Proton Pass vs Bitwarden
Editor Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published November 14, 2026 · Updated November 14, 2026
Proton Pass is a Swiss product from Proton AG, sold mostly as individual and family plans, with a business offer that is not priced per seat on the pages we opened. Bitwarden is a US company with Teams at $4 and Enterprise at $6 per user per month, plus self-hosting. For a company buying seats, Bitwarden is the more complete answer.
Side by side
 Proton Pass |  Bitwarden | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Swiss password manager with built-in email aliases | Open-source password manager with cloud or self-hosted vaults |
| Best for | Privacy-minded small teams in Europe | Cost-conscious SMBs and technical teams |
| Headquarters | Switzerland | United States |
| Pricing model | Per user / month | Per user / month |
| Pricing | Published per-user Pass Essentials and Pass Professional plans with a three-user minimum and a 14-day trial, also bundled in Proton Workspace; SSO, SCIM, SIEM and the CLI sit in Professional; generous free plan for individuals. | Published per-user Teams and Enterprise tiers billed monthly or annually, with a free plan for individuals and a free two-person organization; SSO, enterprise policies and self-hosting come with Enterprise. |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan |
| List price as listed on November 14, 2026 | $1.99 per month on yearly billing for Pass Plus (first 12 months, then $35.88 a year); free plan available | $1.65 per month billed annually at $19.80 for Premium; Teams $4 and Enterprise $6 per user per month; free plan available |
| Place in our business password managers ranking | #5 of 12 | #4 of 12 |
| Website | proton.me | bitwarden.com |
Both are reviewed in full in Best Business Password Managers in 2026. Vendors can pay for more visibility, and commercial relationships can affect which products we feature and how prominently. Placement disclosure.
Which one to choose
Choose Proton Pass if
you are an individual or a household that wants a Swiss-based, non-profit-controlled vendor, a free plan with aliases, and one login across Proton's other services.
Proton Pass, #5 in the ranking · Visit Proton Pass →
Choose Bitwarden if
you need per-seat business plans, an on-prem or private cloud option, or a long-running open source password manager that a team can roll out under policy.
Bitwarden, #4 in the ranking · Visit Bitwarden →
Where they differ
Buying seats for a company
Bitwarden prices a business directly: Teams is $4 per user per month and Enterprise is $6, both billed annually. On the pages we opened, Proton Pass names no per-user business plan. Its team-style options are Pass Family, which covers 6 users, and Proton Unlimited, which covers one. A company that needs a seat count and an invoice line per employee has a clear path only with Bitwarden.
Edge: Bitwarden
What the free plan gives you
Both free plans allow unlimited devices. Proton Free adds unlimited logins, notes and cards, 1 GB of storage, 2 vaults shareable with 2 others, and 10 hide-my-email aliases. Bitwarden Free lists unlimited passwords, sharing with one other user and Bitwarden Send. File storage is a paid Premium feature there. For someone who never pays, Proton Pass hands over more extras, though file attachments and integrated 2FA are still paywalled.
Edge: Proton Pass
Self-hosting and control of the server
Bitwarden offers self-hosting, described as on-prem or private cloud, and lists it under Enterprise next to SSO and policies. For a security team that wants the vault server inside its own network, that matters. The Proton Pass pages we opened name no self-hosting option and do not state where data is stored. Both describe zero-knowledge encryption and both are open source, so the gap is deployment, not cryptography.
Edge: Bitwarden
Entry price for one person
Bitwarden Premium costs $1.65 per month, billed annually at $19.80. Pass Plus shows $1.99 per month, billed $23.88 for the first 12 months and then $35.88 a year, so the promotional price rises after year one. Proton's page shows only per-month equivalents and first-year offers. Bitwarden's figure is flatter and cheaper to plan around, while Proton includes 10 GB and unlimited aliases at Plus.
Edge: Bitwarden
Who owns the company
Proton AG is a Swiss corporation based in Geneva whose primary shareholder is the non-profit Proton Foundation, with no venture capital investors, according to its about page. Bitwarden, Inc. is based in Santa Barbara, California, and the page we opened carries no funding or ownership statement beyond naming 8bit Solutions LLC as a subsidiary. We apply no country rule on this site, so this round only compares the structure each vendor states, and Proton states more of it.
Edge: Proton Pass
Tally: Proton Pass 2, Bitwarden 3, even 0.
When neither fits
Neither is the obvious pick for a company that wants a password manager built only for teams, with no consumer or family plans in the way. Passbolt and Keeper are both in our business password manager ranking, which orders the field for company buyers. We have not tested either against these two here.
See 1Password and Dashlane among the 12 products in Best Business Password Managers in 2026.
Questions and answers
Does Proton Pass or Bitwarden have a free plan?
Both do. Proton Free includes unlimited logins, notes and cards, unlimited devices, 1 GB of storage, 2 vaults and 10 hide-my-email aliases. Bitwarden Free includes unlimited devices and passwords, sharing with one other user and Bitwarden Send. Integrated 2FA and file attachments need Pass Plus or Bitwarden Premium.
Which is cheaper, Proton Pass or Bitwarden?
Bitwarden Premium is cheaper for one person at $1.65 per month, billed annually at $19.80. Pass Plus shows $1.99 per month for a first year of $23.88, then $35.88 every 12 months. For families, Bitwarden Families is $47.88 a year and Pass Family is $33.48 in year one, then $59.88.
Can Bitwarden be self-hosted and Proton Pass cannot?
Bitwarden offers self-hosting, described as on-prem or private cloud, and lists it under Enterprise. The Proton Pass pages we opened name no self-hosting option. We did not find a statement either way beyond that, so check with Proton if self-hosting is a hard requirement.
Are Proton Pass and Bitwarden open source?
Yes, both describe themselves that way. Proton's comparison table on its Pass page marks Proton Pass as open source, and Bitwarden's pricing FAQ says it was built as an open source password manager. Both also describe their encryption as zero-knowledge and end-to-end.
Where are Proton Pass and Bitwarden based?
Proton Pass is made by Proton AG in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 2014. Bitwarden is made by Bitwarden, Inc. in Santa Barbara, California, founded in 2016. The pages we opened do not state where either vendor stores cloud vault data.
Sources
Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on November 14, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.
- Proton Pass pricing: Proton Pass plan prices, first-year promotional billing, free plan contents, storage and vault limits
- Proton about page: Proton AG ownership by the Proton Foundation, no venture capital investors, and the 2014 founding
- Proton Pass product page: Zero-knowledge encryption, open source marking and the absence of a named self-hosting option
- Bitwarden pricing: Bitwarden Free, Premium, Families, Teams and Enterprise prices, trials, storage and the open source and zero-knowledge statements
- Bitwarden about page: Santa Barbara headquarters, 2016 founding and the 8bit Solutions LLC relationship
- Bitwarden personal products: Self-hosting as on-prem or private cloud, authenticator, file attachments and emergency access on Premium
- 1Password pricing: 1Password individual and family prices and the 14-day free trial, used for the alternatives named
- Dashlane pricing: Dashlane 14-day free trial and sales-led Enterprise tiers, used for the alternatives named