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Password Manager Manager
Bitwarden logovsKeePassXC logo

Bitwarden vs KeePassXC

Cloud versus file. Bitwarden syncs everything for you and can be self-hosted; KeePassXC keeps your vault in a local file and never talks to a server.

Where they differ most

Free plan

Bitwarden
Unlimited passwords on unlimited devices; sharing with one other user (free two-person organization)
KeePassXC
Free and open source; unlimited items and devices; you manage sync and backup

Personal plan, per year

Bitwarden
$19.80, Premium
KeePassXC
No paid plan

After the first year

Bitwarden
Same price
KeePassXC
No paid plan

Master password hashing

Bitwarden
PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256, 600,000 iterations (default); optional Argon2id, 32 MiB memory, 6 iterations, 4 parallelism
KeePassXC
Unknown

Run it yourself

Bitwarden
Own serverOwn server
KeePassXC
Local vault fileLocal vault file

Owner

Bitwarden
Bitwarden, Inc.
KeePassXC
Open-source project

Which one to pick

Bitwarden logoPick Bitwarden if

  • You want sync, sharing and phone apps without setting anything up
  • You want emergency access for family
All Bitwarden facts

KeePassXC logoPick KeePassXC if

  • You never want your vault on someone else's server
  • You're happy to sync a file yourself (or use KeePass apps on other devices)
  • You want everything free, with no account
All KeePassXC facts

Every fact, side by side

Open a row to see notes and sources. Highlighted rows differ.

Bitwarden logoBitwarden
KeePassXC logoKeePassXC

Price

What's encrypted, and how

Who you're trusting

Apps, passkeys and sign-in

Sharing, recovery and extras

Sources (21)