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Cybersecurity

1Password vs Bitwarden for Business (2026): SSO, SCIM and Cost Per User

Rajat Gupta

Written by

Rajat Gupta

Published September 25, 2026

Short answer: for most companies, Bitwarden is the better-value business password manager and 1Password is the more polished one. Bitwarden Teams costs $4 per user per month and already includes SCIM provisioning and directory sync; Enterprise at $6 adds SSO, policies and self-hosting. 1Password Business costs $8.99 per user per month and wins on admin experience, developer tooling and guest access. If budget and self-hosting matter most, pick Bitwarden. If you want the smoothest rollout for non-technical staff, pick 1Password.

All prices and plan details below are vendor-published, checked September 2026 on 1password.com and bitwarden.com. Both vendors bill business plans annually and quote prices in USD before tax.

1Password vs Bitwarden at a glance

1Password Bitwarden
Small-team plan Teams Starter Pack: $24.95/month for up to 10 members, billed annually ($299.40/year) Teams: $4/user/month, billed annually
Main business plan Business: $8.99/user/month, billed annually ($107.88/user/year) Enterprise: $6/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise tier Custom pricing via sales Custom quote for large organizations
SSO Business (Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, Duo and more) Enterprise (passwordless SSO with your identity provider)
SCIM / provisioning Business (Entra ID, Google Workspace, Okta, OneLogin, Rippling, JumpCloud) Teams and Enterprise (SCIM plus Directory Connector)
Self-hosting Cloud only Enterprise plan includes a self-host option
Guest accounts 5 on Teams Starter Pack, 20 on Business Share outside the org with Bitwarden Send (text and files)
Event logs / SIEM Stream events to Splunk, Elastic, Sumo Logic, Panther 50+ event types, retained indefinitely and exportable; API access
Code Proprietary, independently audited, SOC 2 Type II Open source, independently audited
Free trial 14 days Free trial on Teams and Enterprise
Spotsaas pages 1Password reviews Bitwarden reviews

For side-by-side ratings and user reviews, see the 1Password vs Bitwarden comparison page.

Which is better for business, 1Password or Bitwarden?

Bitwarden is the better pick when cost, open-source code or self-hosting drive the decision, since its $4 Teams plan covers SCIM and event logs. 1Password is the better pick when you want a highly polished app, 20 guest seats, developer tools like SSH key signing, and an admin console that non-IT managers can run without training.

The two products solve the same problem: a shared, encrypted vault where staff store logins, and an admin console where IT controls who sees what. The difference is where each vendor spends its effort.

Bitwarden puts most of the security-team features into its cheaper tiers. Its Teams plan already includes event logs, user groups, Duo-enforced two-step login for the whole organization, the Directory Connector and SCIM. That makes it unusually strong for a company with an identity provider and a small IT budget.

1Password spends more on the day-to-day experience. Its Business plan bundles role-based vault permissions, Watchtower security alerts, custom reports, 20 guest accounts and developer workflows (SSH key signing, Git commit signing, a CLI and SDKs). It also offers phone support on weekdays and a dedicated customer success manager once you pass 101 users.

How much do 1Password and Bitwarden cost for a team?

Bitwarden is cheaper at every team size. A 25-person company pays $1,200 a year on Bitwarden Teams or $1,800 on Enterprise, compared with $2,697 a year on 1Password Business. Below 10 users, 1Password’s Teams Starter Pack at $299.40 a year undercuts Bitwarden Teams at $480.

These totals are our arithmetic from each vendor’s list prices, billed annually, before tax or negotiated discounts:

Team size 1Password Bitwarden Teams Bitwarden Enterprise
10 users $299.40/yr (Teams Starter Pack) $480/yr $720/yr
20 users $898.20/yr (Starter Pack + 10 add-on seats at $4.99/month) or $2,157.60/yr (Business) $960/yr $1,440/yr
25 users $2,697/yr (Business) $1,200/yr $1,800/yr
50 users $5,394/yr (Business) $2,400/yr $3,600/yr
100 users $10,788/yr (Business) $4,800/yr $7,200/yr

Two details change the math. First, 1Password’s Teams Starter Pack caps at 20 members (10 included plus up to 10 add-on seats), so a growing team has to move to Business at some point. Second, the fair comparison for a company that needs SSO is 1Password Business against Bitwarden Enterprise, because that is where each vendor places SSO. At 50 users that gap is $5,394 against $3,600 a year.

