Bitwarden vs 1Password 2023: which is better?

Bitwarden and 1Password are among the most popular password managers in today’s market. They’re also included in our list of the best password managers because of their excellent overall quality. But which one is better?

To give you a glimpse, Bitwarden is an open-source tool that excels in its security by being transparent with its source of code. 1Password, though, is a proprietary product that implements a zero-knowledge policy, provides uncrackable security standards, and is superior in features and usability. Apart from this, the two competitors share more similarities than differences.

We compared Bitwarden vs 1Password in numerous categories: security, features, pricing, ease of use, customer support, and more. With this information, you can choose the password manager that best caters to your needs.

Bitwarden vs 1Password – an overview

Wrapping up

Overall, 1Password is the superior choice if you prioritize security and the number of features without regard for the subscription price. Meanwhile, Bitwarden should appeal to frugal customers needing a cheap or zero-cost password management solution.

Winner

Get 1Password, now 50% OFF!

Bitwarden vs 1Password: which one is more secure?

1Password wins the Bitwarden vs 1Password security matchup. Both password managers implement virtually unbreakable 256-bit AES encryption derived from the PBKDF2 function. Naturally, the two employ multi-factor authentication for added security. They were also rigorously assessed and audited by various independent third parties, a common practice among the best password managers.

However, 1Password got the better of Bitwarden with its more flexible data storage that leaves important decisions in your hands. Moreover, 1Password uses a Secret Key that cannot be cracked. Its privacy policy is also considerably more favorable to users since it collects minimal information.

Wrapping up

1Password wins in the security category because of its Secret Key technology and more confidential privacy policy. However, Bitwarden is also a solid choice regarding overall cybersecurity.

Winner

Get 1Password, now 50% OFF!

Encryption

Both 1Password and Bitwarden offer the market standard in terms of data security: 256-bit AES encryption. This is a powerful military-grade cipher that uses a key length of 256 bits for encryption. However, there’s more to it.

In 1Password’s case, it employs 256-bit AES encryption alongside PBKDF2 password hashing to protect your master password. Additionally, 1Password also kicks security up another notch with a 128-bit Secret Key, which is used in combination with your account password to encrypt your data.

The Secret Key is what makes 1Password so powerful. Even though the Secret Key might decrease the quality in usability, as it needs to be moved to each new device used with the service, it cannot be cracked. This applies even to weak master passwords.

Similarly, Bitwarden utilizes 256-bit AES encryption as well as PBKDF-SHA256 to protect your data. The latter is used to derive the encryption key from your master password. Also, the service increased the number of server-side iterations in February 2023 from 350,000 to 600,001 to comply with OWASP recommendations. This makes the password manager less vulnerable to breaches that LastPass experienced in the past.

Both password managers’ zero-knowledge architecture also means that their servers only receive already-hashed versions of your data and not plain text. This end-to-end encryption ensures that the content of your vault master password remains confidential – even to the companies and their employees.

Multifactor security

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an additional layer of security that makes it much more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your account. To put it simply, it requires further identity verification beyond just username and password during logins.

With 1Password, you get to choose from several two-factor authentication (2FA) options. For starters, you can set up 2FA with authenticator apps like Authy, Google Authenticator, Okta Verify, and Microsoft Authenticator. Another worthwhile alternative is physical security keys like YubiKey or Titan. Otherwise, you can also send push notifications to your mobile device to confirm login requests using Duo Security.

Bitwarden offers a similar number of choices. Free users can set two-step login with email and authentication apps. Meanwhile, Bitwarden’s Premium users get even more options. In addition to email and authentication apps, they can enable 2FA with Duo Security, YubiKey, and FIDO U2F security keys.

In short, both password managers let you fortify your account with multi-factor security and offer a good number of options to fit your needs.

Data storage

Most password managers also double as a secure vault for your sensitive files and documents. In 1Password’s case, its Personal and Families plans come with 1 GB of storage. Not a whole lot for resource-hogging items like videos and photos but enough for passwords and documents.

1Password Business users, on the other hand, get 5 GB of storage. But each file must be under 2 GB in size.

As for Bitwarden, paid users get 1 GB of storage, and you can also purchase additional storage in 1 GB increments. However, each file must be under 500 MB in size, or 100 MB if you upload from a mobile device.

Another comparison point to note is that 1Password allows you to choose your data storage region among the United States, Canada, and European Union. In contrast, Bitwarden stores data in the US, which is one of the Five-Eyes nations. That said, while Five-Eyes countries are far from privacy-friendly, Bitwarden does use end-to-end encryption.

Privacy policy

Both password managers’ zero-knowledge architecture means that your vault is out of bounds to the companies. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t collect certain user data.

