Compare / Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden
Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden
Pick Vaultwarden if you want the small unofficial box that speaks official Bitwarden apps. Pick official Bitwarden if you want the upstream API, database, and Docker stack (skip bitwarden_license/ if you want OSS-only).
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Vaultwarden in the catalog Bitwarden in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Vaultwarden | Bitwarden | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 (catalog) source | AGPL-3.0 (bitwarden_license/ is commercial) source |
| Language | Rust (catalog) | C# (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 69,182 stars in the catalog | 20,365 stars in the catalog |
| Self-host | One unofficial compatible server. Persist /data. | Official backend (API, database, Docker). Larger stack. |
| Best for | A small team vault that speaks official apps. | The official self-host path, not the small box. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Vaultwarden is the published stack — one container. Official Bitwarden is the catalog row bitwarden-server: API, database, Docker. Both talk Bitwarden clients. Vaultwarden is not affiliated with Bitwarden Inc.
FAQ
- Is Vaultwarden official?
- No. It is compatible. Clients are still the official Bitwarden apps. That is the stack FAQ.
- Which is smaller?
- Vaultwarden. Official Bitwarden is the full API/database/Docker estate.
- Passbolt?
- See /compare/vaultwarden-vs-passbolt. Different protocol.
- Are these free?
- Vaultwarden is AGPL. Bitwarden core is AGPL; commercial directories are separate. You pay hosting.
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