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# KeePassXC Gives Away What Bitwarden Charges For
- URL: https://efreedirectory.com/keepassxc-free-plan-limits/
- Published: 2026-10-20T06:25:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T06:57:13.000Z
- Description: The password manager that charges nothing also charges nothing for the features others put behind a subscription. What it costs instead is convenience.
- Author: Alpesh Gevariya
- Tags: tool, Privacy & Security

**KeePassXC is free under the GPL with no paid tier, no subscriptions and no feature gating. Version 2.7.12 shipped in March 2026\. It stores everything in a local KDBX file encrypted with AES-256 or ChaCha20, and includes built-in TOTP codes, file attachments, YubiKey challenge-response, browser integration and an SSH agent. There is no cloud sync of any kind.**[1](#sources)

This is the awkward comparison for every other password manager. Features that [Bitwarden sells at $19.80 a year](https://efreedirectory.com/bitwarden-free-plan-limits/) are simply present here, because there is nobody to sell them.

The trade is not money. It is that the database is a file, and keeping it in step across devices is your problem.[2](#sources)

## What the free version includes

|                     | KeePassXC               | Bitwarden Free        |
| ------------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------- |
| Price               | $0, no paid tier        | $0                    |
| Licence             | GPL, open source        | GPL, open source      |
| Built-in TOTP codes | Yes                     | Premium only          |
| File attachments    | Yes                     | Premium only          |
| YubiKey support     | Yes, challenge-response | Yes, as second factor |
| Browser autofill    | Yes, extension          | Yes                   |
| Cloud sync          | None, file only         | Yes, hosted           |
| Mobile app          | None official           | Yes                   |
| Web interface       | None                    | Yes                   |

Version 2.7.12 added passkey backup-state flags, nested folder import from Bitwarden, and a time-based Auto-Type placeholder. Passkeys work through the browser integration rather than as a separate store.

## Your passwords live in a file

The database is a single KDBX file. Everything is in it, encrypted, and the application does not send it anywhere.

That is the strongest privacy story in this category and also the whole operational burden. To use the same vault on a laptop, a desktop and a phone, the file has to reach all three and stay in step.

People solve this with Syncthing, Nextcloud, Dropbox, a git repository or a USB stick. All of those work. All of them can produce a sync conflict, and a conflict in a password database means merging two files by hand.

## No mobile app, and that is the dealbreaker

There is no official KeePassXC for iOS or Android. Android users run KeePassDX or KeePass2Android, which read the same KDBX file. iOS options exist but are thinner and less consistently maintained.

Those clients are good and the format is genuinely portable, which is the point of using an open standard. But a two-app solution on mobile is a different experience from one vendor shipping consistent clients.

Autofill on mobile in particular does not match what a cloud password manager provides, because the browser extension model does not exist there in the same form.

## The KDBX format is the actual asset

The database format is shared with KeePass, KeePassX, MacPass, KeeWeb and others. Your vault is not locked to this application.

That matters more than any single feature. Every commercial manager holds your passwords in a format only it reads, and the export path is a one-way door. With KDBX, switching clients costs nothing and the data stays where it was.

It is also a real answer to the price-increase problem. Bitwarden's premium tier rose 98 percent in January 2026 and 1Password's individual plan rose 33 percent in March. Nobody can raise the price of a file. [VeraCrypt](https://efreedirectory.com/veracrypt-free-plan-limits/) is the same argument applied to a whole disk instead of a list of passwords.

## Autotype is the part people miss

Browser extensions cover websites. Auto-Type covers everything else: legacy desktop applications, terminals, games, anything with a text field.

It types the credentials for you on a hotkey, matching window titles to entries. Commercial managers largely abandoned this years ago because it is fiddly to support and hard to make reliable on macOS.

If your work involves non-browser logins, it is the feature that decides the question.

## When it is the right choice

You want the vault under your control, you are comfortable managing a file, and you use one or two devices.

Also when you specifically want TOTP and attachments without a subscription, and when you want a format that will still open in ten years.

## When it is not

A household or a team that needs shared vaults with access control. Anyone who wants a single app on every device with automatic sync and no thought required. In both cases [1Password](https://efreedirectory.com/1password-free-plan-limits/) or Bitwarden is the honest recommendation, and paying is the point.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is KeePassXC completely free?**  
Yes. It is GPL-licensed with no paid tier. Every feature, including TOTP and attachments, is included.

**Does KeePassXC sync across devices?**  
Not by itself. You store the KDBX file in a syncing service, on a network share or on removable media.

**Is there a KeePassXC mobile app?**  
No official one. KeePassDX and KeePass2Android on Android open the same database file.

**Does KeePassXC support TOTP codes?**  
Yes, built in, including Steam Guard, with no paid tier required.

**Can I use a YubiKey with KeePassXC?**  
Yes, via challenge-response, which can be required in addition to the master password.

*Version number, licensed features, format support and platform availability verified against KeePassXC's official documentation on 20 October 2026.*

## Sources

1. KeePassXC: [keepassxc.org](https://keepassxc.org/?ref=efreedirectory.com). Used for: Feature list including TOTP, attachments and hardware keys.
2. KeePassXC documentation: [keepassxc.org/docs](https://keepassxc.org/docs/?ref=efreedirectory.com).

*All sources are the vendor's own plan or documentation pages, checked on 20 October 2026\. Plan terms change without notice, so confirm current limits before you rely on them.*