Bitwarden vs. Dashlane: Which is a better password manager?

Looking for an easy way to simplify and secure your logins? Learn how one of these password managers can help in this Bitwarden vs. Dashlane comparison.

Did you know password managers now support biometric login? Whether on Android or iOS, you can access your vault in seconds.

Two password managers spearheading this mode of access are Bitwarden and Dashlane. 

Bitwarden provides a free, open-source platform, while Dashlane includes add-on security features like VPN. However, which provides the best capability?

Let’s find out in this Bitwarden vs. Dashlane comparison.

Bitwarden vs. Dashlane: At a Glance

Here is a table breaking down the factors we considered in this Bitwarden vs. Dashlane comparison.

Criteria	Bitwarden	Dashlane	Winner
SMB Guide’s Rating	8.4/10	8.4/10	Tie
Multi-factor Security and Authentication	✅	✅	Bitwarden
One-time Passwords	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Password Capture and Generation	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Password Sharing	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Emergency Access	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Security Dashboard	✅	✅	Dashlane
Account Recovery	✅	✅	Dashlane
Browser Extensions	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Data Privacy and Compliance	✅	✅	Bitwarden
User Experience and User Interface	Easy to use	Clean interface	Dashlane
Integrations and Compatibility	✅	✅	Bitwarden
Customer Support	Email; live chat; DIY	Phone (business), live chat, Reddit, and X DMs	Dashlane
Pricing	Free – $6	$4.99/mo – $8/mo	Bitwarden
Scalability	✅	✅	Bitwarden

Bitwarden: Key Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

Bitwarden is an open-source password manager for individuals and businesses that offers more than the basics. Users get advanced multi-factor authentication options, end-to-end encryption, data breach monitoring, and more. 

Besides the remarkable features, Bitwarden includes a forever-free plan to access these advanced features. Unlike most password managers, Bitwarden offers the best balance of features on both its free and paid packages.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Bitwarden divides its pricing into two categories: Personal and Business. Personal plans are the basic packages individuals can subscribe to. They are scalable and include a forever-free package.

The billing cycle for the paid plans is annual, and the best part is that users get a money-back guarantee of 30 days.

Here are the plans:

• Free: $0
• Premium: $10 annually
• Families: $40 annually

Dashlane: Key Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

Dashlane is a password manager that offers individuals and businesses more than the essentials. Users get file storage, easy password management, and extras like VPN and dark web monitoring. 

Dashlane also uses zero-knowledge architecture and 2FA to protect password vaults. These features and more make it stand out.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Dashlane categorizes its pricing into two categories: Personal and business. Personal plans are the basic ideal for individuals and families.

The plans are scalable and include a money-back guarantee of 30 days. Dashlane lacks a free plan, but its billing cycle is annual.

Here are the plans:

• Premium: $59.88 annually
• Friends & Family: $89.88 annually

Multi-Factor Security and Authentication

Users will find Bitwarden offers a broader range of MFA options than Dashlane. They include email, authenticator apps, hardware tokens, and Duo security keys.

The authenticator apps are Google and Authy. Hardware tokens include FIDO2 security keys like YubiKey.

Dashlane offers some MFA options, too, including authenticator apps and security keys for hardware tokens. Like on Bitwarden, users will also find biometric recovery options offered.

Setting up the MFA on Bitwarden is much easier than on Dashlane. Bitwarden’s interface is straightforward, offering instructions for each method. Activation is also easy to configure from within the app settings.

Setting the 2FA on Dashlane is less intuitive, especially for hardware tokens like YubiKeys. Upgrading to higher plans is often necessary to access advanced capability.

Something to consider is that even though both software offers a wide range of MFAs, some methods offer the best security. Hardware tokens like YubiKey provide the strongest resilience because of their physical nature. 

Authenticator Apps offer a balance of convenience and security since they generate unique codes that are valid for a short period. The unique code prevents them from becoming prone to phishing attacks.

Email and SMS are the least secure than the other two, making them susceptible to sim swap and phishing.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

One-Time Passwords

Bitwarden allows users to generate the OTPs and manage them within the application. It’s a simple process where Bitwarden integrates an autofill feature for apps and websites. The OTP resets after every 30 seconds to enhance security.

