Bitwarden
Open source password manager for people and teams, and self-hostable
1/3Bitwarden is an open source password manager: logins, cards, identities, notes and SSH keys live in a zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted vault that syncs across unlimited devices, with the free tier covering unlimited passwords rather than capping them. It manages passkeys, generates usernames and passwords, includes an authenticator for TOTP codes, and sends one-off secrets through Bitwarden Send to people who do not have an account. Business plans add event logs, directory sync, SCIM provisioning and passwordless SSO, and the whole thing can be self-hosted on your own server or private cloud instead of running on Bitwarden's.
- Open source, with a public codebase and a bug bounty programme
- Zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted vault
- Stores logins, cards, identities, notes and SSH keys
- Passkey management, plus a built-in authenticator for TOTP codes
- Unlimited passwords and unlimited devices, even on the free plan
- Bitwarden Send shares encrypted text and files with non-users
- Self-host on your own server or private cloud
- SCIM provisioning, directory sync and passwordless SSO for teams
Based on what people have said
Every answer links back to the mentions it came fromWhat are the common performance and reliability issues reported by users?
Users report several issues, including the desktop application being slow, choppy, or unresponsive, and occasional glitches with browser extensions, such as failing to autofill or refusing to log in. Some users have experienced crashes on specific platforms, while others note that the Android and iOS apps can behave differently, particularly regarding password generation and autofill functionality. Additionally, some users report that Bitwarden can conflict with other password managers or browser-native autofill services when both are active.
13 mentions · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · r/ProtonPass · r/PasswordManagers · r/Bitwarden · and 6 more · Aug 2026 – Sep 2026
How does Bitwarden handle backups and account recovery if the master password is forgotten?
Bitwarden does not offer email-based recovery for a forgotten master password. Users are strongly advised to maintain offline backups, such as encrypted JSON exports stored on secure USB drives or printed recovery codes kept in safe locations. Some users also suggest having a trusted family member hold a copy of the master password or 2FA credentials as an emergency plan.
11 mentions · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · Aug 2026 – Sep 2026
Is Bitwarden suitable for storing sensitive data like 2FA codes and passkeys?
Opinions are divided. Many users store TOTP codes and passkeys within Bitwarden for convenience and cross-device syncing. However, others caution against storing 2FA codes for the Bitwarden account itself, primary email accounts, or banking services, preferring to keep those in a separate, dedicated authenticator app to avoid being locked out of everything if the vault becomes inaccessible.
12 mentions · r/Passkeys · r/Bitwarden · r/PasswordManagers · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · r/Bitwarden · and 3 more · Aug 2026 – Sep 2026
How does Bitwarden compare to other password managers like 1Password or Proton Pass?
Users often compare Bitwarden to 1Password and Proton Pass. Bitwarden is frequently cited as the most cost-effective option, with a generous free tier and lower subscription costs. Some users find 1Password more polished or feature-rich for power users, while others prefer Proton Pass for a cleaner, more minimal interface. Disagreements exist regarding which is easier to use, with some finding Bitwarden clunky compared to its competitors.
12 mentions · r/PasswordManagers · r/PasswordManagers · r/ProtonPass · r/PasswordManagers · r/PasswordManagers · Aug 2026 – Sep 2026
What are the options for self-hosting Bitwarden?
Bitwarden can be self-hosted on a private server or cloud, which some users prefer for data sovereignty. A popular community-driven implementation of the Bitwarden API for self-hosting is known as Vaultwarden.
7 mentions · r/PasswordManagers · r/PasswordManagers · r/KeePass · r/PasswordManagers · r/Bitwarden · Aug 2026
These summarise counts and dates only. Read the quotes themselves under what people are saying.
What people are saying about Bitwarden
46% neutral“Ditch Bitwarden? No.”
“I've been using the Bitwarden app on my iMac for about 2 years and it has worked flawlsssy in that time. About a week ago, when I tried to load the application, it completely crashed my machine and I had to force turn off the computer to fix the problem. This happened over several days and I decided to give up on the application.”
“I use Bitwarden and in my experience the updation of a new password or a passkey is almost instantaneous at the server level without any manual intervention.”
“I loved my time with bitwarden, but the past year or two there were increasing issues with it that was driving me nuts. keeper has a feature to help recover from this exact situation.”
“Does the Bitwarden direct import fail with anything other than ASCII characters? If so that is a huge fail for passwords that might have something other than straight ASCII.”
“Also Bitwarden is fine for non essential accounts, KeypassXC for financial sensitive accounts. If it’s in the cloud, it’s not yours anymore.”
“The Bitwarden Generator behaves oddly in the Android app compared to the iOS app. Try this simple experiment. Generate a new password in the Android app. Now switch to another app without closing Bitwarden.”
“The issue is that some platforms try to offer their own password manager that gets in the way of something like Bitwarden. An example of this is Google Android's password manager.”
“Bitwarden works very well on both Windows and macOS, so the switch shouldn’t be a problem. The browser extensions and desktop app are nearly identical, and your vault syncs across devices. The iPhone integration is also excellent for autofill and passkeys.”
“Use Bitwarden and then it will sync among all your devices.”
“However there is usually a difference between 1st party managers such as Apple or google passwords and 3rd party ones like bitwarden.”
“But no way are you actually having secure, unique passwords for all your accounts w/o some sort of PWM. It's pretty much impossible.”
“BitWarden is free https://bitwarden.com/go/start-free/”
“Enable biometrics in bitwarden on your phone.”
“Certainly you can with Bitwarden. I use Proton Pass myself and find it excellent.”
“So I can set up pass keys through something like Bitwarden?”
“Bitwarden is just your password keeper. That's it.”
“If you need some sort of email based recovery bitwarden is not for you if you forget your master password. I recall last pass had such a feature but that password manager has garner bad rep over the years”
“What is the subreddits opinion on having biometrics enabled (fingerprint) on your cell phone and the Master Password stored within Bitwarden? Seems like a 'backup' for a lost emergency sheet.”
“I use Bitwarden on my Windows PC and routinely use it to log into various websites while in Firefox. I do have one credit card account where it won't autofill the password - so I have to open Bitwarden, copy the password, and then paste it into the field, but that only require a few additional mouse clicks and is trivial.”
“The point of joining Bitwarden is to relieve yourself of the burden of remembering your passwords. Just keep the master password on a piece of paper and on your person e.g wallet”
“I have been using Bitwarden for like 10 years and have never forgotten' my password... But in the case that I do, my wife knows it and also has the 2FA for it, so that's my emergency plan.”
“Roll back your firefox plugin to a previous version and disable auto updates for it. The firefox plugin updates to the latest security specs for bitwarden before they give us the equivilant vaultwarden updates. Tis a pain.”
“So im thinking to switching to bitwarden instead of my browser's passworf manager for a plethora of reasons but i have two questions which may be deal breakers.”
“Every time I first log in to my computer and launch Firefox, logging in to the Bitwarden plugin glitches out. It will prompt me for my password, I'll enter it, and then it will just close. When I open the plugin again, it will make me enter my email and then my password again.”