1Password collects such data as:

• Type of account
• Payment method
• Log-in
• IP address
• Name
• Email address

In comparison, Bitwarden is laxer with privacy. Among other things, it collects:

• Personal identifiers including name, address, IP address, and email address
• Financial information like billing data
• Employment information such as the name of employer

It’s worth noting that both services may share data with government authorities and law enforcement agencies if they have valid reasons to demand it. This typically boils down to various criminal investigations.

Plus, information could also be shared with other third parties, like its subsidiaries, affiliates, and partners. But since Bitwarden complies with regulations like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), these privacy laws will dictate how your information is handled.

Overall, I’d say that 1Password’s privacy policy is more favorably disposed to users. Unlike Bitwarden, it collects marginal personal information and doesn’t easily share it with third parties.

Third-party security audits

As a testament to their commitment to security, both 1Password and Bitwarden have been audited by multiple independent firms. Here are the official summaries of the security audits of 1Password and the security audits of Bitwarden.

In 1Password’s case, it’s SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Beyond that, it also regularly engages auditors Recurity Labs, Cure53, and Secfault Security to perform penetration tests on its products and services.

Plus, agencies like ISE, Onica, AppSec, nVisium, and CloudNative frequently audit things like security architecture, infrastructure configurations, and code review. Additionally, 1Password also engages Bugcrowd to perform a public, ongoing bug bounty program.

Bitwarden, too, has gone through rounds of audits. To start, it’s SOC Type 2 and SOC 3 compliant. Besides that, it has also gone through security assessments and penetration tests by auditing firms Insight Risk Consulting and Cure53, with no major security flaws found. The service is also HIPAA compliant and undergoes an annual third-party audit to retain this perk.

Also worth noting, Bitwarden is an open-source password manager, and its source code is available online for everyone to review, scrutinize, and audit. Plus, it has a public bug bounty program on HackerOne.

Bitwarden vs 1Password: features overview

There’s stiff competition in the Bitwarden vs 1Password feature comparison, but 1Password proves superior. Both password managers jazz up their secure password storage services with additional complementary features like password importing, recovering, generating, and sharing as well as autofill.

However, 1Password’s features are slightly more fleshed-out, smooth, and flexible compared to what you get from Bitwarden.

Wrapping up

1Password inches slightly ahead thanks to simpler password importing, exporting, stronger password generating options, and more accessible data sharing with others. Bitwarden isn’t far behind, although both need to improve their autofill features.

Winner

Get 1Password, now 50% OFF!

Password importing

1Password and Bitwarden offer easy bulk imports for your passwords. However, the trade-off is that 1Password’s process is more seamless and user-friendly, while Bitwarden provides more import options.

1Password offers easy data and password importing for a number of applications. This includes browsers Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and Safari. Password managers like Dashlane, KeePass, KeePassX, Delinea Secret Server, LastPass, and RoboForm are also included.

Alternatively, you can also import passwords and other data using CSV, 1pux, or 1pif files.

Bitwarden, too, supports password importing from browsers, other password managers, and CSV as well as JSON files. While its migration process is less smooth compared to 1Password’s version, its step-by-step guides should help clear things up.

However, it’s worth noting that file attachments aren’t allowed in Bitwarden’s bulk import operations. Instead, they must be manually migrated to your Bitwarden vault.

Overall, it’d be fair to call a draw here. For easy and quick imports, 1Password is your answer. On the other hand, Bitwarden is ideal if you’d like plenty of importing methods.

Account and password recovery

For the days when your brain is playing a trick or in case of emergencies, it’s fortunate that both 1Password and Bitwarden offer some sort of account and password recovery avenues.

With 1Password, the Emergency Kit is your life jacket if you’ve forgotten or lost your password. This is a PDF document that includes your account details and password. You should have both digital and printed copies of the Emergency Kit stored safely.

Otherwise, if you’re on 1Password’s Family, Teams, Business, or Enterprise plans, you can request the family organizer or team administrator to restore your access.

As for Bitwarden, you get a recovery code when you set up 2FA. You’ll need it to recover your account if you forget your master password.

Alternatively, you can get a master password hint emailed to your inbox – but that’s only if you have a hint setup. Plus, you can also enable emergency access which lets your designated contact gain Read or Takeover access to your vault.

Password generator

A password generator is all you need to create unique and highly secure passwords that are difficult to crack. And both 1Password and Bitwarden don’t disappoint in this regard.

You get a very easy-to-use yet effective password generator with 1Password. Called the 1Password Strong Password Generator, the flexible tool allows plenty of customizations. With it, you can choose to generate random passwords, pass-phrase passwords, or pin numbers. Additionally, you can tweak password lengths, capitalization, and types of characters.

Bitwarden’s password generator gets a nod of approval, too. It generates both passwords and pass-phrases. The default password length is 14 characters, but you can easily push it up to 128 characters. Also, you can alter capitalization as well as the types of characters to include.

