Bitwarden Doubled Their Price. I'd Left. Here's What You Missed
a day ago
- #consumer transparency
- #self-hosting passwords
- #Bitwarden price hike
- Bitwarden doubled its Premium plan price from $10/year to $19.80/year, the first increase in ten years, but announced it quietly in a blog post focused on new features.
- The price change was communicated poorly: no dedicated email to customers, with renewal notifications only sent 15 days before, using a confusing '$1.65/month, billed annually' message for an annual-only product.
- The author had already switched to self-hosting Vaultwarden, avoiding reliance on Bitwarden's services and highlighting the benefits of self-hosting for independence from company decisions.
- Bitwarden's strategy mirrors a pattern of burying bad news, obscuring prices, minimizing communication, and banking on high switching costs to retain customers through auto-renewals.
- After criticism, Bitwarden defended its communication via blog and community posts, while 1Password demonstrated better practice by clearly notifying customers of its own price increase and offering early renewal options.
- Alternatives like Proton Pass and 1Password are suggested for Bitwarden users, with self-hosting presented as an option for those wanting full control over their password data.