Dashlane’s method of generating strong OTPs requires an extra step compared to Bitwarden. However, the password generator can create complex passwords for enhanced security.

Dashlane provides an autofill feature that integrates across apps and websites. Like Bitwarden, the OTP resets after every 30 seconds to enhance security.

With security features, both software use zero-knowledge encryption and can use the OTPs as part of 2FA on Bitwarden. On Dashlane, it applies to both password-less and password-based accounts.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Password Capture and Generation

Bitwarden provides a browser extension that allows users to capture existing passwords seamlessly. Users can also easily import passwords from various password managers in CSV format or browsers.

It ensures a smooth transition, even for new users.

Dashlane also offers a simple process for capturing passwords from password managers and browsers. It consolidates passwords from multiple sources with ease.

However, compared to Bitwarden, the process is less intuitive, especially when importing from less common managers.

On password generation, Bitwarden offers a more robust generator for creating complex passwords. Users can customize the length (up to 128 characters), use upper or lower case, and add numbers or special characters.

Users will also find that the generator allows the creation of memorable passphrases. Dashlane also has a password generator that creates random and strong passwords.

Like Bitwarden, users can customize the length (up to 40 characters), use upper- or lowercase letters, and add symbols or numbers.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Password Sharing

Bitwarden provides granular password-sharing permissions, unlike Dashlane. In the paid plans, users can create folders or collections with read-only or full editing access.

Password sharing has limitations on the free plan.

Dashlane provides basic sharing of secure notes and passwords with other users. The software allows users to share passwords with full editing rights or a read-only option.

Bitwarden and Dashlane use AES-256 encryption to protect the passwords at rest and in transit. Not only that, both software enforces zero-knowledge technology, which means no one can access the passwords, even authorities.

It ensures all the data that’s shared remains secure and private. Bitwarden offers limited oversight on audit trails and logs of paid plans.

Users can see basic info like who accessed shared data and when. However, it lacks granular reporting on what passwords got accessed.

Dashlane, on the other hand, lacks any audit trail and logs for password-sharing activities.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Emergency Access

Bitwarden allows users on the Premium plan to designate vault access to trusted contacts. A user can set a pre-defined waiting period or approve the contacts manually.

The setup follows, adding the contacts and configuring each access level.

Bitwarden’s security measures involve requiring contacts to have accounts and use 2FA. It helps add a layer of protection when accessing the vault. Bitwarden also simplifies access revocation and modification.

A user can modify or revoke emergency settings at any time.

Dashlane, on the other hand, offers a single emergency contact slot across all plans. The method involves creating a secure DASH file, storing and sharing it.

From there, users can share the file’s password with their contacts. The process is manual, making it more complex than Bitwarden.

Dashlane relies on the one-time recovery key shared with the contact for security measures. The key gives access without extra authentication, making it more risky.

With modification and revocation of access, there is no way to revoke permission once the key gets shared. A user has to create a new account and migrate the info entirely, making it cumbersome.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Security Dashboard

Bitwarden offers vault health reports on individual password strengths on free and paid plans. Depending on age or complexity, it provides insights into weak, compromised, exposed, or reused passwords.

However, it doesn’t offer granular capabilities like data breach monitoring, security alerts, and more.

Dashlane offers a more in-depth security dashboard. It displays health scores on individual password strength, dark web monitoring, and security monitoring for re-used or weak passwords.

Dashlane offers some customization options, like monitoring password weakness. Bitwarden, on the other hand, lacks customization options, which is a drawback.

Regarding usability, the Bitwarden dashboard is simple but has limited functionality. Dashlane’s dashboard is intuitive and informative, making it easy to understand the password metrics.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Account Recovery

Bitwarden relies on a user-saved vault recovery code for personal and business plans. However, losing the recovery code means users cannot access their data.

Something to note is that if biometric login were in place beforehand, it could be an option. One thing to consider is biometrics cannot help recover the master password.

