preferences and pick 1Password for the additional security features or for additional support options. Either solution greatly improves security over no password management solution at all, so use the free trial periods offered to test the solution and discover which one suits your practices and needs.
Need even more perspective? Consider reading how Bitwarden compares against LastPass, LastPass alternatives, or how 1Password compares against Dashlane, Keeper, or LastPass.
Jenn Fulmer contributed to this article.
