Bitwarden vs LastPass | Detailed Comparison

Privacy and security for storing your data have always been a concern for people who use digital devices. There has always been a risk of hackers stealing personal data or someone snooping through your stuff.

Here’s where password managers like Bitwarden and Lastpass come into play. It has always been the easier way to have the same passwords on all your accounts.

You are probably lazy, or maybe you are forgetful to the point that you cannot remember so many passwords. These password managers also have a vault feature to keep some of your private files safe.

Bitwarden and Lastpass have been highly praised by users as the best password managers on the market. These have been determined as secure and robust. These come with a free as well as a paid plan which is considered a cheap price for premium services in password managers.

There are some similarities as well as differences between Bitwarden and LastPass. Let’s go through the similarities in brief before we start comparing both of them in detail.

Similarities Between Bitwarden and LastPass

The two password managers are considered top-notch in the market. So some of their top features are bound to be similar to each other.

• 256-AES encryption. This is the best kind of encryption method available right now in the market. Current supercomputers should have a problem with breaking this encryption.
• Advanced 2-factor authentication. Both managers use 2-factor authentication for opening files on a different computer or from a different location, i.e you have to confirm the login from 2 devices rather than the traditional one-device password login.
• Password auditing is another feature similar to both of them. Continuous testing of the network by using tools that would normally be used by a hacker.
• Safe Password sharing. Since these password managers encrypt your password, it is easier to share your password with friends and family.

Let us move on to the differences between both them and compare them based on different important features that a password manager should have.

Comparing Basic Features of Bitwarden and LastPass

As we expected, there are similar features in both of them which are not that important in this comparison. Let’s dive into the features of both password managers one by one.

Basic features of LastPass

• Facility to import passwords into the vault without any hassle. The instructions are pretty clear and you can follow them to easily import passwords from other browsers and password managers.
• Unlimited storage for passwords in LastPass. There is no limit to storing passwords in this password manager.
• The automatic password generator is responsive and has a lot of varieties. The auto-fill is also very responsive and helpful whenever you make a new account.

Basic features of Bitwarden

• Bitwarden also supports importing your passwords from other password managers and browsers but it is not as easy as it could be. Lastpass has made the instructions clearer.
• Bitwarden also provides its users with the ability to store unlimited passwords just like Lastpass. These are some of the very few password managers providing this facility.
• Bitwarden also has auto-fill features but according to the users, it is not as responsive as Lastpass’s auto-fill and auto-save features.
• Bitwarden’s password generator has the upper hand on Lastpass as the former lets you create passwords up to 128 characters long compared to the latter’s 99-character limit.

Both the tools are not far away from each other in the case of features, but Lastpass looks to be just better and user-friendly compared to Bitwarden.

Comparing the Security Features of Bitwarden and LastPass

As mentioned above both Bitwarden and Lastpass have similar 256-AES encryption and also a 2-factor authentication which is essential when we are using password managers. 

Let’s look at both of them individually and understand what are their security features.

Basic security features of Lastpass

• The data of Lastpass is encrypted and decrypted locally. LastPass servers do not have access to decrypted data, only encrypted data is sent to Lastpass servers.

•  The encryption key is with the user and they can decrypt the file locally on their pc.
• There is end-to-end encryption which also implies that LastPass does not have any access to the vault and password of the user. Which makes it safe and sound.

• We discussed the availability of 2FA (2-factor authentication) in both of them but there is a variety of 2FA in Lastpass including Google Authenticator, USB tokens, biometric scanners, card readers etcetera.

Considering all of the above, Lastpass has had a security breach in recent years which is not a good indicator for a company delivering services for password security.

Basic security features of Bitwarden

• Bitwarden is open source, giving a lot of freedom to be scrutinized by different users as well as security experts for any faults in its security. And so far the response has been positive.
• Bitwarden gives you the ability to store your data in your private servers rather than on Bitwarden servers, making it a flexible tool to use and be relaxed about your data.
• 2FA in Bitwarden is similar to Lastpass as it offers a variety of 2FA authentication including google authenticator, card readers, biometric scanning as well as a USB token. But, USB tokens and Google authenticator 2FA are only available for premium users, which makes LastPass attractive in this case.

Considering the security features of both Lastpass and Bitwarden there is more transparency on how the security features of Bitwarden work, additionally there has been a concerning history for the security for Lastpass. Bitwarden seems to have an edge in this situation.

Comparing Plans and Pricing of Bitwarden and LastPass.

We looked into the different features of both password managers, but it is finally time to understand the pricing and also the premium features that they offer for the priced versions of their tools.

Plans and Pricing of Lastpass

Lastpass offers 3 versions. Free, Premium, and Families. Let us look into the different features that are offered in all the three versions

• The free version does not offer that much. Namely unlimited password storage, one-to-one password sharing, TOTP 2FA compatibility, sync across multiple devices, and a TOTP password generator. 

It is decent enough but is not that interesting.

• The premium and the family version packs in some extra security features. They are more expensive than their counterparts Bitwarden but have more tempting features.

The features include

1. One-to-many sharing. It can be shared with up to 30 users.
2. Password auditing, as explained above password auditing is using hacking tools to inspect the ability of the security features. There is also dark web scanning included.
3. You can also have your credit report monitored.
4. 2FA, USB tokens, and biometric scanners are all a part of the premium features of LastPass.
5. 1 GB of encrypted storage is provided in the premium features of LastPass.

LastPass premium is priced at $3 per month for the users, and LastPass family is priced at $4 per month with accessibility for up to 6 users.

Plans and Pricing of Bitwarden

Bitwarden, just like its counterpart has 3 versions. Free, Premium, and a Family version. Bitwarden free has better features than Lastpass free, which is something attractive for users who are not looking to pay for a password manager.

• The free version of Bitwarden offers the same features as Lastpass free but with a little extra. It offers sync across multiple devices, unlimited password storage, one-to-one password sharing, and 2FA compatibility with TOTP authenticators. 

The extra features which differentiate it from Lastpass are biometric logins and cloud or local data storage.

• The premium and the family version have the same features. Its features include

1. Password vault auditing
2. Password breach reports, which are not present in Lastpass.
3. Built-in 2FA authenticator, something which is also unique among both the tools
4. 2FA compatibility with USB tokens.
5. 1 GB encrypted storage.

Bitwarden premium costs less than Lastpass at $10 per year. Bitwarden families add password sharing for up to 6 users as well as an extra 1 GB of encrypted storage for the extra users. It is charged at $40 per year.

Endnote

After comparing both the password managers above, you should have a better idea of how these work and also what they pack in. 

By comparison, Bitwarden looks like a better option for most users as it is cheaply priced and has more or less the same features as Lastpass, if not better.

But there can also be a case made for Lastpass as you can look if the password manager suits you better. Make an informed decision and keep your passwords safe.