Dashlane offers users two methods of account recovery. One is using the 28-character code generated when creating an account. However, losing the key leads to lost access.

The other option is using a trusted emergency contact.

During account creation, Dashlane allows a user to designate an emergency contact who receives a one-time recovery key. It can be risky and sometimes cause redundancy, but it can be handy in the case of incapacitation.

With backup or alternative authentication, Bitwarden doesn’t offer any built-in options. However, the software allows exporting an encrypted user’s vault to an external storage.

Dashlane also lacks built-in backup options. However, users can export their data.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Browser Extensions

Bitwarden and Dashlane offer a browser extension with password capture, generation, and autofill capabilities. The software also provides strong password generation features and customization options.

Regarding compatibility, Bitwarden has an edge, offering more options than Dashlane. Bitwarden is compatible with Tor, Google, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, Edge, Safari, and Opera browsers. Dashlane, on the other hand, is compatible with popular browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Brave, and Safari.

On security measures, both password managers prioritize 2FA through authenticator apps.

Bitwarden’s limitation is its lack of a built-in VPN, which requires integrating third-party apps. Dashlane offers a VPN that helps protect vaults from dark web monitoring.

However, its search function has limitations on site names and URLs compared to Bitwarden.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Data Privacy and Compliance

Bitwarden uses the standard AES-256 encryption to safeguard data in transit and rest. It also employs TLS 1.2 for data security when transmitting between users and servers.

On data management, Bitwarden uses zero-knowledge technology, meaning the software doesn’t store a user’s master password.

Users are solely responsible for storing and remembering their passwords. Something to note is that Bitwarden stores users’ data on AWS servers and infrastructure. It is also an open-source platform, making it transparent and easily audited by the public.

Bitwarden follows GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and Privacy Shield compliance guidelines. The platform also has certifications under SOC-2 and 3. Not only that, but it’s also a member of the FIDO alliance.

Like Bitwarden, Dashlane uses AES-256 encryption to protect data in transit and at rest. The software also employs TLS 1.2 for data transmission between users and the servers.

Dashlane also employs zero-knowledge technology, ensuring no one, including authorities, can access personal data.

Dashlane adheres to regulatory bodies like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA on compliance. It also has SOC 2 Type II certification, which shows powerful security control.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

User Interface and User Experience

Well-known for its technical interface, Bitwarden prioritizes functionality over aesthetics. It makes it easy to find a feature that a user needs fast. However, compared to Dashlane, the initial setup and autofill prompts are less intuitive.

Dashlane offers a sleeker interface with better aesthetics than Bitwarden. The menu is straightforward, and navigating the dashboard is easier for first-time users.

Unlike Bitwarden, onboarding is smoother and has user-friendly auto-fill prompts.

With customization, Dashlane offers more options. Users can choose from multiple color themes, adjust the password list design, and personalize the autofill settings. 

Bitwarden, on the other hand, lacks advanced customization options. Users can only change the dark or light theme and the vault view to a list or grid.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Integrations and Compatibility

Bitwarden offers extensive integration and compatibility capabilities compared to Dashlane. It is compatible with OSs like Windows 10+, Linux, Android, iOS, and macOS 10+.

It also integrates with browser extensions like Tor, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Brave, Linux, Vivaldi, Safari, and Edge. 

Users will also find Bitwarden integrates with Azure Active Directory configurations. Not only that, it supports SSO integrations compatible with SAML 2.0 for custom integrations.

Dashlane is also compatible with OSs like Linux, Windows, Android, iOS 8+, and macOS Ventura 13+. The software provides an extension compatible with browsers like Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Brave. 

However, unlike Bitwarden, it lacks a Linux and Tor extension. While it provides APIs for custom integrations, they are more complex to use than Bitwarden’s.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Customer Support

Bitwarden’s customer support options are fewer than Dashlane’s. Users can request help using tickets, a community forum, or email.

Unlike Dashlane, it lacks live chat and phone support. Response times on the tickets are 24 hours, while the community forum offers quicker replies depending on the issue.

The support team helps resolve issues, and they have an understanding of technical problems.

Users looking for self-help resources will find a resource center, blog, and documentation. The content is in-depth and covers topics related to the software’s inner workings.

