Bitwarden

Bitwarden's open-source base manages passwords, secure notes, cards, and identities. Clients are available for the web, browsers, desktops, and mobile devices.

You can self-host the actively maintained base. The server core is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and the free client code under GPL-3.0. Bitwarden is built with C#, TypeScript, and SQL Server.

Fact Sheet

Categories
Status
Actively maintained
License
  • AGPL-3.0
  • GPL-3.0
Operation
  • On-Premises / Self-hosted
  • SaaS
Technologies
  • C#
  • TypeScript
  • SQL Server
Single Sign-On (SSO)
MCP server

Data last checked on October 27, 2026

Source-Available Add-On Modules

The additional server modules for SSO and SCIM provisioning are visible in the bitwarden_license directory but are not openly licensed. These features are not part of the AGPL core. The plan overview also lists further differences between free and paid plans. A plan restriction alone, however, does not prove that the implementation in question is proprietary.

The hosted service offers free and paid plans. Their feature set is not the same as a purely open-source build.

The license overviews for the server and the clients exclude the non-open modules in the bitwarden_license directory from the respective open-source license. These modules fall under the Bitwarden License. It only permits internal development and testing outside a production environment. Redistribution and use for competing products or services are prohibited. This license alone does not cover production use.

These restrictions do not apply to the open-source code. The server core is licensed under AGPL v3 and the free client code under GPL v3.

Open-Source Alternatives

In the Category «Password Managers»

Padloc

Padloc manages passwords across multiple platforms. You can run the accompanying server yourself.

  • Password Managers

Passbolt

Passbolt Community manages and shares passwords within teams using roles, access permissions and an API.

  • Password Managers

Psono

Psono is a self-hostable password manager for teams. The client encrypts credentials before storing them, and you can share them in encrypted form.

  • Password Managers

Vaultwarden

Vaultwarden provides a self-hostable server for password management with Bitwarden clients.

  • Password Managers