Method: Official pricing and documentation checked September 28, 2026. No benchmarks were run. This is a documentation-based comparison, not a report of hands-on testing. Disclosure: NordPass links through
/go/nordpassare affiliate links; we may earn a commission. Source links are ordinary vendor links.
Bitwarden is the stronger starting point when a continuing free password manager is the requirement. Dashlane no longer has a permanent Free plan. Its paid bundle may still fit someone who values the included VPN, but that is a different purchase.
Current personal prices
| Plan | Displayed USD price | Billing and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Dashlane Premium | $5.42/month | Billed annually; one person, unlimited passwords/devices, VPN |
| Dashlane Friends & Family | $8.13/month | Billed annually; ten accounts, VPN for the plan manager only |
These are the monthly equivalents shown by Dashlane, not month-to-month prices. Confirm the annual total, taxes and renewal terms at checkout. Dashlane’s Free plan ended September 16, 2025; old articles advertising an ongoing free tier are out of date.
Bitwarden’s current offer
Bitwarden pricing lists Premium at $19.80/year, displayed as $1.65/month, and Families at $47.88/year, displayed as $3.99/month, for up to six users. These replace older price figures that still appear in comparisons.
The plan documentation describes Free individual accounts with unlimited logins and access across devices. Premium adds features including the integrated TOTP authenticator, encrypted attachments and emergency access. Sharing is organized through an organization subscription; buying personal Premium is not the same as buying team administration.
Compare the requirement, not an invented score
| Need | First option to evaluate | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing free personal vault across devices | Bitwarden Free | Documented free access; Dashlane Free ended |
| Password manager plus included VPN | Dashlane Premium | The VPN is in the listed bundle |
| Household sharing | Compare both family plans | Bitwarden lists six users; Dashlane ten accounts, with VPN only for the manager |
| Business SSO and policies | Compare business plans separately | Personal subscriptions do not establish organization controls |
A lower personal price is useful evidence about cost. It is not evidence of stronger cryptography, better autofill or fewer failures. Those claims would require evidence this article does not have.
The May 2026 security incident
Dashlane says an attack beginning May 31, 2026 downloaded encrypted vault copies for fewer than 20 personal-plan users through device-registration abuse. Its September 3, 2026 advisory update describes added protections. Affected users were notified; encrypted-vault theft is a material incident. Dashlane advisory.
Where NordPass fits
NordPass is another personal option if you want its paid Password Health and breach-scanner features and its device model fits you. Its plan table reserves multiple-device access for paid plans. For someone specifically seeking free access across devices, Bitwarden is the clearer documented fit; an affiliate relationship does not change that recommendation.
Before choosing
Check the apps you need, account recovery and the way shared credentials will be owned. For a business, budget per-user administration and offboarding separately. For a household, confirm everyone can use the supported apps before importing the full vault. No migration success rate or time saving is asserted here.
Sources, checked September 28, 2026: Dashlane personal pricing, Free plan ending, Dashlane security advisory, Bitwarden pricing, Bitwarden plan details, NordPass plans.