1Password says it offers discounts for nonprofits and journalists and volume pricing through sales. Bitwarden offers custom quotes for large organizations. Current plan pages on Spotsaas: 1Password pricing and Bitwarden pricing.

Which plan do you need for SSO and SCIM?

On 1Password, both SSO and automated user provisioning sit in the Business plan at $8.99 per user per month. On Bitwarden, SCIM and directory sync are included in Teams at $4, while SSO login needs Enterprise at $6. A company that only needs automatic joiner and leaver handling can stay on Bitwarden Teams.

Here is what each vendor lists for identity integration:

  • 1Password Business: unlock with single sign-on through Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin, Duo and other providers. User and group provisioning works with Azure AD (Entra ID), Google Workspace, Okta, OneLogin, Rippling and JumpCloud.
  • Bitwarden Teams: SCIM provisioning from your identity provider, plus the standalone Directory Connector for syncing users and groups from a directory service.
  • Bitwarden Enterprise: adds passwordless SSO integration with your existing identity provider, enterprise policies, custom roles and an admin-driven account recovery workflow that keeps zero-knowledge encryption intact.

If your company is already standardizing on single sign-on, it helps to read our guide to identity and access management software, since the password manager usually plugs into that stack.

How do the admin controls compare?

Both give admins vault permissions, groups, health reports and account recovery. 1Password leans toward guided oversight: Watchtower alerts, custom business reports and role-based vault sharing. Bitwarden leans toward granular control: 50+ logged event types, a public API for members and policies, custom roles and enterprise-wide policies on the Enterprise plan.

On 1Password, admins create vault permissions and policies, manage custom groups to delegate responsibility, monitor password health and team vault usage, and generate reports on usage and account activity. Admins can recover their own and other users’ accounts when someone is locked out.

On Bitwarden, the Teams plan gives admins user groups, collections with unlimited sharing, event and audit logs, and API access for managing members, collections, groups and event logs. Enterprise adds organization-wide policies, custom roles (for example, letting a manager handle collections without full admin rights) and the account recovery workflow.

A practical way to decide: if the person running the tool is an office manager, 1Password’s console will feel more familiar. If it is a security engineer who wants logs and an API, Bitwarden gives more to work with per dollar.

Is Bitwarden as secure as 1Password?

Both use end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption, so neither vendor can read vault contents, and both publish independent security audits. 1Password adds a Secret Key to your master password for key derivation and holds SOC 2 Type II. Bitwarden’s code is open source, so anyone can inspect it.

1Password encrypts vaults with AES 256-bit encryption and derives keys from two inputs, your account password and a Secret Key generated on your device. It uses the Secure Remote Password (SRP) protocol for data in transit and supports two-factor authentication, biometrics and passkeys for sign-in.

Bitwarden describes its model as open-source, zero-knowledge encryption with advanced two-step login. Every business user can use up to 10 hardware security keys, Yubico OTP, Duo, email or an authenticator app as a second factor. For regulated companies, the Enterprise self-host option means the vault server can run on your own infrastructure.

For most buyers the security gap is small. The larger risk is usually weak rollout: staff who never install the browser extension or keep credentials in spreadsheets. Pick the tool your people will actually use.

Can you self-host Bitwarden or 1Password?

Only Bitwarden. Its Enterprise plan includes a self-host option that runs the Bitwarden server on your own network or cloud, and it stays compatible with every Bitwarden client app. 1Password is delivered as a cloud service, which removes server maintenance but means your encrypted vault data sits on 1Password’s infrastructure.

Self-hosting matters for government contractors, some healthcare and finance teams, and companies with strict data-residency rules. It also adds work: patching, backups and uptime become your job. If nobody on your team wants that responsibility, Bitwarden’s cloud version and 1Password’s cloud service are functionally equivalent choices on this point.

Which is better for sharing with contractors and clients?