All in all, I’m very happy with both providers. However, 1Password is better than Bitwarden when it comes to password generators as it also generates pin numbers.

Password sharing

Secure sharing is one of the perks that often come with your password manager. But the actual quality of the feature depends on your password manager. In this regard, 1Password runs circles around Bitwarden.

With 1Password, you can share passwords as well as saved items with others using just a single link. You can specify who to share the link with and when it expires.

Those on its Families or Team & Business plans can even share a vault, too. Here, the family organizer or team administrator can manage each user's permission and access level.

In contrast, Bitwarden’s password-sharing feature comes with plenty of conditions. To start, it’s off-limits to those on its Free plan. Meanwhile, even Premium accounts can only share passwords with one other user. You’ll need to upgrade to Families to share passwords with up to 6 users.

However, Bitwarden Send is a strong and customizable tool for secure information sharing with others. For starters, it’s end-to-end encrypted for top-notch confidentiality. You can also add other security parameters, such as deletion data, expiration date, maximum access count, and password protection.

In brief, 1Password’s password-sharing process is significantly more convenient and flexible.

Autofill

Both 1Password and Bitwarden come equipped with the autofill feature to simplify and speed up login as well as payment processes. However, both password managers’ autofill features are clunkier than their top competitors’ versions.

1Password’s autofill feature requires you to first click on the 1Password icon and then the login item before you can sign in. If it suggests more than one item, you’ll also need to scroll down and search through the saved credentials.

Similarly, Bitwarden’s autofill feature is equally tiresome, if not worse. To autofill your credentials, you’ll need to right-click the box, click on Bitwarden’s icon, search for the right login entries, and then click autofill.

Overall, both Bitwarden and 1Password’s autofill features could be significantly less cumbersome and more effective. Minimize the number of clicks to fill the credentials, and we’d be golden.

Plans and pricing

Both password managers offer 4 different pricing plans – two for individuals or families, and the remaining two for large businesses. You can also consider Bitwarden’s free plan as the fifth option.

It’s clear that Bitwarden is the cheaper password manager of the two. Premium plans start at a measly $0.83/month and go up to $3.33/month for the family plan. Buyers can utilize the 30-day money-back guarantee if they’re unsatisfied with the product.

On the other hand, 1Password starts at $2.99/month for individual plans and goes up to $4.99/month for family packages. Another downside is the absence of a free plan, which is substituted with a 14-day free trial.

Unsurprisingly, business prices will vary based on your needs and organization’s size. For reference, the Bitwarden Enterprise plan starts at $5/month per user, while 1Password asks for $7.99/month per user. You also have the option to contact the sales team and bargain for something befitting your needs.

Wrapping up

Bitwarden is undeniably superior in the pricing category due to better costs for individuals, families, and businesses alike. It further cements a win by including a free plan.

Winner

Get Bitwarden, now OFF!

1password pricing

1Password has a selection of plans for different users. For home users, it offers:

• 1Password Individual – $2.99/month for 1 user
• 1Password Families – $4.99/month for 5 users

For single users, 1Password Personal is the best plan. Can be used on unlimited devices, it comes with unlimited password storage, 1GB file storage, autofill, 2FA, 1Password Watchtower, digital wallet, and travel mode.

If you need to accommodate more users, you’ll have to upgrade to 1Password Families. It supports up to 5 users and comes with all the same features. On top of that, it also provides access/permission management and account recovery.

Read our 1Password review to find out more about plans and features.

Bitwarden pricing

Bitwarden offers Business and Personal plans. It has three Personal plans:

• Bitwarden Free – $0.00
• Bitwarden Premium – $0.83/month for 1 user
• Bitwarden Families – $3.33/month for 6 users

Its Free plan comes with only the core features. This includes 2FA via email and authentication app, unlimited vault items, password generator, basic vault health reports, and unlimited devices.

If you’re willing to pay, its Premium plan offers more freedom. In addition to everything in Free, you get a two-step login with more authentication methods, 1GB of storage space, emergency access, and priority support.

To fit in more users, spring for its Families package. It allows up to 6 users and unlimited password sharing between those users as well as everything in Premium.

If you want to find out more about pricing and feature, visit our Bitwarden review.

Compatibility

Both password managers are compatible with various widely-used platforms and devices. Of the two, Bitwarden offers more browser extension options. However, 1Password offsets this win with its more intuitive and developed interfaces.

Desktop apps

Bitwarden offers both GUI (graphical user interface) and CLI (command line interface) apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Meanwhile, 1Password lacks a dedicated Linux app and leaves them no choice but to use the command line.

With Bitwarden, all OS versions of the app look the same, making it easy to transition between them without trouble. You’ll also find that it isn’t as feature-rich as the web app. Thus, you might be tempted to try the CLI version, which includes all available features.

