Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden Cloud vs Proton Pass: Which Password Manager for a Homelab Household?
Affiliate links. Disclosure
Date / checked: 2026-10-25. Versions pinned: Vaultwarden 1.37.4 (GitHub release, published 2026-10-06 08:40 JST). Bitwarden server v2026.10.0 (GitHub release, for reference only). Current prices: bitwarden.com/pricing, proton.me/pass/pricing.
Choose Vaultwarden if you already run a home server and keep backups: it's free, self-hosted and works with the official Bitwarden apps. Choose Bitwarden Cloud (free plan, paid Premium) if you don't want to run a server, and Proton Pass if you also want email aliases and other Proton services.
The short answer
- You already run a home server and you keep backups: Vaultwarden is free and self-hosted, and it works with the official Bitwarden apps. You are responsible for uptime, HTTPS and backups.
- You want Bitwarden without running a server: Bitwarden Cloud. There's a free plan and a paid Premium plan (pricing).
- You also want email aliases or other Proton services: Proton Pass.
What each one is (official wording)
- Vaultwarden: "An alternative server implementation of the Bitwarden Client API, written in Rust and compatible with official Bitwarden clients." Its README says: "This project is not associated with Bitwarden or Bitwarden, Inc." It also says, "We cannot be held liable for any data loss … We highly recommend performing regular backups." (README at 1.37.4)
- Bitwarden Cloud: Bitwarden's hosted service. On the pricing page, self-hosting ("Flexibility to self-host") is listed under the Enterprise business plan.
- Proton Pass: Proton's hosted password manager. The pricing page mentions Proton's end-to-end encryption and Swiss jurisdiction.
Plans compared (checked 2026-10-25)
| Free tier | Individual paid | Family | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaultwarden | Software is free (AGPL-3.0); you pay for your own hardware or VPS | — | — |
| Bitwarden | Free plan ("Always free") | Premium (pricing) | Families, up to 6 users |
| Proton Pass | Proton Free (unlimited logins, 10 hide-my-email aliases) | Pass Plus (pricing) | Pass Family, 6 Pass Plus accounts |
Paid plan prices change often; check each vendor's pricing page for the current figure.
NordPass (another hosted option): its official plans page (pricing) lists Free, Premium and Family plans; Family gives "six separate encrypted vaults," and Premium has a 30-day money-back guarantee. <!-- FACTCHECK: no NordPass prices by CoS decision 2026-10-25; link to https://nordpass.com/pricing/ only. -->
Self-hosting trade-offs (Vaultwarden)
- The web vault needs HTTPS. The README says it "will only work if you enable HTTPS" and recommends a reverse proxy. See our Vaultwarden + HTTPS guide.
- Report bugs to Vaultwarden, not to Bitwarden. The README says: "DO NOT use the official Bitwarden support channels."
- The README lists organizations, Send, attachments, emergency access and 2FA (authenticator, email, FIDO2 WebAuthn, YubiKey, Duo) among its features.
If your only copy of your passwords is on one home server, a dead disk can lock you out. Set up backups before you move your vault. See the Vaultwarden + HTTPS guide and the official backup wiki.
Sources
- https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/releases/tag/1.37.4
- https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/blob/1.37.4/README.md
- https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Backing-up-your-vault
- https://github.com/bitwarden/server/releases/tag/v2026.10.0
- https://bitwarden.com/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-25)
- https://proton.me/pass/pricing (checked 2026-10-25)
- https://nordpass.com/plans/ (checked 2026-10-25)