- Bitwarden and Proton have a built-in emergency access feature. 1Password does not, as of October 2026.
- In both Bitwarden and Proton, access is granted automatically if you don’t respond before the wait time ends.
- Bitwarden lets a contact view your vault or take it over. Proton gives the contact your whole Proton account, including email and files.
- 1Password relies on a printed Emergency Kit, so where you store it matters.
This comparison looks at one thing only: how each password manager lets someone you trust get in after you die. For how emergency access works in general, read password managers for inheritance.
At a glance
| Bitwarden | Proton Pass | 1Password | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in emergency access | Yes | Yes (Proton account level) | No |
| Plan needed by you | Premium or a paid organisation | Any paid Proton plan | Not applicable |
| Contact needs | Any Bitwarden account (free is fine) on the same server | A Proton Mail address | A copy of your Emergency Kit |
| Number of contacts | No limit | Up to 5 | Whoever you give the kit to |
| Wait time | You choose, at least 1 day | 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days | None: the kit works at once |
| If you don’t respond | Access granted automatically | Access granted automatically | Not applicable |
| What the contact gets | View, or full takeover | Full access to your Proton account | Everything the kit unlocks |
Bitwarden
Emergency access comes with Premium and with membership of a paid organisation (Families, Teams or Enterprise). It isn’t on the Free plan. At the time of writing (October 2026), Premium is $19.80 a year and Families is $47.88 a year for up to 6 people, billed in US dollars.
Your contact can use a free account, but it must be on the same Bitwarden server: a US cloud and an EU cloud account can’t pair. There’s no limit on the number of contacts, and invitations expire after 5 days.
You set the wait time, with a minimum of one day. Bitwarden’s help pages don’t list the other options, so check them when you set it up. You can approve a request early or reject it. If you do nothing, access is granted when the wait time runs out.
You choose one of two access levels per contact:
- View: read access to everything in your individual vault, including attachments.
- Takeover: the contact sets a new master password, gets permanent full access, and Bitwarden removes your two-step login methods.
Takeover is not read-only. Choose it when you want someone to run the vault after you, not just look things up.
Proton Pass
Proton launched Emergency Access on 28 August 2025. It works at Proton account level, not just inside Pass, so a contact can reach your “emails, passwords, and files”.
It’s available on all paid Proton plans, not on free accounts. You can name up to 5 contacts, and both of you need a Proton Mail address. Proton’s support page doesn’t say whether the contact needs a paid plan, so check before you rely on a free account.
Wait times are 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days. You’re notified of a request and can deny it. If you don’t respond, access is granted automatically, and the contact gets full access to your account.
Check Proton’s pricing page for current costs.
1Password
1Password has no emergency access or legacy contact feature. A staff member confirmed on 12 August 2026 that there was nothing new to share about one.
Its answer is the Emergency Kit: a PDF with your sign-in address, email, Secret Key, a space for your account password, and a set-up QR code. 1Password suggests printing it, keeping it in a safe deposit box or with your passport, and giving a copy to someone you trust. Emergency Kits aren’t available for accounts that sign in through SSO, or where an admin has turned them off.
1Password’s family account recovery is not an inheritance tool. The person being recovered has to click a link in their own email and set a new password. A family organiser can’t use it to open a member’s vault after they die.
The Emergency Kit has no wait time and no way to say no. If your password is written on it, anyone who finds it can sign in while you’re alive.
A UK bank box is a poor home for it: Metro Bank, for example, gives no access after death without a grant of probate or letters of administration. Our guide on where to keep the master password covers better options.
Which one suits you
- You want a safety net with a delay you control: Bitwarden. You set the wait time yourself, contacts can use free accounts, and you choose view or takeover for each person.
- You already live in Proton Mail and Drive: Proton. One request covers email, files and passwords, which matters because so many password resets go to the email account.
- You’re happy with 1Password and don’t want to move: keep it, but treat the Emergency Kit as seriously as a house key. Store it somewhere your executor can reach without probate, and tell them where it is.
- Your partner uses another Bitwarden region: one of you needs an account on the other’s server.
For the trade-offs between a password manager, a paper record and a bank box, see paper vs password manager vs safe deposit box.