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Bitwarden vs CyberArk Privileged Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Bitwarden
Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers
6th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
CyberArk Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
223
Ranking in other categories
User Activity Monitoring (1st), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Mainframe Security (2nd), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Password Managers category, the mindshare of Bitwarden is 6.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is 7.8%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Password Managers
 

Featured Reviews

Marcus Quinn - PeerSpot reviewer
Good Documentation, reliable, zero failure and fast
I often use another password manager as well to keep my passwords separate, ensuring redundancy. But one simple thing Bitwarden could improve is providing an option to duplicate credentials. Often, you're creating many sets of credentials for the same thing. If they all have the same information, notes, login, collection, and naming - all you're changing is the password. The ability to duplicate credential records quickly would be a big win. It doesn't do that right now. A feature I appreciate in another app, EndPass, is a shortcut that opens a mini window for quick access to credentials. Bitwarden could benefit from something like this, in addition to duplicating credentials. Other functionalities like team management and collections in Bitwarden are already simple. It doesn't need much more. We appreciate the simplicity and slow evolution rather than being overwhelmed with unnecessary features. It doesn't need to be pretty, just functional and accessible. And accessibility is crucial. If you're deploying to many people resistant to change, accessibility can be an objection. When someone claims they can't use a tool because of an accessibility issue, you're faced with a compliance challenge. Bitwarden does well in this regard. Still, accessibility should never be overlooked in favor of features. As you add more features, you potentially increase complexity and risk.
Lasantha Wijesinghe - PeerSpot reviewer
We have visibility and control through real-time user behavior analytics
It took us some time to realize its benefits because there was a learning curve for us. It took us about a year to get our heads around this product and start effectively using it. It is a journey. It takes at least five years for any company to make this product very useful and reach maturity. It is not only the product's fault. The company needs to have a vision, and the company culture needs to go with it. Senior leadership needs to support the vision. You need to have lots of ingredients for success. If everything is in place, you will see success after one year. In the first year, it is a struggle for everybody. My company was bought by a bigger company, and they were very new to privileged access management. Everybody was struggling. The advice I would give is to have a good vision for privileged access management. You need dedicated teams, senior management support, and proper company policies and standards before implementing the solution. Start building knowledge slowly and avoid jumping into the deep end without preparation. I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is open source and the premium package is reasonable."
"I've found something else that is extremely valuable. Bitwarden refers to it as "emergency access". It's essentially a digital legacy where you can assign approved users who can request access. If you don't decline within a certain timeframe, they can access it in case you're incapacitated or deceased. When I last checked, only a few services offered this feature. Bitwarden had the simplest and best implementation."
"Its integration capabilities and versatility, like the ability to securely save passwords and other critical information, make it incredibly useful."
"In our organization, we use Bitwarden for managing product credentials. Bitwarden's collection feature enables us to securely create and store credentials, and we can easily provide team members with access to the relevant collections."
"Having all the passwords in one place is helpful."
"The customer service and support are good. The technician is on time and the follow-up is amazing."
"The product has a very friendly community."
"Our privileged accounts are now stored in a more secure location and lateral movement within the network have been lessened."
"The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager include its search capabilities."
"It enables companies to automate password management on target systems gaining a more secure access management approach."
"Helped us meet our standards and requirements to help us comply with industry standards and banking regulations."
"The automatic rotation of credentials is probably the most useful feature."
"CyberArk's capabilities and functionality outperform other solutions."
"Right off the bat, the most valuable feature is the DNA scan. It gives us the ability to scan our environment and find the accounts that we're going to need to take under control."
"The whole concept of Zero Trust and implementing it with CyberArk, which somewhat adheres to the 'never trust, always verify' principle, is very valuable. I really appreciate this aspect. Moreover, the just-in-time access is impressive, allowing access for a specific time."
 

Cons

"The product could be cheaper."
"I would like to log in with a master account using a passkey, that would be easy."
"Enhancing the tool by including additional security variables would be a valuable improvement."
"The solution should be made more secure as it has the banking sector and assets saved."
"The product must be a bit more unified and refined."
"I often use another password manager as well to keep my passwords separate, ensuring redundancy. But one simple thing Bitwarden could improve is providing an option to duplicate credentials. Often, you're creating many sets of credentials for the same thing. If they all have the same information, notes, login, collection, and naming - all you're changing is the password. The ability to duplicate credential records quickly would be a big win. It doesn't do that right now."
"It would be ideal if the application could be seamlessly integrated into our open-source software, especially for the purpose of enabling straightforward logging."
"As of now, it does not manage all of the IDM practices. It is only good as a PAM solution."
"I would like to see is the policy export and import. When we expend, we do not want to just hand do a policy."
"Online help needs to be looked into with live agent support."
"The reporting should be improved. There should be more customization."
"We require IAM (identify and access management) capability at the administrator level because we need more identification."
"The major pain point that we have is the capacity of CyberArk due to the sheer volume of NPAs that we are managing. We are a large organization and we have hundreds of thousands of non-personal accounts to manage. We have already found out that there are certain capacity limitations within CyberArk that might introduce performance issues. From my perspective, something that would be valuable would be if the vault could hold more passwords and be more scalable."
"The initial setup can get complex."
"Its GUI is very confusing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is reasonably priced."
"The product is not costly. I pay $10 per month."
"It is an open-source tool."
"In our region, it comes at an affordable price."
"I use a free version and it works well for me."
"The pricing is slightly higher compared to other solutions, but it is reasonable because there are better security features."
"I would rate the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"CyberArk is good at what they do, and the price reflects that. You have to pay the price for the same."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Generally, I don't get involved in the licensing or the purchasing side of it, but I do know that the licenses are expensive."
"Previously, the pricing was very meager. They started publicizing and advertising the solution, growing CyberArk, as an organization. They also changed their pricing with that growth, e.g., the pricier the product, the more people who will purchase it."
"The price of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager could be less expensive."
"The pricing for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is quite expensive, and the pricing varies from region to region. In APAC, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager can be obtained for less than in North America, according to my understanding."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
33%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Bitwarden?
I've found something else that is extremely valuable. Bitwarden refers to it as "emergency access". It's essentially a digital legacy where you can assign approved users who can request access. If ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bitwarden?
The product is not costly. I pay $10 per month. I use the basic plan, so I don't need the higher plan with more compliance features.
What needs improvement with Bitwarden?
The functionality to fully utilize passkeys could be improved. The last time I spoke to support, they said the development team was working on it. So far, it's working okay on my personal devices. ...
How does Sailpoint IdentityIQ compare with CyberArk PAM?
We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to manage risks in cloud enterprise environments. It automates and streamlines the m...
What do you like most about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
The most valuable features of the solution are control and analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
With the current model of licensing, for my use cases, sometimes it's hard to convince the management and get budget approvals for it. It's expensive and you're not getting anything new. It's just ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rockwell Automation
Find out what your peers are saying about Bitwarden vs. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.