1Password review: the polish is real, so is the price

1Password is the nicer app and the pricier bill. Whether that trade is worth it depends on whether you want the Secret Key.

The price, and when it changes

The Individual plan is $2.99 a month on annual billing, per 1Password's pricing page (checked November 1, 2026). That includes an extra 25 percent off for the first 12 months, for new customers who subscribe directly with annual billing. After that the list price is $3.99 a month, or $47.88 a year.

Families is $4.49 a month on the promo and $5.99 at list. It covers 5 users, 1 GB of storage each, and unlimited shared vaults.

There's no permanent free plan. You get a 14-day trial with no credit card instead. Bitwarden's free plan has unlimited passwords and devices, and its Premium is $19.80 a year, per its pricing page. At 1Password's list price, that's $28.08 a year less. That's the whole argument against it, and it's a fair one.

What the Secret Key does

Every 1Password account uses your master password plus a 128-bit Secret Key, according to 1Password's security page. Someone who steals your encrypted vault data needs both.

The cost is a small chore. You keep the Secret Key somewhere safe and enter it when you add a new device. That extra layer is the main thing the higher price buys.

What the plan includes

Per the pricing page, both plans have password generation, autofill, Watchtower alerts, passkeys and two-factor authentication. The page lists 24/7 support by email, forum or social media, and developer tools for SSH, Git commit signing, CLI and SDK access. It doesn't say which plan gets which of those.

The apps run on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web.

1Password's security page says it publishes the results of independent audits on its website. Bitwarden's help page names its 2025 auditors: Cure53, ETH Zurich, Unit 42 and Fracture Labs. 1Password's audit reports weren't read for this review, so I won't score the two against each other on audits.

Who it's for

Pick 1Password if the Secret Key matters to you, or if you're setting up a household and want the polish. See the families roundup for who gets a seat, and Bitwarden vs 1Password for the direct matchup.

Pick Bitwarden if you want the price floor. Our Bitwarden review covers what the free plan holds.

If you're already sold, how to turn on passkeys in 1Password is the next stop. More options sit under other password managers in the catalog.

I'd score it 8.2 out of 10. The product earns 9. The renewal takes some of it back.