1Password vs Bitwarden for Small Business
1Password is cheaper for exactly 10 people; Bitwarden costs less once advanced policies, SSO or self-hosting matter. Here is the real price and admin tradeoff.
- For exactly 10 people, 1Password Teams Starter is the better buy: $299.40 a year versus Bitwarden Teams at $480.
- Bitwarden Enterprise becomes the value winner when SSO, enterprise policies or self-hosting are required.
- 1Password has the more polished onboarding experience; Bitwarden offers more control and a lower advanced-tier price.
A password manager fails when employees avoid it. Price matters, but rollout friction, account recovery, offboarding and permission design determine whether shared credentials actually leave spreadsheets and chat messages.
Prices below are US annual-billing list prices checked on October 4, 2026.
The surprising 10-person price result
| Plan | Monthly price | 10-user annual cost | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password Teams Starter | $24.95 total | $299.40 | Teams of 10 or fewer |
| Bitwarden Teams | $4/user | $480 | Growing teams wanting transparent per-seat pricing |
| Bitwarden Enterprise | $6/user | $720 | SSO, policies, recovery, self-hosting |
| 1Password Business | $8.99/user | $1,078.80 | Identity integrations and broader administration |
Many comparisons assume Bitwarden is always cheaper because its personal plan is inexpensive and its code is open source. That assumption fails at ten seats. 1Password’s flat Starter Pack undercuts Bitwarden Teams by $180.60 a year.
1Password wins the first rollout
1Password’s small-business advantage is product polish: consistent apps, familiar browser extensions, clear shared vaults and a guided onboarding path. The Secret Key adds another factor to account protection, while Watchtower surfaces weak, reused and exposed credentials.
The Teams Starter Pack includes role-based permissions, security alerts, developer tools and up to ten members. Five guest accounts are also useful when an accountant, agency or contractor needs access to one vault without becoming a full team member.
For a founder without an IT administrator, fewer support questions are worth money. That is the strongest case for 1Password, not a theoretical encryption comparison.
Bitwarden wins when control requirements grow
Bitwarden Teams includes event logs, directory synchronization and SCIM. Enterprise adds granular controls, passwordless SSO, enterprise policies, account recovery and self-hosting. At $6 per user per month, that advanced tier costs one-third less than 1Password Business for ten users.
Its open-source model also makes the architecture inspectable and gives security-conscious organizations a deployment option that 1Password does not offer. Self-hosting is not automatically cheaper, however. Someone must patch the service, monitor it, back it up and recover it when the host fails.
Offboarding exposes the real product difference
A business password manager is an access system. When an employee leaves, the administrator must remove the account, preserve organization-owned items, rotate credentials the employee knew and verify that personal vault data was never treated as company property.
Both products can centralize shared credentials. The better choice is the one the owner will actually administer. Community discussions repeatedly show teams struggling less with encryption than with incomplete adoption, unclear vault ownership and users keeping business passwords in private collections.
| Requirement | Winner | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 10 users, no dedicated IT | 1Password Starter | Lowest price and easier rollout |
| SSO and enterprise policies | Bitwarden Enterprise | Lower advanced-tier cost |
| Self-hosting requirement | Bitwarden Enterprise | Supported deployment option |
| Contractors needing narrow access | 1Password | Guest accounts and approachable vault sharing |
The final choice
Buy 1Password Teams Starter for a conventional small business with ten or fewer people. It is cheaper at that size and easier to get adopted. Buy Bitwarden Enterprise when the purchasing requirement explicitly includes SSO, enterprise policies, recovery controls or self-hosting. In that segment, Bitwarden provides the more capable price.
FAQ
Is 1Password or Bitwarden cheaper for 10 employees?
1Password Teams Starter Pack costs $299.40 a year for up to 10 members. Bitwarden Teams costs $480 a year for 10 users.
When is Bitwarden cheaper?
At the advanced tier, Bitwarden Enterprise costs $720 a year for 10 users versus $1,078.80 for 1Password Business.
Can Bitwarden be self-hosted?
Yes. Self-hosting is an Enterprise feature. It adds infrastructure, update, backup and availability work, so it should be chosen for control requirements rather than assumed savings.