Bitwarden
Open-source password and passkey manager with cloud sync and self-hosting options.
HN commenters like it for syncing passwords and passkeys across devices,123 for being open source and auditable,45 and for self-hosting through Vaultwarden.678 The most common complaint is recent price hikes and private-equity ownership,91011 with others noting a slower, more bloated UI and flaky browser and passkey integration.12131415
Why people recommend it
Passkey support · 3
Stores passkeys that sync across devices and handles passkey sign-up flows smoothly in the browser.
“I use passkeys extensively with BitWarden and I love it”
“the Bitwarden extension picked up the flow and everything was ridiculously easy.”
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“that’s exactly how I use all my passkeys with Bitwarden. They sync to any device I have Bitwarden installed on”
Self-hosting · 3
Can be self-hosted with the open-source Vaultwarden server.
“Bitwarden was the no nonsense choice because it just worked.”
“I switched from 1password to locally hosted Bitwarden(Vaultwarden) 6 months ago and I don't miss anything.”
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“I use bitwarden[0]. It covers all cases and devices in question.”
Cross-device sync · 3
Works across many operating systems and merges changes from multiple clients without manual effort.
“I personally use bitwarden on my chrome profile across Windows Mac Linux and android and think it's great. Highly recommended.”
“what brought me to bitwarden was being able to make changes on two clients and merge the results cleanly”
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“I use bitwarden[0]. It covers all cases and devices in question.”
Open source · 3
Users trust it because the clients are open source and auditable.
“BitWarden being open source and auditable is one of the main reasons I use it”
“I use BitWarden because I'd never trust a password manager with close source clients.”
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“Take a look at Bitwarden (GPL3) and GitLab (MIT).”
Big Tech alternative · 3
A common pick for people moving away from iCloud, Apple Passwords or Google.
“Instead of iCloud I use WebDav, CalDav, Bitwarden and NextCloud.”
“Exported all my passwords from Apple Password Manager to BitWarden.”
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Phishing protection · 3
Autofill only offers a login on the matching domain, which helps block phishing.
“The password manager (I use Bitwarden, but there are others) can check the site you're trying to log in to, and only autofill passwords that are for that site.”
“I personally use bitwarden on my chrome profile across Windows Mac Linux and android and think it's great. Highly recommended.”
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“If you use it with Bitwarden, the phishing resistance passkeys tout is something you already mostly get”
Caveats and dissent
Price and ownership · 3
Long-time users worry about a doubled price, private-equity control and licensing changes.
“the bigger issue ive with this is the doubling of the price right from the get-go.”
“I was so happy with bitwarden. Been a premium subscriber for many years.”
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“discovering a long history of memory leak problems in the GitHub issue tracker”
Slower UI · 3
Recent redesigns are described as bloated and slow, and some note latency compared with 1Password.
“Now it is bloated white space, slow, standardized UX elements like any SaaS built by AI.”
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“Importing was truly super easy, but bitwarden has some kind of latency issue compared to 1p”
Passkey glitches · 3
Some report flaky passkeys on Android, sites bypassing or blocking Bitwarden, and browsers without passkey support.
“I had a bug with bitwarden where every passkey wanted to load from the macbook instead of bitwarden.”
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Browser extension · 3
Some find browser integration weak, including no automatic password generation on sign-up and memory leaks.
“I moved from BitWarden back then because their browser integration was quite poor.”
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“discovering a long history of memory leak problems in the GitHub issue tracker”
Sharing UX · 2
Sharing through organizations is seen as unintuitive, and the overall UX is called a bit fiddly.
“I really didn't like how you share credentials in BitWarden (through organizations)”
“Bitwarden (good balance, cheaper, can self-host if you want, but UX is a bit more fiddly)”
App crashes · 1
One user left after the app crashed on login on a new iPad.
