Bitwarden vs Vaultwarden: privacy compared
Bitwarden and Vaultwarden are both rated in password managers against the same 12 public criteria.
| Criterion | Bitwarden Our pick | Vaultwarden |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade C C (72/100) | Grade B B (88/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | Unknown |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Yes source | Yes source |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | No source | Yes source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Yes source | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | No | Not applicable |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | No | Not applicable |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Not applicable |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Not applicable |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Partial source | Not applicable |
| End-to-end encrypted vault Is the vault encrypted on the device before it is synced, with a key the provider does not hold? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Local or self-hosted option Can the vault be kept locally or on your own server? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Full export Can every item be exported in an open format? | Yes source | Yes source |
Which is more private, Bitwarden or Vaultwarden?
Vaultwarden scores higher on the public criteria: 88 out of 100, against 72 for Bitwarden. Bitwarden does better on independent audit. Vaultwarden does better on no trackers or telemetry. How scoring works
Summaries
Bitwarden. Bitwarden scores 72 out of 100 (grade C) on the password managers criteria. It meets 8 of 12 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration, security headers, end-to-end encrypted vault, local or self-hosted option and full export. It partly meets modern web standards. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry, transparency report and tells users about requests. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+, Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+ and Internet.nl website score 76%.
Vaultwarden. Vaultwarden scores 88 out of 100 (grade B) on the password managers criteria. It meets 6 of 7 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, end-to-end encrypted vault, local or self-hosted option and full export. It does not meet independent audit.
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