Bitwarden
Free planOpen-source password manager for individuals, families and businesses, with apps on every major device.
Best for anyone who wants a free password manager with no device limit, and teams that want open-source code they can audit or host
Facts checked November 4, 2026 · First written by Mutuo Mbilla
The short answer
Bitwarden suits people who want unlimited passwords synced across every phone, computer and browser without paying, and businesses that want low per-seat prices with SSO, SCIM and self-hosting on the Enterprise plan. Its code is open source on GitHub, it encrypts your vault on your device before anything reaches its servers, and Premium costs $19.80 a year. The trade-offs: Premium and Families bill yearly only, the free plan shares with just one other person, and Teams leaves out SSO, policies and self-hosting, so many companies end up on Enterprise at $6 per user.
Choose it if
- You want one free vault on your laptop, phone and every browser you use, with no cap on passwords or devices
- You want the app's source code published so you or your security team can read it
- You want to run the password server on your own hardware instead of Bitwarden's cloud
- Your company uses Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace or JumpCloud and wants users provisioned and signed in through it
- You need to send a file or note to someone who doesn't use Bitwarden, through a link that deletes itself
Skip it if
- You want to pay month to month for yourself or your family: Premium and Families bill yearly only
- You want to share passwords with several people for free: the free plan shares with one other user
- You want a VPN in the same subscription: none of Bitwarden's plans include one
- Your small business needs SSO, enforced policies or self-hosting: those start on Enterprise at $6 per user a month, and Teams at $4 doesn't include them
- You want phone support: Bitwarden lists 24/7 email support and a help center, with priority email on paid plans
Main features
Unlimited free vault
The free plan stores as many logins, secure notes, cards and identities as you like and syncs them to every device you sign in on. LastPass Free, by comparison, works on one device type.
Autofill in nine browsers
Extensions cover Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, DuckDuckGo and Tor, alongside desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux and mobile apps for iPhone and Android.
Passkey storage
You can save passkeys in your vault, autofill them on sites that support them, and use a passkey to log in to Bitwarden itself.
Bitwarden Send
Send a note of up to 1,000 characters, or on paid plans a file of up to 500 MB, through an encrypted link that anyone can open. Each Send deletes itself within 31 days, and you can add a password or an access limit.
Built-in authenticator
On paid plans, Bitwarden stores the six-digit two-step codes for your other accounts and fills them in after your password. A separate Bitwarden Authenticator app is free for anyone.
Vault health reports
Paid plans flag passwords that are weak, reused or exposed in known breaches, and now prompt you to change at-risk passwords as you use them.
Emergency access
Premium users can name trusted contacts who can request view-only or full takeover access to the vault. You approve the request, or it opens after a wait time you set.
Self-hosting
You can run the Bitwarden server with Docker on Linux or Windows and point every app at it. For businesses, self-hosting is part of Enterprise.
Business admin controls
Teams gets event logs covering more than 50 event types, user groups, an API and directory sync. Enterprise adds SSO with Okta, Entra ID, Google and others, enforced policies, custom roles and account recovery.
Secrets Manager
A paid add-on for developers that stores API keys and other secrets and feeds them to GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Ansible, Kubernetes, Terraform and Jenkins.
Pricing
US dollar prices from Bitwarden's pricing pages, checked November 4, 2026. Monthly figures assume yearly billing and exclude tax. Teams and Enterprise can also be billed monthly, but Bitwarden doesn't publish the monthly rate.
Free
$0
One user, unlimited items and devices, password generator, text-only Send, two-step login with a security key, authenticator app or email, and sharing with one other user in up to two collections
Premium
$1.65 / month, billed $19.80 a year
Everything in Free plus the built-in authenticator, 5 GB of encrypted file attachments, vault health reports, emergency access, file Sends, Duo and Yubico OTP two-step login, and priority support
Families
$3.99 / month, billed $47.88 a year
Six Premium accounts, unlimited sharing and collections, and 5 GB of shared family storage
Teams
$4 / user a month, billed yearly
Premium for every user, unlimited sharing, event logs, user groups, the public API, Directory Connector and SCIM provisioning
Enterprise
$6 / user a month, billed yearly
Everything in Teams plus login with SSO, enterprise policies, custom roles, account recovery, Access Intelligence, self-hosting and a free Families plan for each user
Secrets Manager add-on
$6 (Teams) or $12 (Enterprise) / user a month
Unlimited developer secrets and projects, with 20 machine accounts on Teams or 50 on Enterprise and $1 for each extra one
Reviews
Write a reviewNo reviews yet. If you use Bitwarden, yours would be the first.
