When there are so many different choices out there for keeping your passwords safe and organized, it can be helpful to find out which one best suits your needs. If you’re looking to choose between 1Password vs. Bitwarden, then this article can help you decide. Firstly, we’ll look at what a password manager is and why you might want to invest in one. Then, we look at how 1Password and Bitwarden compare in all applicable categories, as well as other password managers to choose from if either of these doesn’t match your requirements.
What is a Password Manager?
Simply put, a password manager helps you to store all of your passwords safely in one place. For anyone with lots of online accounts (which is everyone nowadays), a password manager is an invaluable tool for managing all of them. Plus, with additional concerns about cybersecurity, many users turn to password managers in order to keep their passwords stored safely.
Password managers can also help generate particularly strong passwords, which are more difficult for cybercriminals to guess, meaning your private information stays safe. There are plenty of other benefits to using a password manager as well, such as:
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- Saving your password to legitimate websites so you can more easily spot phishing attempts via fake websites.
- Helping you sync your passwords across different devices such as tablets, laptops, and phones.
- Helping you to keep your passwords for accounts updated across different devices.
Different password manager tools provide slightly different services and they can offer free or tiered services depending on your specific requirements. For example, some offer encrypted storage or biometric functionality on top of password storage.
Why is it Important to Have a Password Manager?
According to Passwordmanager.com, 65% of people don’t trust a password manager even though 60% have experienced a data breach. This means that 65% of people use less secure methods of storing passwords. Not using a password manager to generate a unique password can lead to the overuse of passwords that may have been leaked – and are therefore accessible to cybercriminals.
One of the most common ways cybercriminals gain access to your accounts is through something called credential stuffing. Hackers will use already leaked private data that they’ve bought cheaply – usually from the dark web – and try them out on well-known sites until they find something that works. Once your accounts are compromised, a spiral of troubles can come, including Identity theft.
As cybercrime is increasingly on the rise, not using a password manager is potentially even riskier than before. Statista found that: “the global cost of cybercrime is expected to surge in the next four years, rising from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to $13.82 trillion by 2028.” The evidence is compelling: internet users need to get on board with using a strong password manager or risk losing their valuable data to hackers.
1Password vs. Bitwarden
In this next section, we’ll look at the similarities and differences between two different password manager products: 1Password vs. Bitwarden. As of the writing of this article, on paper, both Bitwarden and 1Password offer relatively similar core features. These include:
- Biometric verification
- Two-factor authentication
- Autofill web forms
- Encrypted storage
- Free trial
- Digital wallet
- Being able to import data from browsers
- Password generator
There are, however, some key differences that might influence your final decision when choosing between these two password managers. Below, we’ll look at how Bitwarden and 1Password go head-to-head on some slightly differing feature offerings:
Free Trial and Pricing
As of the writing of this article, both tools offer a free trial, but 1Password offers a 14-day trial period compared to Bitwarden’s 7-day trial period.
1Password and Bitwarden both offer tiered pricing. Overall, Bitwarden is a slightly cheaper option and offers a free tier that 1Password doesn’t offer. This might give it an edge over 1Password for users who are looking for a tool that fits in with their budget. Below are the tiers for each tool:
Bitwarden Pricing Tiers
- Free: $0 for one user
- Premium: Less than $1 per month for one user
- Families: $3.33 per month for up to six users
- Teams: $4 per month, per user
- Enterprise: $6 per user per month
1Password Pricing Tiers
- Individual: $2.99 per month for one user
- Families: $4.99 per month for up to five users
- Teams Starter Pack: $19.95 per month for up to 10 users
- Business: $7.99 per month per user
Dark Web Monitoring
If you’re looking to find out whether any of your passwords have been involved in a data breach and have been shared on the dark web, then a dark web monitoring tool is for you. This is a useful tool for most users as it means you can update your password as soon as you have found out it has been in a data breach, therefore keeping your online accounts safe from hackers. Both Bitwarden and 1Password use dark web monitoring, with some slight differences.
1Password Dark Web Monitoring – 1Password uses a feature called Watchtower to check for password security issues, which are then reported to a dashboard that provides users with more information. 1Password also offers the Business Watchtower reports to business subscription users, which enables you to track security issues across all of your shared vaults.
