Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden (official server)
Last verified · repository stats fetched 19 Oct 2026
Both let you host your own password vault and use the official Bitwarden apps and browser extensions. Vaultwarden is an unofficial, community-built server written in Rust that implements the Bitwarden client API. Bitwarden's own server comes in a standard deployment and a lighter single-container version, Bitwarden lite, which Bitwarden says is for personal use and home labs.
| Vaultwarden | Bitwarden (official server) | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 Open source (copyleft) | AGPL-3.0 and Bitwarden License v1.0 Freemium or paid |
| Source code | GitHub | Not open source |
| ★ Stars | 69.3k 69,280 | n/a |
| Last commit | 16 Oct 2026 | n/a |
| Runs with | Rust, Docker | Docker |
| Docker | Yes awesome-selfhosted lists Docker as a way to deploy it. | Not documented |
| Who runs the project | Community project, not affiliated with Bitwarden | Bitwarden, Inc. |
| Minimum memory | Not available | 200 MB (Bitwarden lite) |
| Self-hosted alternative to | 1Password, LastPass | — |
Key differences
- Vaultwarden describes itself as an alternative implementation of the Bitwarden client API, compatible with official Bitwarden clients and suited to self-hosting where the official, resource-heavy service may not be ideal. (github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
- Vaultwarden's README asks you to report problems to the Vaultwarden project, not to Bitwarden's official support channels. (github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
- Vaultwarden implements organisations, collections, groups, event logs, Send, attachments, emergency access and two-factor options including FIDO2 WebAuthn, YubiKey and Duo. (github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
- Bitwarden lite runs as one Docker image, needs at least 200 MB of RAM and 1 GB of storage, works with MSSQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite or MySQL/MariaDB, and runs on ARM such as a Raspberry Pi. (bitwarden.com/help/install-and-deploy-lite)
- Bitwarden says lite is for personal use and home labs, not businesses, and it needs an installation ID and key from bitwarden.com/host. (bitwarden.com/help/install-and-deploy-lite)
- Bitwarden's server code is AGPL-3.0 by default, with some code under the separate Bitwarden License. Vaultwarden is AGPL-3.0. (github.com/bitwarden/server/blob/main/LICENSE.txt · github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
- Bitwarden's cloud has a free plan; Premium is $19.80 a year, and the Enterprise plan lists self-hosting among its features. (bitwarden.com/pricing)
Which should you pick?
- Vaultwarden: Pick Vaultwarden for a personal or family vault on a small server if you're comfortable relying on a community project and its own support channels.
- Bitwarden (official server): Pick the official Bitwarden server if you want the vendor's own code and support path: lite for a home lab, or a standard deployment (Enterprise plan) for a business.
This verdict is based on the documented facts above, not on hands-on testing.
Read more
Other comparisons
Sources: github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden · bitwarden.com/help/install-and-deploy-lite · github.com/bitwarden/server/blob/main/LICENSE.txt · bitwarden.com/pricing · github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted-data/blob/master/software/vaultwarden.yml. Stars and last-commit dates come from each project's public repository. “Not available” or “Not documented” means we found no official source for it, not that the feature is missing.