Alternatives to Bitwarden
| Product | Choose it instead if | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| 1Password | You don't need a free plan and want a 14-day trial on the individual plan before you pay | $2.99 a month for your f... |
| LastPass | You want dark web monitoring on a free plan and only use passwords on desktop or on mobile, since LastPass Free covers one device type | Free (one device type) |
| Dashlane | You want a VPN and real-time phishing alerts included with your password manager |
Questions people ask
Is Bitwarden really free?
Yes. The free plan has no time limit and no cap on passwords or devices, and it includes the password generator, autofill and two-step login. You pay only for extras such as file attachments, the built-in authenticator, vault health reports and emergency access.
How much does Bitwarden Premium cost?
Premium is $19.80 a year, which Bitwarden shows as $1.65 a month, checked November 4, 2026. It bills yearly only, and tax is extra. Families costs $47.88 a year for six Premium accounts.
Does Bitwarden have a free trial?
New Families, Teams and Enterprise organizations get a 14-day free trial, and Bitwarden doesn't charge you until it ends. Premium for one person has no trial, but the free plan lets you try the core app first.
Is Bitwarden safe to use?
Bitwarden encrypts your vault on your device with AES-256 before it syncs, and it can't read your master password. It publishes its source code on GitHub, commissions third-party audits, and holds SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 and ISO 27001 certifications. Your own master password and two-step login still matter most.
What happens if I forget my Bitwarden master password?
Bitwarden can't reset or recover it, because it never has the key. Before that happens, you can set up emergency access for a trusted contact, or your company can enable account recovery on Enterprise.
Can I move my passwords from LastPass or 1Password to Bitwarden?
Yes. Bitwarden has import guides for LastPass, 1Password, Keeper, Dashlane, KeePass, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, among others. You can import from the web app, browser extension, desktop app or command line, and Bitwarden encrypts the data locally before it uploads.
Can I use Bitwarden's free plan for my business?
Bitwarden's billing help says free and paid accounts can be used for personal or business purposes as long as you follow its terms of service. For shared company vaults, event logs and user management, you need Teams or Enterprise.
Can I host Bitwarden on my own server?
Yes. Bitwarden publishes Docker-based install guides for Linux and Windows, and every Bitwarden app can connect to your server. Paid features on a self-hosted server follow your plan, and for businesses self-hosting comes with Enterprise.
Read the full Bitwarden review
Bitwarden is the password manager to start with if you don't want to pay: the free plan stores unlimited passwords and syncs them to every phone, computer and browser you use. If you do pay, Premium costs $19.80 a year a...
Read the full reviewSources we checked 21
- bitwarden.com/pricing for personal and business prices, plan contents, trials, support checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/pricing/business for Teams and Enterprise features, Secrets Manager pricing, event logs checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/password-manager-plans for free plan limits, free organizations, billing frequency, self-hosting by plan checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/about-organizations for 14-day trial on Families, Teams and Enterprise; monthly billing for Teams and Enterprise checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/about for founding year, headquarters, company name, user numbers checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/download for platforms and browser extensions checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/integrations for integrations count and named SSO, directory, SIEM and CI/CD integrations checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/compliance for SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR claims, audits checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/what-encryption-is-used for AES-256 encryption checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/about-send for Send limits checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/emergency-access for emergency access options checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/storing-passkeys for passkey storage and login checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/import-data for import sources checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/install-on-premise-linux for self-hosting with Docker checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/help/billing-faqs for business use of free accounts checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/products/personal for master password recovery answer checked November 4, 2026
- bitwarden.com/open-source for source code on GitHub checked November 4, 2026
- 1password.com/pricing/password-manager for 1Password trial and prices for the alternative checked November 4, 2026
- lastpass.com/pricing for LastPass free plan limits for the alternative checked November 4, 2026
- proton.me/pass/pricing for Proton Pass free plan aliases for the alternative checked November 4, 2026
- dashlane.com/pricing-personal for Dashlane VPN and phishing alerts for the alternative checked November 4, 2026