Dashlane offers more support channels than Bitwarden, including live chat, email, phone (business plans), X DMs, and Reddit. The response is quick on live chat and phone support, and the agents know about the complex issues.

Users looking for self-help resources will find a learning center, blog, and white papers covering the software’s inner workings. However, the content isn’t as detailed as the one on Bitwarden.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Pricing

Bitwarden offers a free plan, unlike Dashlane, that includes features like unlimited sync across devices and password storage.

The paid plans start at $10, billed annually for the Premium plan. They offer advanced features like priority support, an integrated authenticator, and more.

Bitwarden also offers a money-back guarantee of 30 days for the paid plans after subscription. Like Dashlane, Bitwarden offers scalable business packages even for enterprise-size organizations.

Dashlane offers scalable paid plans with premium extras like VPN and dark web monitoring. The plans have an annual billing cycle starting at $59.88, which is more expensive than Bitwarden’s. However, like Bitwarden, all subscriptions have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Businesses looking for scalable packages will find advanced features suiting established organizations. The best part is that the business plans include an enterprise package for agencies looking for custom features.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Scalability

Bitwarden offers a scalable solution where a user can add new users depending on the number of members. Not only that, the platform cloud service gets hosted on Microsoft Azure, which ensures regular security updates, patching, and scalability.

The tech stack is ideal for high performance, providing powerful cloud infrastructure support.

Dashlane offers an enterprise solution that can meet the needs of large organizations, including scaling. The platform takes proactive steps to enhance performance even in large loads.

However, compared to Bitwarden, its closed-source nature hinders assessing its limits beyond current user numbers.

✅ Winner: Bitwarden

Standout Features of Bitwarden

Bitwarden stands out with its open-source codebase, which allows the public to easily audit it for transparency. However, during our evaluation, we found three unique features.

• Advanced MFA Options – Users can choose from various multi-factor authentication options for enhanced security. Standout ones include security keys FIDO2 and YubiKey, which offer protection from phishing attacks.
• Local Data Hosting – Users with sensitive information can use Bitwarden’s local data hosting option to self-host on their private server. The option gives them complete control over data management, removing reliance on the software infrastructure.
• Extensive Browser Extension Support – The Bitwarden extension integrates with 7+ browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. It is also compatible with Tor, Vivaldi, Opera, and Brave.

Standout Features of Dashlane

As a password manager for individuals and businesses, Dashlane offers more than the basics. During our evaluation, we found three features that make it stand out.

• Dark Web Monitoring – It is a feature that scans the public and dark web for potential data breaches of a user’s personal information. It helps users take early precautions to protect their accounts from hackers.
• VPN for WI-FI – Dashlane includes a built-in VPN to help secure a user’s internet connection, especially when using public WI-FIs. Not only that, but users looking to access geo-restricted info or data will find the VPN helpful.
• Passwordless Login – Users using the latest Android and iOS devices can now use passwordless logins without the hassle of a master password. Users can access their data in seconds using biometrics (finger or face scan).

Bitwarden vs. Dashlane: SMB Guide’s Verdict

Our Bitwarden vs Dashlane comparison shows that both software offers powerful security features. Bitwarden’s open-source model offers transparency, while Dashlane includes security add-ons like a built-in VPN.

However, after a thorough evaluation, Bitwarden is the winner. Here is why:

Bitwarden’s unique selling points are its free plan, open-source model, and self-hosting capabilities. The password manager offers a versatile browser extension compatible with modern OSs and 9+ browsers.

It also provides multiple MFA options, including security keys like YubiKeys and FIDO2. All these features add up to edge out Dashlane.

Dashlane is a decent alternative offering standout features like live chat and phone support. It also includes a built-in VPN, dark web monitoring, and passwordless login through biometrics.

However, the lack of a free plan and its closed-source nature make it less transparent. These and other factors are why it loses this comparison.

Choose Bitwarden If:

You value open-source platforms that offer free self-hosting options.

Choose Dashlane If:

You prefer extra security features like dark web monitoring and VPN at a premium.