1Password is easier for recurring outside collaborators because it gives you real guest accounts: 5 on Teams Starter Pack and 20 on Business, each limited to specific vaults. Bitwarden handles one-off sharing well through Bitwarden Send, which transmits encrypted text or files to anyone, including people without a Bitwarden account.

1Password also lets users share single items with anyone, even non-customers, with expiry dates, temporary access and a share history. That covers the common case of sending a freelancer one login for a week.

For agencies with many clients, both vendors run managed service provider programs. 1Password sells an MSP edition with a dedicated console and consumption-based billing through distributors such as Pax8. Bitwarden also runs an MSP program for client management.

What about developers and secrets management?

1Password Business includes developer tooling in the base plan: SSH key signing, Git commit signing, a CLI, SDKs and integrations for IDEs, CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code. Bitwarden sells Secrets Manager as a separate product priced per user, which suits teams that want machine secrets managed apart from staff passwords.

If engineering is a big share of your headcount, 1Password’s bundled developer features can offset part of its higher seat price. If only a few engineers need machine secrets, Bitwarden’s split model avoids paying for developer features across the whole company.

Who should choose 1Password?

  • Companies of 10 people or fewer, where the $24.95 Teams Starter Pack is the cheapest paid option in this comparison.
  • Teams with many non-technical staff, where adoption depends on a clean app and guided onboarding.
  • Businesses that regularly share vaults with contractors and need up to 20 guest accounts.
  • Engineering-heavy companies that will use SSH key signing, the CLI and CI/CD integrations.
  • Organizations above 100 users that want a dedicated customer success manager and personalized training.

Who should choose Bitwarden?

  • Cost-sensitive companies above 10 users, where Bitwarden Teams runs less than half the price of 1Password Business.
  • IT teams that need SCIM and directory sync but can live without SSO login, since Teams covers both at $4.
  • Regulated organizations that need to self-host the vault server.
  • Security teams that want open-source code, an API and detailed event logs.
  • Companies that want to give staff a free Families plan as a perk (included on Enterprise).

Limitations to weigh before you buy

1Password: the per-user price is roughly double Bitwarden’s Enterprise plan, the Starter Pack tops out at 20 members, and there is no self-hosted deployment. Phone support runs Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern.

Bitwarden: SSO requires the Enterprise tier, admin-initiated account recovery is an Enterprise feature, and dedicated onboarding and an engagement manager are reserved for qualified Enterprise customers. The interface is functional and clear, though less polished than 1Password’s.

If neither fits, compare the wider field on Spotsaas: 1Password alternatives, Bitwarden alternatives and the full password management software category. For the wider security stack around a password manager, see cybersecurity software for small business.

Related reading: Best Password Manager for Business in 2026: 6 Tools by Price, SSO and SCIM

Frequently asked questions

Is 1Password worth it over Bitwarden?

It depends on what you are paying for. 1Password costs $8.99 per user per month on Business against $4 to $6 on Bitwarden. The extra buys a more polished app, 20 guest accounts, bundled developer tools and weekday phone support. For a team that struggles with adoption, that can be worth it. For a cost-driven IT team, it usually is not.

How much does 1Password cost per month for a business?

Teams Starter Pack is $24.95 per month for up to 10 members. Business is $8.99 per user per month. Both are billed annually (vendor-published, checked September 2026). Enterprise pricing is set through sales.

Does Bitwarden Teams include SSO?

No. Bitwarden Teams includes SCIM provisioning and the Directory Connector, so users are created and removed automatically from your identity provider. Signing in to Bitwarden through SSO is part of the Enterprise plan at $6 per user per month.

What are the downsides of 1Password for business?

  • Higher per-user price than Bitwarden.
  • Teams Starter Pack caps at 20 members.
  • Cloud-only deployment.
  • Phone support limited to weekday business hours (Eastern time).

Can I switch from 1Password to Bitwarden later?

Yes. Both tools support exporting and importing vault data, so a migration is mostly a planning exercise: export per vault, map vaults to Bitwarden collections, re-create groups and permissions, then retire the old accounts. Run both in parallel for a week so nobody is locked out mid-switch.

Which is cheaper for a 50-person company?

Bitwarden. At list prices, 50 users cost $2,400 a year on Bitwarden Teams and $3,600 on Enterprise, compared with $5,394 a year on 1Password Business.

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