NordPass vs 1Password vs Bitwarden for UK small businesses (2026)

Who is this comparison for?

This guide is for owner-managers of firms with roughly 2 to 50 people who want one company-owned place for shared logins.

New to password managers? Start with our guide to choosing a password manager for a small business. Only weighing up two? Our 1Password vs Bitwarden comparison goes deeper on that pair.

We checked every price and feature on the vendors' own websites on 22 October 2026 and checked the prices again on 1 November 2026. Check again before you buy.

How much does each one cost for a small team?

None of the three shows business prices in pounds. NordPass charges its business plans in US dollars. 1Password shows US dollars, Canadian dollars or euros, depending on the region you choose. Bitwarden shows US dollars. The prices below are list prices per user per month, before VAT.

For a 10-person team paying yearly, that works out at roughly $19.90 a month for NordPass Teams, $24.95 for 1Password Teams Starter Pack, $39.90 for NordPass Business, $40 for Bitwarden Teams and $89.90 for 1Password Business, before VAT.

All three offer a 14-day free trial of their business plans. NordPass and 1Password say you do not need a card to start. Check the renewal price at checkout.

What do you get on each plan?

The cheapest plan is not always the right one. These are the features most owners care about.

On ease of use, all three are fine once set up. In our view, 1Password needs the least explaining and Bitwarden's admin screens feel more technical. The best test is a trial: ask two or three staff to use one for a week.

What happens when someone leaves?

When someone leaves, you want their access gone the same day and the company's logins kept.

• NordPass: an admin removes the member in the Admin Panel. Item Transfer, on every business plan, hands the items they created back to the company.
• 1Password: admins can remove members, and recover locked-out accounts, on both business plans.
• Bitwarden: removing someone from the organisation removes their access to shared collections, which stay with the company. Admin account recovery is on Enterprise only.

Whichever you pick, change the passwords for anything the leaver could see. Our staff leaver checklist covers email, devices and other accounts.

Where is your data stored?

None of the three offers a UK-only data centre that we could find. All three can keep business data in the European Union. You choose the region when you sign up, and you cannot simply move it later.

• NordPass: business customers choose US or EU data centres. NordPass says its EU option is in Frankfurt, on Amazon Web Services.
• 1Password: choose 1Password.com (US), 1Password.ca (Canada) or 1Password.eu (EU). The EU option bills in euros.
• Bitwarden: choose the US or EU cloud. On Enterprise you can also run it on your own server.

All three say they use end-to-end encryption, so the vendor cannot read the passwords you store.

Have any of them had security incidents?

It is a fair question. Here is what was widely reported, in plain terms.

• 1Password, 2023: attackers used a session token stolen in a breach at Okta, a sign-in provider, to get into 1Password's internal Okta account. 1Password said no user data was accessed.
• Bitwarden, April 2026: a fake version of Bitwarden's command-line tool was published on npm, a developer download site, for about 90 minutes. It only affected developers who installed that version in that window. Bitwarden said it found no evidence that vault data was accessed.
• NordPass: we found no widely reported incident affecting NordPass customer data as of 1 November 2026.

No product is free of risk. A strong main password and MFA matter more than the brand.

Which one should you pick?

Our pick for the lowest bill: NordPass Teams

If you have up to 10 people and share a modest number of logins, NordPass Teams has the lowest list price of the plans we compared. It is $1.99 per user per month on a yearly plan, sold as a 10-user pack. It includes an admin panel, password policy, an activity log and Item Transfer for leavers.

The trade-off: no shared folders or breach scanner, so you share item by item. 1Password Teams Starter Pack costs a little more ($24.95 a month for up to 10). If there are only two of you, Bitwarden's free organisation costs nothing.

Our pick for non-technical teams: 1Password

1Password is our pick if most of your staff are not confident with tech. It has apps for every common device and browser, admins can recover locked-out members on both plans, and in our view it needs the least training.

For up to 20 people, Teams Starter Pack keeps the cost down. Business ($8.99) adds single sign-on, custom policies and usage reports.

Our pick for open source or self-hosting: Bitwarden

Bitwarden is the only one of the three whose code is public. It is also the only one you can run on your own server, on the Enterprise plan ($6). Teams ($4) includes shared collections, groups, event logs and directory sync.

It suits a firm with someone happy to own the admin side. Most small firms should still use the cloud version.

Our pick for growing teams that want breach alerts: NordPass Business

Once you pass 20 people, 1Password Teams Starter Pack no longer fits. NordPass Business ($3.99, 5 users minimum) adds shared folders, password health reports and a Data Breach Scanner for your company domain.

Bitwarden Teams is a close alternative at almost the same price if open source matters more to you.

How do you roll it out without a fuss?

1. Start a trial with two or three staff.
2. Create the company account with a company email, not a personal one. Add a second admin.
3. Turn on MFA for everyone's vault login.
4. Move the ten most shared logins first: bank, HMRC, payroll, suppliers and social media.
5. Set one simple rule: no passwords in chat, email or spreadsheets.

Our guide on how to stop staff reusing passwords has a full rollout plan.

A password manager also supports the user access control part of Cyber Essentials. The NCSC recommends using a password manager and explains how to set a sensible password policy. Buying one does not give you the certificate on its own.

FAQ

Is NordPass cheaper than 1Password and Bitwarden for business?

On list price, NordPass Teams is the cheapest of the three for a 10-person team, at $1.99 per user per month on a yearly plan, but it has no shared folders. With shared folders, NordPass Business ($3.99) and Bitwarden Teams ($4) cost about the same. Prices are in US dollars, before VAT, checked on 1 November 2026.

Can NordPass, 1Password or Bitwarden store our data in the UK?

Not that we could find. All three offer an EU option for business accounts: NordPass in its EU data centre, 1Password on 1Password.eu and Bitwarden in its EU cloud. You choose the region when you sign up.

Is NordPass safe for a business to use?

NordPass uses end-to-end encryption, holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certification, and has been audited by the security firm Cure53. We found no widely reported incident affecting NordPass customer data as of 1 November 2026.

Can we self-host 1Password or NordPass?

Not on their published plans. Of the three, only Bitwarden offers self-hosting, on its Enterprise plan. Most small firms are better off with the cloud version.

Will a password manager get us Cyber Essentials?

No. It helps with the password and user access parts of Cyber Essentials, but certification covers five controls and an assessment.

Official guidance

• NCSC: Password managers
• NCSC Small Business Guide: Using passwords to protect your data
• NCSC: Password policy, updating your approach
• NCSC: Cyber Essentials overview

Sources we checked

Vendor prices and features were checked on 22 October 2026. Prices were checked again on 1 November 2026.

• NordPass Business plans and feature table (prices in USD, ex VAT)
• NordPass: US and EU data centres for business
• NordPass Business white paper (EU data centre in Frankfurt, Cure53 audit)
• NordPass security overview
• NordPass passkeys
• 1Password Business and Teams Starter Pack pricing
• 1Password: choose your region
• 1Password security assessments and certifications
• 1Password: Okta support system incident (2023)
• Bitwarden business pricing and feature table
• Bitwarden: organisations overview (free organisation, 14-day trial)
• Bitwarden: server regions
• Bitwarden: third-party security audits
• Bitwarden source code on GitHub
• Bitwarden statement on the CLI npm incident (April 2026)