We can't read your vault.
The Bitwarden apps encrypt every item on your device before it syncs. The server stores only ciphertext. Your master password never leaves your device.
Vaultwarden 1.37.3 Business
Free credit available Limited time
Vaultwarden hosting, invite only from the first boot.
Vaultwarden 1.37.3, the open source server for the Bitwarden apps, deploys here in one click onto a dedicated server Selfhost.dev provisions, secures and runs, across six locations on three continents. Sign-ups stay closed from the first boot, so only people you invite get an account.
Vaultwardenone-click template ready
- Vaultwarden1.37.3, official image
- sign-upsclosed from the first boot
- /adminopens only with your token
- HTTPSauto-renewed
- vaultSQLite on your server
European 4 GB server$0.02/hr
The short version
What is Vaultwarden hosting?
What it is
An open source Rust server that speaks the Bitwarden API, so the official Bitwarden apps sync with it.
Where to start. Open the console with Vaultwarden selected
Who it is for
Small teams and families who want a shared vault server they control, with no home machine to keep online.
When to use it
When the vault belongs on a server in your account, on a bill that doesn't grow per member.
Vault
What's in the Vaultwarden deployment
What's in the Vaultwarden deployment fits in one table: the official image, pinned to 1.37.3, with the vault kept in SQLite on the server's own disk. The web vault, the admin panel and the Bitwarden API all answer on one HTTPS address.
The stack, end to end
Callers
The Bitwarden apps and your browser
Edge
TLS and routing
Your project server
Container
Vaultwarden 1.37.3
Platform secret
Admin token
Disk
Vault in SQLite
| Item | On this template |
|---|---|
| Vaultwarden | 1.37.3, the official vaultwarden/server image |
| Web vault | Built in, at your HTTPS address |
| Admin panel | /admin, opened with your admin token |
| Database | SQLite, in Vaultwarden's data folder on the server's disk |
| Server | 4 GB, x86 or ARM, six locations |
| Rate | A European 4 GB server at $0.02/hr |
| Backups | A daily whole-server image, last 7 kept, one switch (recommended for a vault) |
Your vault goes here. Deploy the stack
What we set up for you
Vaultwarden Docker, configured before the first boot
Vaultwarden Docker guides hand you a compose file with sign-ups open and no HTTPS, then tell you to fix both. On this template the image is pinned, sign-ups are closed, the admin token is set and HTTPS is live before anyone can reach the address.
| What a tutorial compose file does | On this template |
|---|---|
image: vaultwarden/server:latest | Pinned to 1.37.3; it moves only when you move it |
SIGNUPS_ALLOWED=true until you flip it | Closed from the first boot; people join by invitation |
ADMIN_TOKEN unset, so no admin panel | The password you set at deploy opens /admin |
ports: 8080:80 over plain HTTP | HTTPS, with a certificate renewed for you |
| The container port open to the network | Only ports 22, 80 and 443 open |
WEBSOCKET_ENABLED=true for live sync | Not set: since Vaultwarden 1.29, WebSocket notifications use the main HTTPS port by default |
Why "register first, then close sign-ups" leaves a gap. Stock Vaultwarden starts with public sign-ups on. Server administration sits behind the admin token, not the first account. Until sign-ups close, anyone who finds the address can create an account. Here that window never opens.
Your passwords stay readable if the server doesn't.
Every Bitwarden app you're signed in to keeps a copy it can open offline, read-only, until the server is back.
Settings
Vaultwarden hosting requirements
Vaultwarden hosting requirements are light: one Rust process, a SQLite file and an HTTPS address the Bitwarden apps accept. The 4 GB server is the smallest size our platform runs, not something Vaultwarden needs, so most of it stays free for other apps on the same server.
What Vaultwarden needs
- Memory
- 4 GB, the smallest server we offer
- CPU
- x86 or ARM; the official image supports both
- Disk
- 40 GB on the European 4 GB servers, holding the vault and attachments
- Connection
- HTTPS on 443; the Bitwarden apps refuse plain HTTP
- Not configured
- SMTP, mobile push, SSO, Postgres or MySQL
What a 4 GB server handles
Vaultwarden counts as one light workload and a 4 GB server holds five, so four slots stay free for catalog apps or your own GitHub repos.
Server size: 4 GB, enough for Vaultwarden. Deploy on a 4 GB server
Quickstart
How to deploy Vaultwarden in 3 steps
The address goes live with sign-ups closed, so the first account on it is yours.
-
Pick a server
Launch opens the console with Vaultwarden chosen. Pick a 4 GB server and a location.
-
Set the admin token and launch
The password you type here, at least 12 characters, becomes the admin token. The template deploys in about ten minutes, then the console shows a generated HTTPS address and confirms it answers.
-
Invite yourself, then connect the apps
Open /admin with the token and invite your email. Register with it, then enter the address as a self hosted server in the Bitwarden apps.
Deploy VaultwardenStep 1 starts in the console.
Launch Vaultwarden Billing
Vaultwarden hosting cost
Vaultwarden hosting cost is one server rate. The template is free to deploy. Adding people, vault items or devices never changes the bill. Hourly billing draws on prepaid credits and bandwidth is not metered; the rate depends on the machine and its location.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Vaultwarden, the web vault and the admin panel | $0 |
| HTTPS and a custom domain | $0 |
| Members and devices | $0, nothing is charged per user |
| More apps on the same server | $0, room for up to four more light apps |
| Bandwidth | $0, no traffic metering on a template project |
| Backups | Optional, +20% of the server rate |
| Server | RAM, cores, disk | Where | Rate | About a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cx23 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $15.18 |
cax11 (ARM) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $16.35 |
cpx21 | 4 GB, 3 cores, 80 GB | US | $0.12/hr | $87.75 |
cpx22 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 80 GB | Singapore | $0.10/hr | $72.56 |
Monthly figures assume 730 hours.
