Bitwarden wins for most people. It's free with no device limits, open source, independently audited, and the Premium tier is $10/year. Keeper has real security credentials and better enterprise-grade sharing controls, but it costs $34.99/year with no free option, and for personal use that price gap is very hard to justify when Bitwarden covers the same core needs for nothing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bitwarden | Keeper |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free available | No free tier |
| Paid price | $0.83 USD/mo | $2.92 USD/mo |
| Encryption | AES-256 | AES-256 |
| Mfa | ||
| Passkey Support | ||
| Travel Mode | ||
| Secure Notes | ||
| Emergency Access | Premium only | All paid plans |
| Browser Extensions | All major browsers | All major browsers |
| Biometric Unlock | ||
| Self Hosting | ||
| Open source | ||
| SSO support | ||
| Score | 8/10 | 7/10 |
Bitwarden
8
Keeper
7
Runner-up
Bitwarden's free tier is the best in the category, and there's no catch. Keeper is a well-built product, but it's aimed at teams and compliance-conscious organizations more than individual users. If you're evaluating these two for personal use, go with Bitwarden.
Pricing
Bitwarden's free tier has no password cap and no device limit. You can sync across your laptop, phone, and browser extensions all at once without paying a cent. Premium is $10/year and adds TOTP generation, encrypted file attachments, vault health reports, and emergency access. The Families plan covers six accounts for $40/year.
Keeper has no free tier. You get a 30-day trial, then it's $34.99/year for one person or $74.99/year for a family of five. Dark web monitoring (BreachWatch) is a $20/year add-on, not included by default. That's $55/year before you've covered what Bitwarden does for free.
If budget matters at all, Bitwarden is the obvious choice. The only scenario where Keeper's pricing makes sense is if your organization already uses it and you're extending to personal accounts.
Features and Security
Both use AES-256 encryption and local-only decryption, so neither service can read your vault contents. Bitwarden is open source and had a full Cure53 audit in 2022 with the report published publicly. Keeper is closed source but SOC 2 Type II certified, ISO 27001 compliant, and FedRAMP authorized, which matters for government contractors and regulated industries.
Bitwarden supports passkeys on all tiers including free. Keeper added passkey support later and it's less polished in practice. Bitwarden's browser extension handles most autofill scenarios well, though it occasionally misses edge cases where 1Password would catch them. Keeper's extension is reliable too, but not noticeably better.
Where Keeper pulls ahead is sharing. Its record-sharing model lets you set granular permission levels on individual items or folders, which is genuinely useful for teams. Bitwarden's sharing works fine but requires paid Collections and is less flexible at the item level. Keeper also ships native Linux desktop apps, while Bitwarden on Linux is mostly the web app and browser extension.
Emergency access, which lets a trusted contact request access to your vault if something happens to you, is a Bitwarden Premium feature and included in all Keeper paid plans. Both handle it well.
Who Each Product Suits
Bitwarden fits anyone who wants a free or near-free password manager that doesn't cut corners on security. Developers who want to self-host get that option too, with official Docker support and the popular Vaultwarden community fork. The UI isn't as slick as 1Password's, but it's functional and the mobile apps work without frustration.
Keeper fits teams or individuals with compliance requirements. FedRAMP authorization and SOC 2 Type II certification open doors that Bitwarden's open-source audit doesn't, at least not in regulated procurement contexts. The granular sharing controls and family manager dashboard also make it more manageable for small organizations where someone needs oversight across multiple vaults.