Comparison — from the record, 2026-08-29
Bitwarden vs 1Password: one has a free tier, the other's sticker is a first-year promo
OUR PICK
Our pick: Bitwarden — $1.65 a month with a genuinely free tier beneath it, against a 1Password sticker of $2.99 that its own small print marks as a first-year promotion.
The ladder is $1.65 against $2.99 at entry and $3.99 against $4.49 for a household — and Bitwarden's figures are the standing rates its page prints, while 1Password's small print says its advertised personal prices are for new customers' first year only, with the higher standing rate struck through in the markup. Add the free tier beneath Bitwarden's paid plans and the price argument is over before features come up.
The other way: 1Password is the better answer if a full-featured trial matters more to you than a permanent free tier — it offers a 14-day trial of the complete product on its personal plans, where a free tier is by definition a subset, and its Business and Enterprise ladders live on pages of their own.
How to read this page: every number below was read from the vendor’s own public pricing page on the date shown, and the pages are re-checked daily. Currencies differ because that is what each vendor showed an EU visitor. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you subscribe through one we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Per
our method, that never changes a number or a verdict. Source links always point to the vendor’s plain page.
The two pricing pages, side by side
Bitwarden — USD, read 2026-08-29
Prices as this vendor showed them to a visitor in the United States — USD. A reader elsewhere may be quoted a different figure — we publish what we were served, never a conversion.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Premium | $1.65/mo | | |
| Families | $3.99/mo | | |
Source: https://bitwarden.com/pricing/ · read 2026-08-29 (UTC)
Bitwarden quotes USD worldwide — identical figures from our United States, United Kingdom and EU readers, read 2026-08-29.
1Password — USD, read 2026-08-31
Prices as this vendor showed them to a visitor in the United States — USD. A reader elsewhere may be quoted a different figure — we publish what we were served, never a conversion.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | What the page says |
|---|
| Individual | $2.99/mo | | |
| Families | $4.49/mo | | |
Source: https://1password.com/pricing/personal · read 2026-08-31 (UTC) · 1Password splits its pricing across three separate pages — Personal, Business and Enterprise — each with its own ladder, and a Monthly / Annually switch on the first two. The switch opens on Annually. The headline personal figures it shows are promotional: the page's own small print reads 'Promotions are limited time discounts available for new 1Password customers only for the first year', and the higher price beside each is struck through in the markup. The standing annual rates are therefore $3.99 and $5.99 per month, not $2.99 and $4.49. Enterprise publishes no price. All figures read in a browser on the date shown above with both switches clicked and all three pages visited.
1Password quotes USD worldwide — identical figures from our United States, United Kingdom and EU readers, read 2026-08-31.
What the record says
Password managers are one of the cheapest categories we track, which is exactly why the fine print decides this comparison rather than the stickers. Both vendors quoted the same US-dollar figures in every market we read — a UK or eurozone visitor sees the identical dollar ladder an American does — so for once the question is not where you buy, but what the printed number actually promises.
Bitwarden's page reads $1.65 a month for Premium — $19.8 across a year, billed annually — and $3.99 for Families, which covers six accounts and comes to $47.88 a year. Those are the standing rates; nothing on the page marks them as introductory.
1Password's page reads $2.99 for Individual and $4.49 for Families — but its own small print says these are promotional prices for new customers' first year, and the higher standing rate sits beside each figure, struck through in the markup. Year one comes to $35.88 for Individual; the renewal is higher, and the pricing page is the place to check it on the day you buy.
The structural difference matters as much as the figures. Bitwarden publishes a genuinely free tier beneath its paid plans; 1Password has no free plan on any tier — a 14-day trial on the personal plans is the only way in without paying. And where Bitwarden's personal ladder sits on one page, 1Password splits its pricing across three — Personal, Business and Enterprise — with a billing switch that opens on Annually, and Enterprise publishes no price at all.
Beyond the price tag
Entry price
Bitwarden Premium is $1.65 a month against 1Password Individual at $2.99 — and Bitwarden's figure is a standing rate, while 1Password's is marked by its own page as a first-year promotion for new customers.
A household
Bitwarden Families is $3.99 a month for six accounts, $47.88 a year. 1Password Families is $4.49 in year one, with the standing rate above it struck through in the page's markup.
The free tier
Bitwarden publishes a real free plan beneath its paid ladder. 1Password has none — only a 14-day trial on Individual and Families. If the manager is for someone who will never pay for one, this row is the whole comparison.
What the sticker promises
Nothing on Bitwarden's page marks its prices as introductory. 1Password's small print reads that its promotions are limited-time discounts for new customers' first year — so a comparison quoting its advertised figure is quoting year one only.
Where the prices live
Bitwarden's personal ladder is on one pricing page. 1Password splits pricing across three pages — Personal, Business, Enterprise — each with its own ladder; the billing switch opens on Annually, and Enterprise publishes no price.
Questions people actually search
Which is cheaper, Bitwarden or 1Password?
Bitwarden, on every row the two pages share: $1.65 against $2.99 for one person, $3.99 against $4.49 for a family — and 1Password's figures are first-year promotional prices, so the standing gap is wider than the stickers suggest.
Does either have a free plan?
Bitwarden does — a real free tier, not a trial. 1Password has no free plan on any tier; it offers a 14-day trial on its personal plans instead.
Do these prices renew at the same rate?
Bitwarden's page prints standing rates with nothing marked introductory. 1Password's advertised personal prices are for new customers' first year only — its own small print says so, and the higher standing rate is struck through beside each figure. Check its pricing page for the renewal on the day you buy.
Do the prices change by country?
Not in our reads. Both vendors quoted the same US-dollar figures in every market we captured — unusual in the categories we track, where many vendors re-price per country.
THE VERDICT, ONE MORE TIME
Our pick: Bitwarden — $1.65 a month with a genuinely free tier beneath it, against a 1Password sticker of $2.99 that its own small print marks as a first-year promotion.
The ladder is $1.65 against $2.99 at entry and $3.99 against $4.49 for a household — and Bitwarden's figures are the standing rates its page prints, while 1Password's small print says its advertised personal prices are for new customers' first year only, with the higher standing rate struck through in the markup. Add the free tier beneath Bitwarden's paid plans and the price argument is over before features come up.
Both ladders were read from Bitwarden's and 1Password's own pricing pages, on the dates shown beside each table. Both vendors quoted US dollars in every market we read; nothing is converted. 1Password's advertised personal figures are, by its own small print, first-year promotional prices for new customers. The method →
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