If your balance reaches zero
A server with a card on file or a past top-up is powered off and held for 24 hours. A top-up in that window starts it again. Welcome-credit-only servers are deleted at zero, backups included.
Price another size or region in the calculator, no signup.
Options
Vaultwarden hosting options
Vaultwarden hosting comes in four shapes: a VPS you set up yourself, a platform template, an account on someone else's public server or a dedicated server with the setup done. They differ in who owns the server and how much setup is left to you.
| Option | Who owns the server | What is still yours to do |
|---|---|---|
| A VPS you run (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, a Hostinger template) | You | Closing sign-ups, backups and the OS; the proxy and HTTPS too on a bare VPS |
| A platform template (Railway) | The platform | A usage bill for CPU, memory, storage and egress |
| A public server (vaultwarden.com, vaultwarden.net) | An unofficial operator | Trusting a stranger with uptime and backups |
| Selfhost.dev, a dedicated server | You, in your account | Your members and when to upgrade |
When Bitwarden's own cloud is the better choice
If you need vendor support, published security audits or enterprise policies run for you, Bitwarden's hosted plans fit better than any self hosted server. How the two compare, feature by feature, is in our Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden guide.
Members
What we run and what you run
We run
- The server, its firewall and its HTTPS certificate
- The Vaultwarden container, on the version it was deployed with
- Daily whole-server backups, if you switch them on
- Root SSH for the key you add and host metrics
You run
- Your members, organizations and shared collections
- When to move to a newer Vaultwarden
- Your own
db.sqlite3copies, kept off the server - The admin token and an SMTP provider if you want email
Status
What every Vaultwarden deployment gets
- Every service is health-checked every 60 seconds.
- A stalled deploy is retried automatically, not abandoned.
- A deploy is never reported done until the URL actually answers.
- Retrying a create never leaves you paying for two copies.
- Your version never moves on its own.
~10 min to deploy
Vaultwarden's template deploys in about ten minutes. That is the platform's own budget, not an estimate.
Notes
Vaultwarden hosting limitations
- No email service at deploy. No SMTP is configured, so invites and new-device alerts aren't emailed. Add your provider's SMTP settings in the admin panel to switch them on.
- Mobile apps sync when you refresh. Push to the Bitwarden mobile apps isn't set up; it needs an installation key from bitwarden.com/host.
- One server, one SQLite file. There is no failover to a second server. The version stays on 1.37.3 until you choose to move it.
None of these a dealbreaker? The template deploys in about ten minutes.
Launch VaultwardenExport
Vaultwarden backup and restore
Vaultwarden backup and restore works two ways here: an optional daily image of the whole server and your own copies of the vault database, made over SSH with Vaultwarden's built-in command. The image restores the server as it was; a database copy moves your vault anywhere.
| Method | What it covers | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Daily server backup (optional, +20%) | The whole server, vault and attachments included, last 7 kept | With the server |
A db.sqlite3 backup | Accounts, vault items, organizations | Wherever you copy it |
| A copy of the data folder | Attachments, config.json and the rsa_key files | Wherever you copy it |
Back up the database safely
Run /vaultwarden backup inside the container (Vaultwarden 1.32.1 and later). Before restoring a copy, delete any db.sqlite3-wal file beside it.
Import
Moving your team's passwords over?
Tell us how many people and which password manager you use now. We reply with the server size and the import steps.
Help
Frequently asked questions
Is Vaultwarden free to use?
Yes. Vaultwarden is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence, so the software costs nothing to download, run or change. Here you pay only for the server it runs on, by the hour. Nothing is charged per member, device or vault item.
Does Vaultwarden need Docker?
No, but Docker is how its maintainers recommend running it, with official images on Docker Hub, GitHub and Quay. This template runs that official image on your server, so you never write a compose file. Root SSH is there if you want to look inside.
Do the Bitwarden apps work with Vaultwarden?
Yes. The official Bitwarden browser extensions, desktop apps and mobile apps all connect to Vaultwarden. On the login screen, choose the self hosted server option and enter your Vaultwarden address. They need HTTPS to sign in and this template serves it from the first boot. Choosing between the two for a team? See Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden for what each costs as you add people.
Is a public Vaultwarden server like vaultwarden.net safe?
It depends who you trust. Vaultwarden.com and vaultwarden.net are community-run public servers and both say they are not official. Whoever runs one decides its uptime, its backups and how long it stays online. A server of your own keeps those decisions in your account.
How do people join my Vaultwarden?
By invitation only. Sign-ups are closed from the first boot, so open /admin with your admin token and invite each person's email address. With no email service configured, the invited person registers at your Vaultwarden address with that exact email. Nobody else can create an account.
Can I move my existing vault here?
Yes. From another Vaultwarden, copy its data folder, with db.sqlite3, attachments and the rsa_key files, to this server over SSH. From Bitwarden's cloud or another password manager, export your vault from the old app, then import it in the web vault here under Tools.
A vault server that lets in only the people you invite.
- Sign-ups closed and HTTPS on before the first visit
- The official Vaultwarden image, pinned
- One server bill, nothing extra for the template
About Selfhost.dev
Selfhost.dev is a managed self hosting platform for developers and small teams. Open source apps and databases on dedicated servers you control, billed by the hour with no subscription tiers.
Best for: Vaultwarden, Nextcloud, WireGuard, n8n and managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, ClickHouse, OpenSearch and Kafka.