Password manager review 2026: 1Password vs Bitwarden vs KeePassXC
Which password manager should you actually use in 2026? This article is built from our own video package for the comparison. It shows the full method, every price with the date we checked it, and every source.
Summary
- Need a free manager today, synced across your devices: Bitwarden Free — or KeePassXC if you want it offline.
- Most polished paid product with a strong family plan: 1Password.
- Zero cloud and maximum control on the desktop: KeePassXC.
The detail — the method, the comparison, every price and every source — is below.
How this comparison was made (method)
The ranking follows the published rubric. The criteria and weights are:
| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Security model | 20% | Documented design and published transparency; not a live penetration test. |
| Free-tier limits | 25% | What $0 actually gives you. |
| Family and team sharing | 15% | Seats and sharing model. |
| Cross-platform | 15% | Native apps, browsers, CLI. |
| Export and lock-in | 15% | Formats, and whether export is encrypted. |
| Price | 10% | Paid-tier cost, dated. |
A fact that cannot be verified on an official page is marked "unverified" and left unscored. Ties stay ties, and a close result is reported as close. Commissions never change the order — no affiliate account exists, and every link is a plain vendor link.
The comparison
| Tool | List price (as of the date below) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| KeePassXC | $0 — no subscription, ever | Zero cloud and maximum control on the desktop. |
| Bitwarden | Free forever; Premium $19.80/yr; Families $47.88/yr | A free manager today, synced across your devices. |
| 1Password | Individual $3.99/mo; Families $5.99/mo (regular prices) | The most polished paid product, with a strong family plan. |
Prices as of 12 October 2026
Sources: the vendors' own pages, all retrieved 12 October 2026. All figures are in US dollars, with annual billing where stated.
| Tool | Prices and plans |
|---|---|
| KeePassXC | Free — no account, no subscription, no cloud. An offline encrypted file you own, with nothing that can expire. Desktop only (Windows, macOS and Linux); the project publishes no first-party mobile app. |
| Bitwarden | Free forever — unlimited logins, notes, cards and identities, unlimited devices, a password generator, sync across devices and encrypted export. Premium $19.80/yr (billed annually). Families $47.88/yr (billed annually) for six people, every member on full Premium features. The free plan also gives a shared organisation for two people. |
| 1Password | No free tier — free to try for 14 days, then you pick a plan. Individual $3.99/mo billed annually (about $48/yr); Families $5.99/mo (about $72/yr), up to five family members with unlimited shared vaults. These are the regular prices; a discount was live when we checked. |
Prices and plans change — check the vendors' pages before deciding.
Links
Every link is named for what it is. These are the vendors' own pages; no link here is an affiliate link.
- 1Password — link: https://1password.com/pricing/
- Bitwarden — link: https://bitwarden.com/pricing/
- KeePassXC — link: https://keepassxc.org/
Sources
- 1Password pricing: https://1password.com/pricing/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- 1Password security: https://1password.com/security (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- 1Password export: https://support.1password.com/export/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- 1Password downloads: https://1password.com/downloads/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- Bitwarden pricing: https://bitwarden.com/pricing/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- Bitwarden security FAQs: https://bitwarden.com/help/security-faqs/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- Bitwarden export your data: https://bitwarden.com/help/export-your-data/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- Bitwarden downloads: https://bitwarden.com/download/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- KeePassXC: https://keepassxc.org/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
- KeePassXC documentation: https://keepassxc.org/docs/ (retrieved 12 October 2026)
Chapters
- 0:00 — Opening and the AI-voice notice
- 0:29 — How this comparison was made (method)
- 1:01 — Security model
- 1:51 — Free-tier limits
- 2:37 — Family and team sharing
- 3:16 — Cross-platform support
- 3:54 — Export and lock-in
- 4:27 — Price
- 5:10 — The scorecard and the verdict
- 5:58 — Sources, method and the outro
Transparency and legal
About the voice. The narration in this video is AI-generated. The voice is a synthetic (computer-generated) voice — it is not a recording of a real person.
Typeface. This video's on-screen text and thumbnail use the Inter typeface (The Inter Project Authors, https://rsms.me/inter/), licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://github.com/rsms/inter/blob/master/LICENSE.txt).
Legal. hh-media.net is operated by hhIT ApS (CVR 39334895), Denmark.
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