For what it’s worth I was a longtime KeepassXC user. Switched to Bitwarden to have easier shared passwords between myself and partner/family however I’m now moving back to KeepassXC. I support Bitwarden fully however the app itself is just so badly designed. The UI is dreadful (both the website and desktop app) and I find it very frustrating to use. The whole layered concept of folders and inability to have tags is a nightmare when you have a large collection of passwords. The iOS app seems to quit unexpectedly after opening as well. I’m just very underwhelmed with what I was hoping would be a nice alternative to having to sync my Keepass database everywhere.
On the KeepassXC side of things I’ve had zero issues with the app itself (using it on Linux, OSX and Windows) and I use Strongbox on iOS which is one of the very few apps I’m happy to pay for to support the developer, it’s so much more polished than Bitwarden.
I did the same for years: KeepassXC + Database being synced through Google Drive + keyfile stored only locally on each device (Linux personal laptop, Windows work laptop + Android personal phone) + Safe strong password that was only in my head. The main reason I decided to switch to Bitwarden it's because the Google drive client I used on Linux (GVFS in Gnome) gave me a few good headaches. Basically, everytime I made a modification to the database, it changed the name of the file, therefore, when opening the database later from another device, I had to be listing files by modification date to try to guess the most recent one and open it. Also, sometimes from Linux, I got errors from KeepassXC saying that the database was not writable, so I had to save it in a different location that wasn't the Google drive FS and then move it manually to it. Perhaps not a big deal for some people but after years of this I just got tired of shenanigans on something I consider too critical.
The reasons for me for switching specifically to Bitwarden were:
- Price.
- Open source.
- Multiplatform client.
- Simple and straightforward to import stuff from KeepassXC.
- MFA.
- Possibility of self hosting. (Although I'm using the saas version for now)
As a long-time user of KeePassXC, I switched because of the difficulty of syncing databases. Basically, I used the sneakernet and a thumb drive whenever I thought I needed to for five or six devices - it became wearing. At first after the change I kept the critical account - banks, email, and the like - solely on KeePassXC. As I began to trust Bitwarden I began to slowly add those accounts, too.
Also, while I trust Bitwarden sync, I'm not quite as sure of the various apps that implement the KeePassXC on iOS. I'm still not aware that any have been audited, so to my mind Bitwarden is more secure.
Still, the possibility of a change of management philosophy at Bitwarden also wore on me, so not wishing to be solely dependent on an app that I might no longer trust, I continued to maintain my KeePassXC vault, duplicating any new Bitwarden entries. It's a simple way to backup Bitwarden, though a bit time-consuming.
Syncing KeePassXC is simpler now than before I migrated; sneakernet is no longer required, having been replaced by Signal and "Note to Self." It's still not as simple as Bitwarden's sync, so I'll maintain that unless I have a trust reason to change. FWIW
If you don't want to pay $10/year for Premium, you can still host Vaultwarden instead and get the features for free.
> self-hosting is deliberately difficult so you'll be using the cloud
[citation needed] in my opinion. Yes, the current self-hosting method is rather complex, but still not that difficult to set up. Just follow their guide.
They are even working on a new "unified" deployment method [1] where you can choose your own DB and all the Bitwarden containers are merged into one. The resulting docker-compose.yml looks as simple as any other service I self-host. Why would they do this if what you said were true?
From what I can see, the major feature would be that it stores the password database on their premises and then lets you access it through multiple devices.
Whereas in the case of KeepassXC, you have to have your own place where to store the password database and set it up on you different devices. So Bitwarden offers more convenience.
I also use KeePassXC and commit my DB to git. On PCs I just clone the repo and am ready to go. On mobile I download the DB via a web interface. No fancy automatic sync, but my DB doesn't change that often, so the manual effort is still small.
Same boat. I'm also curious how does device sync happen with bitwarden - from a cursory glance it seems to rely on their cloud. Can you manually manage the database file, like with keepass?
You can use their cloud, but if you're technical you can also self-host a server instance. In that case, it's usually recommend to stay way from the complicated official implementation and instead pick vaultwarden, like another commenter said.