“the impetus was Bitwarden crashing on login on my new iPad”
Often compared with
2 moved from 1Password to Bitwarden
1 moved from Bitwarden to 1Password
1 moved from KeePassXC to Bitwarden
3 moved from Bitwarden to KeePassXCLastPass6 comments mention both
3 moved from LastPass to BitwardenApple Passwords6 comments mention both
2 moved from Bitwarden to Apple Passwords
1 moved from Bitwarden to Proton Pass
1 moved from KeePass to Bitwardenpass4 comments mention both
1 moved from pass to Bitwarden
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Passkeys were invented by engineers with zero understanding of consumer brain 9 mentions
- The Quiet Renovation at Bitwarden 9 mentions
- Bitwarden Dual License Model 8 mentions
- Passkeys are not a trap 6 mentions
- I don't like passkeys 4 mentions
- Passkeys are a trap 2 mentions
Data: bitwarden.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 47
“Instead of iCloud I use WebDav, CalDav, Bitwarden and NextCloud.”
“If you use it with Bitwarden, the phishing resistance passkeys tout is something you already mostly get”
“I use the bitwarden extension in chrome and chrome never asks me to store a passkey, bitwarden does.”
“Face ID handles it for both iCloud Keychain and Bitwarden”
“The password manager (I use Bitwarden, but there are others) can check the site you're trying to log in to, and only autofill passwords that are for that site.”
“For example, you can't use bitwarden”
“later added a passkey through Bitwarden on my work laptop”
“the master password of my Bitwarden account is a single point of failure”
“May I recommend Bitwarden?”
“As a loyal Bitwarden user, I think this is great news.”
“I use it on Android and it's always been a Bitwarden-specific pop-up that shows up on password fields.”
“Counter to many other commenters I personally prefer bitwarden over 1password, and certainly over lastpass and roboform, etc.”
“the bigger issue ive with this is the doubling of the price right from the get-go.”
“what brought me to bitwarden was being able to make changes on two clients and merge the results cleanly”
“Bitwarden was very flaky in that regard”
“Bitwarden was the no nonsense choice because it just worked.”
“I was so happy with bitwarden. Been a premium subscriber for many years.”
“I run bitwarden along with a photos app on the server which is worth it to me”
“Exported all my passwords from Apple Password Manager to BitWarden.”
“Bitwarden for passwords. It's worked great for me so far”
“I use Bitwarden machine secrets and a limited virtual card connected to my phone.”
“I use Bitwarden as a passkey manager and it mostly works across devices.”
“the 12 other sites that I have passkeys in bitwarden for”
“Kiwi Browser doesn't support passkeys even with Bitwarden on my device.”
“I use passkeys extensively with BitWarden and I love it”
“Bitwarden even supports FF Relay!”
“I switched from 1password to locally hosted Bitwarden(Vaultwarden) 6 months ago and I don't miss anything.”
“Importing was truly super easy, but bitwarden has some kind of latency issue compared to 1p”
“I've been using Bitwarden for close to a decade now, and it still works”
“I really didn't like how you share credentials in BitWarden (through organizations)”
“Bitwarden”
“We use bitwarden? but it feels a little clunky...”
“I would not install my bitwarden either.”
“Take a look at Bitwarden (GPL3) and GitLab (MIT).”
“Having your 1st and 2nd factors in the same place seems foolish.”
“the Bitwarden extension picked up the flow and everything was ridiculously easy.”
“Wife and I use bitwarden. For shared accounts we put them in a shared folder, and the passkey is attached in there, in bitwarden, meaning it survives device resets.”
“that’s exactly how I use all my passkeys with Bitwarden. They sync to any device I have Bitwarden installed on”
“I use bitwarden[0]. It covers all cases and devices in question.”
“Bitwarden, Proton Pass, and KeepassXC do support exporting passkeys to CSV”
“BitWarden being open source and auditable is one of the main reasons I use it”
“I moved from BitWarden back then because their browser integration was quite poor.”
“Now it is bloated white space, slow, standardized UX elements like any SaaS built by AI.”
“discovering a long history of memory leak problems in the GitHub issue tracker”
“I use BitWarden because I'd never trust a password manager with close source clients.”
“I personally use bitwarden on my chrome profile across Windows Mac Linux and android and think it's great. Highly recommended.”
“The newest release of bitwarden absolutely sucks.”