The 1Password desktop app is the most powerful version of the service, boasting all features. Meanwhile, the CLI version is more complicated but offers a fair number of perks, such as workflow automation, which are geared towards administrators.

Browser extensions

1Password’s extension works on all of the commonly-used browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and Brave. One click, and the extension is added to your browser.

But just like most browser extensions, the extension’s functionalities are heavily tied to its web app. Independent of the web app, you can use the extension to generate, save, and autofill passwords.

Meanwhile, Bitwarden’s browser extensions are supported on the usual suspects: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Edge. The most recent versions of Vivaldi, Brave, and Tor are also supported.

Similar to 1Password, you get only the very basic functions. Autofill, password saving, and password generator – that’s about all that’s in the package.

Mobile apps

Mobile apps’ setup for both 1Password and Bitwarden is really just downloading the respective password manager’s app from either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. There’s nothing else to it.

1Password’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices look rather similar to each other. Both are sleek, clean, and easy to use. Their features are limited to the core ones like autofill, password generating, data sharing, and Watchtower.

Likewise, you’ll see a similar case with Bitwarden’s mobile apps. Modern and intuitive but with limited functionalities. Sure, you get autofill, password sharing, and a password generator but not much else.

Most importantly, the two services are planning to add passkey support to their mobile apps. This cutting-edge technology enables customers to log in to various services without the need for master passwords and other credentials. Instead, the tech utilizes the WebAuthn PRF extension to generate secret keys and unlock their vaults.

User experience

A password manager’s user interface and overall ease of use can make or break the service. After all, customers won’t stick around if the app that’s supposed to protect their critical information is too difficult to use. So let’s see how Bitwarden and 1Password fare in this regard.

Wrapping up

1Password grants a better user experience because all versions of the service’s apps are easy to use and grant the features you need. Meanwhile, Bitwarden grants a well-rounded experience only on its web app.

Winner

Get 1Password, now 50% OFF!

Bitwarden ease of use

On the one hand, Bitwarden is suitable for practically every type of customer due to the service’s extensive device compatibility. Additionally, since the web app is the most feature-rich version, it means you can enjoy maximum benefits on virtually any device.

However, the abundance of features in one place makes it more difficult to use. Furthermore, some features, such as password import and autofill, are missing from other apps, thus making them less appealing and more difficult to use. For example, the desktop version doesn’t support autofill unless you install the browser extension.

Bitwarden on mobile is fairly straightforward to use. All necessary features are sectioned at the bottom of the screen. You’ll also find guides explaining how to accomplish specific goals.

1Password ease of use

For the most part, 1Password is easy to set up. However, things get trickier when you add new devices because you must also input your 34-digit Secret Key. But that’s a small price to pay for added security.

1Password allows you to create multiple password vaults to store different credentials. This makes it easier to create and manage separate databases for sharing with family or coworkers.

Another win for 1Password is that all app versions are fairly balanced and include enough features to stand independently. That means that, unlike Bitwarden, you can use the 1Password desktop or mobile apps without relying on web apps or extensions, thus improving overall usability.

Customer support

1Password and Bitwarden have multiple customer support options but, unfortunately, lack real-time support.

With 1Password, its massive and well-stocked knowledge base holds the key to most questions. This is where you’ll find thousands of articles and guides on everything from setup to finding your Secret Key.

For a human touch, you could also get help via email, Twitter, or its community forums. While chances are you won’t get immediate replies, Bitwarden’s agents and some helpful souls are generally quick to extend a helping hand.

Bitwarden filled its knowledge base with heaps of FAQs and how-to guides, too. But just like 1Password, Bitwarden skipped out on real-time support options. For human assistance, you are left with email, community forums, and weekly live Q&A sessions.

All in all, there’s no winner in this round of 1Password vs Bitwarden. Both password managers could certainly improve their customer support availability.

Video review

Check our dedicated 1Password vs Bitwarden video comparison to see the services in action if you want more details.

Bitwarden vs 1Password – which one to choose?

To sum up, 1Password is superior when pitted against Bitwarden, but both providers have their merits. 1Password edges Bitwarden out of the picture with its more advanced privacy and security features, such as Secret Key, which makes it impossible for the potential attacker to decrypt your vault.

Winner

Get 1Password, now 50% OFF!

Additionally, 1Password has a more impressive feature arsenal. It has better password-generation capabilities, easier data import and export, more password-sharing options, and better customer support.

Meanwhile, Bitwarden is ideal for budget-conscious users. The service offers an adequate free plan, while premium subscriptions are exceptionally cheap. Disadvantages include fewer features, cumbersome data exporting, and fewer customer support options.

Best password manager deals this week:

4.9 /5

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special deal

-42% OFF

Get special deal

4.8 /5

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special deal

-50% OFF

Get special deal

4.6 /5

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special deal

-50% OFF

Get special deal

More password manager guides from Cybernews:

FAQ