Is Bitwarden as secure as 1Password?

Both use end-to-end encryption that keeps your vault unreadable to the vendor. 1Password adds a Secret Key on top of your account password, and Bitwarden makes its code open source for public review. Either is a sound choice when you use a strong master password and two-step login.

Is 1Password worth paying for when Bitwarden is free?

For many people, yes, if polish and family sharing matter. 1Password's apps are smoother and it offers Travel Mode and flexible sharing, but Bitwarden's free plan already covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices.

How much does 1Password cost compared with Bitwarden?

1Password Individual is $2.99 per month billed yearly in the first year and $3.99 after that. Bitwarden Premium is $19.80 a year, which works out to $1.65 per month, and Bitwarden's basic plan is free.

Which is better for families?

1Password Families covers five people with unlimited shared vaults and the most refined apps. Bitwarden Families covers six people for $47.88 a year, so it wins on price and headcount.

Head to head

1Password vs Bitwarden

By the KeenVerdict research desk · Updated November 4, 2026

Our verdict

This is the closest matchup on KeenVerdict: 1Password scores 9.0 and Bitwarden 8.9. 1Password wins on features and ease of use, with refined apps on every major platform, a Secret Key that sits on top of your account password, Travel Mode and flexible sharing with people who do not use it. Bitwarden wins clearly on value. Its free plan is good enough for most people, Premium costs less than half of 1Password's regular price, and its open source code and self-hosting option appeal to technical users and businesses. Both are sound security choices. The decision comes down to whether you will pay roughly $28 more a year at regular prices for a smoother experience. We compared documented features and published prices; we did not run either product for a long-term household test.

1Password

9.0

Pick it if

Pick 1Password if you want the most refined apps and family sharing and are happy to pay a little more for them.

Features: 9.4
Ease of use: 9.3
Value: 8.0

Price: Individual $2.99 per month billed yearly for the first year ($3.99 regular); Families $4.49 per month for 5 users ($5.99 regular); 14-day free trial

Quoted from the pricing page on November 4, 2026.

Full review →

Bitwarden

8.9

Pick it if

Pick Bitwarden if you want strong security for free or for under $20 a year, or if open source and self-hosting matter to you.

Features: 9.0
Ease of use: 8.0
Value: 9.7

Price: Free plan; Premium $1.65 per month billed annually at $19.80; Families $3.99 per month for 6 users; Teams $4 per user per month

Quoted from the pricing page on November 4, 2026.

Full review →

Side by side

	1Password	Bitwarden
KeenVerdict score	9.0 out of 10	8.9 out of 10
Individual price	$2.99 per month billed yearly for the first year, then $3.99	Premium $1.65 per month, billed $19.80 yearly
Family plan	$4.49 per month for 5 users in the first year, then $5.99	$3.99 per month for 6 users, billed $47.88 yearly
Free plan	No	Yes, unlimited passwords on unlimited devices
Free trial	14 days for Individual and Families, no credit card	Free Families trial; business plans have a 14-day trial
Security design	End-to-end encryption plus a Secret Key alongside your account password	Zero-knowledge encryption with open source code
File storage	1 GB per user	5 GB on Premium, expandable
Sharing	Share items with anyone, with expiry and history; unlimited shared vaults on Families	Share with one other user free; Bitwarden Send for encrypted text and files
Travel features	Travel Mode hides selected vaults at border crossings	Not offered
Apps	macOS, iOS, watchOS, Windows, Android, Linux; Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Brave	Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile; extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and more
Self-hosting	No	Yes, on Enterprise
Developer tools	SSH workflows, Git commit signing, CLI and SDKs	Command line interface; Secrets Manager for teams

Pricing: Bitwarden costs far less

Bitwarden's free plan stores unlimited passwords, passkeys, cards and notes across unlimited devices, which is more than many rivals sell. Premium costs $19.80 a year, and Families costs $47.88 a year for six people. 1Password has no free plan. Individual is $2.99 per month billed yearly for new customers in the first year, then $3.99, so the regular annual cost is about $47.88, more than double Bitwarden Premium. Families is $4.49 per month in the first year and $5.99 after that for five people. Over three years, a family pays about $144 for Bitwarden and roughly $198 for 1Password once the promotion ends.

Features and security

Both products encrypt your vault so that the company cannot read it. 1Password adds a Secret Key, a second secret stored on your devices, so a stolen account password is not enough to open your data, and the company says its design is independently audited. Bitwarden publishes its source code, which lets outside researchers inspect it, and offers two-step login with up to 10 hardware keys. Beyond security, 1Password has more conveniences: Travel Mode, Watchtower alerts, guest accounts and time-limited sharing to anyone. Bitwarden's extras are practical rather than flashy: an integrated authenticator on Premium, 5 GB of encrypted attachments, email alias integration and Bitwarden Send.

Ease of use

1Password is the more comfortable product to live with, and we score it 9.3 for ease of use against Bitwarden's 8.0. Its apps look and behave the same on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and autofill needs little tuning. Bitwarden's apps are clear and dependable but more utilitarian, and some settings assume you know what you are changing. For a household with less technical members, that difference matters more than the price gap. For someone comfortable with settings menus, Bitwarden is easy enough.

Families and teams

1Password Families covers five people with unlimited shared vaults and simple admin controls for recovering members who lose access. Bitwarden Families covers six premium accounts with unlimited sharing and collections at a lower price. For businesses, Bitwarden Teams costs $4 per user per month and Enterprise $6, both billed annually, with SSO, SCIM and the option to self-host on Enterprise. Organizations that must keep data on their own servers have only one option in this pair, and it is Bitwarden.

Who should pick which

Choose 1Password if you want the most polished apps, travel often with sensitive data, or are setting up a family that needs a password manager to just work. Choose Bitwarden if you want a free password manager that does not cut corners, if you would rather pay under $20 a year, or if open source code and self-hosting are requirements. Switching later is possible, since both import and export vault data, so the cost of a wrong first choice is small.

Questions readers ask

Is Bitwarden as secure as 1Password?: Both use end-to-end encryption that keeps your vault unreadable to the vendor. 1Password adds a Secret Key on top of your account password, and Bitwarden makes its code open source for public review. Either is a sound choice when you use a strong master password and two-step login.
Is 1Password worth paying for when Bitwarden is free?: For many people, yes, if polish and family sharing matter. 1Password's apps are smoother and it offers Travel Mode and flexible sharing, but Bitwarden's free plan already covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices.
How much does 1Password cost compared with Bitwarden?: 1Password Individual is $2.99 per month billed yearly in the first year and $3.99 after that. Bitwarden Premium is $19.80 a year, which works out to $1.65 per month, and Bitwarden's basic plan is free.
Which is better for families?: 1Password Families covers five people with unlimited shared vaults and the most refined apps. Bitwarden Families covers six people for $47.88 a year, so it wins on price and headcount.

We compared documented features and published prices. Questions or corrections: editorial@keenverdict.com