Bitwarden Dark Web Monitoring – While Bitwarden doesn’t offer the same Watchtower feature, it offers something similar in the form of its Exposed Passwords report. Bitwarden’s Data Breach report tool (offered to individual password vaults and not organization vaults) reports any passwords that have been involved in a data breach, as well as other compromised data such as credit card information, passwords, and more.
Both 1Password and Bitwarden use the same open-source intelligence tool Have I Been Pwned which can search across multiple sources to find out whether a user’s private information has been recorded in a known data breach.
Encrypted Storage
Both 1Password and Bitwarden use end-to-end encryption for their storage services, which means that you can safely and securely send and store documents via them. However, 1Password offers more storage than Bitwarden: 5GB of storage in total vs Bitwarden’s 1GB of storage for personal items plus 1GB of storage for organizational items. If encrypted storage is a top priority for you, 1Password may be your best choice here.
Travel Mode
This is a key feature that 1Password has that Bitwarden doesn’t. Travel Mode isn’t exactly a common feature for password managers. But, if you’re a journalist traveling to a country with high surveillance, this tool could be extra relevant to you.
As its name suggests, 1Password’s Travel Mode adds additional protection to your data and passwords while you travel. It does this by giving you the ability to remove your vault from your devices while traveling (and you can redownload that data later by turning the Mode off). This can be useful if you are concerned about customs agents, security staff, or anyone else seeing your data if they gain access to your devices.
While most travelers and users in general probably won’t need 1Password’s Travel Mode, if you are concerned about your data being accessed when traveling in and out of high surveillance countries — such as if you’re a journalist — then Travel Mode can add the extra layer of protection you need.
Wi-fi VPN
Finally, if you’re looking for a Wi-Fi VPN, it may be better to look elsewhere as neither 1Password nor Bitwarden offer this tool. A Wi-Fi VPN tool can come in useful if you need to browse privately, access public Wi-Fi securely, or protect your data from being stolen over Wi-Fi (particularly an issue if you’re using public Wi-Fi).
Other Major Password Managers
If neither Bitwarden nor 1Password offers the exact services you’re looking for, then there are plenty of alternatives available. While many users online choose to use Google Autofill and Google Password Manager to manage their passwords, some alternatives might help better protect you against cybercriminals and data breaches. Some Password Managers are able to detect whether your password is in a data breach and update it automatically.
Google Password Manager
Google’s own Password Manager can be a convenient choice for many users. It offers the same basic services as most Password Managers in that Google reports it can encrypt your passwords.
However, there is a lack of transparency about how it encrypts passwords, which may leave some users feeling concerned about the safety of their passwords even while using the Password Manager. What’s more, you can only use Google Password Manager if you’re a user of the Google Chrome browser, limiting availability for users who prefer other internet browsers.
According to PCMag, experts say that browser Password Managers such as Google’s are not the safest option. While it’s convenient, these Managers don’t use zero-knowledge encryption. This means that through social engineering strategies, cybercriminals can trick users into downloading extensions that steal any data – and your passwords – that you’ve stored on your browser’s password manager.
LastPass
If you’re looking to compare Bitwarden vs. LastPass, or 1Password vs. LastPass, then this guide can help you decide between this product and its competitors as well. LastPass became popular in the past because it was so easy to use – it’s easy to import and generate new passwords using the tool. While both LastPass and 1Password use 256-bit encryption, 1Password offers an additional layer of safety thanks to its Secret Key. 1Password also offers multi-factor security, while LastPass doesn’t.
As for Bitwarden vs. LastPass, Bitwarden is cheaper and generally more secure than LastPass. LastPass was involved in a major security breach, which has left many of its users concerned about the safety of using the tool.
Final Points
Deciding on a Password Manager that works best for you might seem a bit daunting at first, but you can hone down the right choice by deciding which features you can’t live without.
Your priority might be your budget and which pricing tier you’ll need. It could also be about how many people need to use the tool – whether you are looking for a family pricing option or whether you’re just looking to cover individual costs.
It also helps to know whether you need extra features like Travel Mode, and how you want to access any security reports. Both Bitwarden and 1Password have their own strengths and weaknesses – choose the one that’s best for you!
Concerned about your privacy? Sign up for Spokeo Identity Protection today to find out if your private information has been leaked online.
Lottie Brazier is a London-based copywriter and journalist covering business, tech, lifestyle, and culture. In her downtime, she loves to explore the world and new cuisines.