Bitwarden and LastPass are in some ways competitors as two of the best password managers on the market. So to decide which one you’d like better, let’s look at Bitwarden vs LastPass features.
Bitwarden vs LastPass: Which One Is Better?
Bitwarden and LastPass are both advantages to use as they are now considered to be highly secure, and offer feature-rich free plans or low-cost premium plans for individuals and families.
But there are controversies, for example, LastPass was caught garnering and sending personal data from subscribers through the Android app, during a security audit by the German company Exodus. Bitwarden is an excellent open-source alternative you’re looking to get out of the LastPass ecosystem, in fact they have the same features:
Bitwarden vs LastPass: What Is Common Between Them?
LastPass and Bitwarden have a lot in common in 2022, such as: Password vault auditing, Secure password sharing, Advanced 2FA options and 256-bit AES encryption.
Warning: the features need a premium password manager.
Bitwarden vs LastPass: Which One Is Ideal For You?
When comparing LastPass and Bitwarden, the whole comparison is based on several factors such as cross-platform availability, security, backup, features, user interface, mobile experience, price and more.
Quick verdict on Bitwarden vs LastPass:
Bitwarden is a winning tool for Security and Pricing as it is an open-source tool that provides both cloud, self-hosted local data hosting options and is around ⅓ the cost of most competitors. In addition to that, there is also auditing of the password, password sharing ability, and affordable family plans and individual packs. Many people have found it better for advanced users.
On the other hand, LastPass is a winning tool for its basic features. Here you have more ease of use with extra things like customer support, password auto-changer, password auditing, multiple recovery options, an automatic password changer, emergency access, and encrypted storage. It is recommended for everyone.
In conclusion, it all depends on if you are advanced or prefer basic features
Cross-platform availability:
It’s important for users to check a password manager for cross-platform availability first. You need access to your sensitive information on all your devices.
Bitwarden covers all conceivable platforms and browsers. It is available for iOS and Android; it has native desktop applications on Windows, macOS and Linux; and it also integrates with every major browser, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
LastPass isn’t far behind either. The popular password manager is available on all four major operating systems – Android, iOS, Windows and Mac and has browser extensions for Chromium and Firefox.
User interface:
Both Bitwarden and LastPass have been known to utilize the standard macOS menu for navigation. LastPass’s approach is a bit more simple, works right out of the box, and doesn’t overdo it with a plethora of options and menus.
Meanwhile, Bitwarden at first glance looks boring compared to LastPass. For the fans of the dark theme, the app supports that as well.
Add new item:
When adding a new item on LastPass, the app offers a clean interface with simple icons. It’s easy to spot and identify compared to Bitwarden’s small slide-down menu. You can add all relevant details like name, email, password, url, use a password generator and even create folders like social, shopping, lifestyle, bank, etc.
To add a new item to Bitwarden, click the + button at the bottom and you can add new items. New item types are limited to Login, Map, Identity, and Secure Note.
Overall, one will find the LastPass to be much better at creating new entries for login items and passwords. Both apps offer to automatically save new entries when you log in via an app or browser for the first time.
Security and data backup:
Bitwarden is an open source platform where all your data is fully encrypted before it leaves your device. Only you have access to it. Even if they wanted to, not even the Bitwarden team can read your data. Bitwarden is also a password manager where your data is sealed with end-to-end AES 256-bit encryption.
As far as backup is concerned, Bitwarden stores all user data on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. LastPass security suffered a major setback due to this practice when they were hacked. LastPass syncs and stores all data on its dedicated servers and there is a possibility that your data could be exposed to a malware attack. However, there is an advantage. If you forget your Master Password, you can save your account info by recovering the account password.
Other properties:
LastPass offers a feature called Password Verification that shows weak/repeated passwords, secure notes, password sharing, browser integration, and more. With Dark Web Monitoring, LastPass alerts you when your personal information is at risk.
You can also enjoy the multi-factor authentication option in LastPass Premium.
Bitwarden is also packed with useful features which include security audit reports, encrypted file attachments, user groups,two-factor authentication, shared items, and more. But for advanced users, you even have the option to give you full control over your data if you can figure out how to host Bitwarden yourself on your own server.
Bitwarden vs LastPass mobile apps:
Both Bitwarden and LastPass provide fingerprint support and Face ID on iPhone and Android, respectively. They also work perfectly with the autofill feature.
Bitwarden mobile app, unfortunately, lags slightly behind LastPass in terms of overall look, feel, and responsiveness.
Pricing
LastPass
It follows the subscription model offering 3 plans for personal use: Free, Premium, and Families. Pay $3/month and access the app on all platforms. In addition to that, LastPass unlocks advanced features like priority support and vault sharing. The family plan is priced at $4 per month and unlocks 6 more access keys.
- On LastPass’s free version you get features like Unlimited password storage, One-to-one password sharing, TOTP 2FA compatibility, TOTP generator and Syncing across multiple devices (either desktop or mobile).
- On LastPass’s premium version you get features like Emergency access, 1 GB encrypted storage, 2FA with USB tokens & biometric scanners, One-to-many sharing (up to 30 users), Password auditing & dark web scanning, and Credit report monitoring.
- On LastPass’s premium version you get features like unlimited vault sharing between users, coverage of LastPass Premium but with coverage for up to 6 users, and a helpful sharing dashboard to assist you on who has access to which passwords.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden is open source with subscriptions like Free, Premium, and Families.
Most people will be perfectly fine with the free Bitwarden version. When you pay, you get access to encrypted file attachments, more two-factor security options, and reports on the overall security of the passwords you use. Bitwarden is only $10 per year. That’s a lot cheaper than the competition out there. The family plan is set at $3.33 per month.
- On Bitwarden’s free version you get features like One-to-one password sharing, Unlimited password storage, 2FA compatibility with TOTP authenticators, Syncing across multiple devices, Biometric logins, and Cloud or local data storage.
- On Bitwarden’s premium version you get features like Built-in 2FA authenticator, Password vault auditing, 2FA compatibility with USB tokens like YubiKey and Duo, 1 GB encrypted storage, Password breach reports.
- On Bitwarden’s family version, you get features of Bitwarden Premium’s version, in addition to some extra features like an extra 1 GB of storage for shared items and password sharing for up to 6 users.
