Bitwarden
SecurityA password manager with web, desktop, browser, mobile and CLI clients, whose server can be hosted by Bitwarden or run on your own machines with Docker.
What the free edition leaves out
Scroll sideways to view all columns →The free edition is genuinely usable, but some team or enterprise features need a paid plan. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.
| Feature | Free edition | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSO / SAML | Paid | The pricing page lists SSO integration under the Enterprise plan. It is not listed for the Free, Premium or Families plans. | Source ↗ |
| Role-based access control | Not confirmed | The pricing page lists groups and centralized ownership under Teams and granular access control under Enterprise. It does not state what the Free plan has, and the self-host docs do not describe roles. | Source ↗ |
| Audit logs | Paid | The pricing page lists activity audit logs under Teams and Enterprise. They are not listed for the Free, Premium or Families plans. | Source ↗ |
| Multi-user / teams | Not confirmed | The pricing page says the Free plan can share with one other user and Families allows six members. The self-host docs say only Families and Enterprise organizations can be imported to self-hosted servers. | Source ↗ |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | Not mentioned on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| API access | Not confirmed | The pricing page does not state API access for any plan. | Source ↗ |
| Support SLA | Paid | The pricing page lists 24/7 email support for Free and priority support for Premium and Families. No SLA terms are stated. | Source ↗ |
Best for
Individuals, families and companies who want a password manager with published source code and the option to host the server themselves.
Why choose it over 1Password
The main server and the clients are published under GPL-family licenses, and the server can be run with Docker on your own hardware. The pricing page lists unlimited passwords on the Free plan and self-host options on Premium and Families.
Where it falls short
The server repository is not fully open source: the code in /bitwarden_license is under a source-available license that requires a paid subscription for production use, and the default build of the Api module includes it. Single sign-on, SCIM, directory sync and audit logs are listed only on Teams and Enterprise plans. Self-hosted organizations need a license file taken from the Bitwarden cloud, and the installer needs an installation id and key from Bitwarden. The default install runs an MSSQL Express database in Docker, with a 2GB RAM minimum. Running a password vault yourself means you own HTTPS, backups and updates.
Open-source alternative to
- 1Password — Bitwarden can be used in place of 1Password to store and share passwords, with the option of running the server yourself.
- LastPass — Bitwarden can be used in place of LastPass for password storage, with the option of running the server yourself.
Category
SecurityTopics
Tech stack
DockerLanguages as reported by GitHub for the repository.
