Choosing a Default Password Manager on iPhone: Bitwarden, Proton Pass or KeePass

Most account takeovers don’t involve clever hacking. Someone takes a password leaked from one site and tries it everywhere else, so if you reuse passwords, one breach becomes ten. A password manager fixes that: every account gets its own long, random password, and the manager fills it in for you.

There’s an OSINT benefit too. Breached data gets combined, and the same email plus the same password across several leaks is an easy way to tie your accounts together. Unique passwords, and ideally unique email aliases, break those links.

Apple Passwords is a fine starting point

Apple’s built-in Passwords app is free, end-to-end encrypted in iCloud Keychain, supports passkeys and verification codes, and warns you about reused or leaked passwords. If you only use Apple devices, it’s a solid choice.

People switch for three reasons:

• They also use Windows, Android or Linux.
• They want open-source software.
• They want something Apple doesn’t offer, such as built-in email aliases or a local file they fully control.

Option 1: Bitwarden, the all-rounder

Bitwarden is open source, independently audited, and works on almost every device and browser. Its free plan includes unlimited passwords on unlimited devices, which is rare. Premium is a small yearly fee and adds a built-in authenticator, vault health reports and emergency access, among other things.

Best for: most people who want one vault across every device, for free.

Trade-off: your encrypted vault lives in Bitwarden’s cloud (or your own server, if you self-host). Lose your master password and Bitwarden can’t recover it, so your vault is gone unless you’ve set up Emergency Access (Premium).

Option 2: Proton Pass, passwords plus aliases

Proton Pass is open source and comes from the Swiss company behind Proton Mail. Its standout feature is hide-my-email aliases: when you save a new login, it can create a unique forwarding address for that site. The free plan includes 10 hide-my-email aliases. The paid plan makes them unlimited and adds a built-in authenticator and more.

Best for: people who want every account to have a different email as well as a different password.

Trade-off: it’s tied to a Proton account, and the best alias features need a paid plan.

Option 3: KeePassXC, a file you control

KeePassXC is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux. Your passwords live in one encrypted KeePass database file (.kdbx), and you decide where it goes: only on your own devices, or in a cloud folder. No password company holds your vault.

KeePassXC has no iPhone app and no built-in sync. Its FAQ points iPhone users to KeePassium and Strongbox, and leaves syncing to the cloud folder you keep the file in.

Opening the database on iPhone and iPad

• KeePassium is the free way to do it, and our pick. The free version opens one database and includes AutoFill and Face ID unlock. It opens your file through the Files app and edits the original, so changes sync through your cloud provider’s app. Premium adds more databases, YubiKey support and one-tap Quick AutoFill.
• Strongbox Pro is the paid alternative. Strongbox’s free version includes AutoFill, but Face ID unlock and offline editing need Pro ($24.99 a year or $124.99 lifetime; prices vary by country). It syncs with iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, WebDAV and SFTP.

To open a synced database in KeePassium:

1. Install your cloud provider’s app and sign in.
2. In KeePassium, go to Databases, tap +, then Open Database.
3. Browse to your provider in the file picker and select your .kdbx file.

Syncing with Proton Drive

Proton Drive works well for keeping the file in sync between computers. Its official Windows and Mac apps sync your Proton Drive folder automatically. There’s no Linux sync app yet. The free plan includes up to 5 GB and keeps up to 10 versions of each file for up to 7 days.

1. Put the .kdbx file in your Proton Drive folder and open it there with KeePassXC.
2. On a Mac, right-click the file and choose Make Available Offline, so KeePassXC always finds a real local file.

On iPhone, it’s a manual job for now. As of October 2026, the Proton Drive iPhone app doesn’t show up in the Files app, so KeePassium and Strongbox can’t open or save the database in Proton Drive directly. Proton says the feature is coming back, but hasn’t given a date. Until then:

1. In the Proton Drive app, open the file and tap Share → Save to Files.
2. Open that copy in KeePassium or Strongbox.
3. After each change, upload the file again through the Proton Drive app.

Forget the upload and your copies drift apart. If you edit on your phone often, keep the database in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive instead. They work with the Files app, so KeePassium edits the synced file directly.

Three rules for a synced database

• Edit on one device at a time, and let it finish syncing before you open the file anywhere else. Otherwise you can end up with two different copies, or one silently replacing the other. KeePassXC can combine two copies with Database → Merge From Database; KeePassium can’t merge.
• Keep dated backups outside the synced folder. Export a copy on a schedule and store it somewhere the sync can’t touch.
• Never sync a key file next to the database. If you use a key file, move it to each device another way, keep a backup of it, and always use it together with a password. Lose the key file and you lose the database.

Best for: people who want no password-manager account and full control of one encrypted file.

Trade-offs: more set-up, syncing is your job, and backups are entirely up to you.

Setting your default: AutoFill

Whichever you choose, tell your iPhone to use it:

1. Install your password manager and sign in (or open your KeePass database).
2. Go to Settings → General → AutoFill & Passwords.
3. Turn on AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys, then select your new app.
4. Turn off Passwords if you don’t want Apple’s suggestions as well. iPhone can fill from up to three apps at once.

The same setting is also at Settings → Apps → Default Apps → Passwords & Codes. Once it’s on, your manager’s suggestions appear above the keyboard when you tap a login field.

Moving your passwords from Apple

The safest route (iOS 26 or later):

1. Open the Passwords app and tap ⋯ → Export Data to Another App.
2. Pick your new manager if it’s listed. Bitwarden is one that supports this.

Your passwords and passkeys move straight across, with no file.

If your manager isn’t listed, use a file:

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Safari → Export, choose Passwords only, and save the file.
2. Import that CSV file into your new manager.
3. Delete the exported file straight away, including from Recently Deleted in Files. It’s unencrypted: anyone who sees it sees every password.

Some items don’t export, such as Wi-Fi passwords and Sign in with Apple accounts. A CSV file can’t carry passkeys either, so if you used the file route, recreate your passkeys in the new app, site by site.