1Password vs Bitwarden vs Dashlane vs Proton Pass
Four password managers with very different free tiers — the polished enterprise default with no forever-free tier, the open-source consensus pick unlimited passwords + devices + syncing for $0, a polished consumer app that retired its free tier in 2023, and a privacy-first rival unlimited passwords + devices + email aliases free forever — compared on free passwords, devices, aliases, 2FA, self-hosting, and open-source.
| 1Password | Bitwarden | Dashlane | Proton Pass | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier note | The polished enterprise + consumer password-manager default — 1Password stores unlimited passwords, passkeys, 2FA codes, and secure notes behind one master password, with Watchtower breach alerts, Travel Mode, shared vaults, and a polished app on every platform. No forever-free tier: a 14-day trial then Individual from ~$2.99/mo (billed annually), Families ~$4.99/mo for 5 people, and Business plans from ~$7.99/seat/mo with SSO + reporting. | The open-source consensus best free password manager — Bitwarden Free gives unlimited passwords, unlimited devices, cross-platform syncing, a password generator, secure notes, and basic 2FA (TOTP) free forever, with end-to-end AES-256 + Argon2 encryption and public third-party audits. Premium is just $10/year for TOTP storage, Bitwarden Authenticator, file attachments, emergency access, and priority support. Fully self-hostable via Bitwarden Server or the community Vaultwarden (Rust) server — your vault, your hardware. | A polished consumer password manager with a strong autofill engine, dark-web monitoring, and a built-in VPN on Premium — Dashlane retired its old free tier (50 passwords on 1 device) in November 2023, so there is now no forever-free plan: a 14-day Premium trial then Advanced from ~$2.75/mo (billed annually) or ~$4.99/mo monthly, Premium ~$4.99/mo with the VPN. Good UX, but no free tier and a higher paid floor than 1Password. | The privacy-first free password manager from the Proton Mail team — Proton Pass Free gives unlimited passwords, unlimited devices, unlimited email aliases (hide-your-email via SimpleLogin), built-in 2FA (TOTP), passkeys, and secure notes free forever, with end-to-end encryption and Proton's Swiss privacy pedigree. The clients are open-source and audited. Plus from ~$1.99/mo (billed annually) adds unlimited aliases, custom domains for aliases, dark-web monitoring, and Proton Sentinel. No self-hosting. |
| Bandwidth | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Builds | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Requests | 14-day free trial, then paid — no forever-free tier | Unlimited passwords + devices + syncing free forever | 14-day Premium trial, then paid — no forever-free tier | Unlimited passwords + devices + aliases free forever |
| Custom domains | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Paid from | $3/mo | $1/mo | $3/mo | $2/mo |
| Generosity ★ | 16 | 33 | 16 | 32 |
| Last verified | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 |
| Visit site | 1Password ↗ | Bitwarden ↗ | Dashlane ↗ | Proton Pass ↗ |
Data verified 2025-09-01.