Bunker vs 1Password

1Password is a password manager first: it stores logins, passkeys and documents in an account you sign in to, on every major platform, with family sharing built in. Bunker is a vault for the things around your passwords, such as scanned passports, insurance papers, photos and video, with no account at all and a way for your family to open one vault together if you can’t.

The short verdict

Pick 1Password for passwords, autofill and passkeys, for families on Windows or Android, and for a shared family vault you all use day to day.
Pick Bunker for documents and media you’d rather not keep in an online account, for scans you can search by their text, and for a planned hand-over through Legacy Vaults.
Plenty of people use both.

Side by side

	Bunker	1Password
Encryption model	Every item encrypted on your device with keys from your Pattern	Data encrypted with your account password together with a Secret Key
Account required	No account, no email	A 1Password account with email, account password and Secret Key
Unlock method	Pattern on a 5 × 5 dial, optional Passphrase; no Face ID	Account password, with Face ID or Touch ID; your Secret Key on each new device
Backup	Encrypted Backup to your own iCloud, free	Stored in your 1Password account
Multiple vaults / decoy	Unlimited Hidden Vaults, each with its own Pattern, no list	Multiple named vaults, visible in the account
Duress	Duress Vault (Bunker Pro)	Travel Mode, turned on before a trip
Family access / legacy	Legacy Vaults (Bunker Pro); Family Plans for up to 6 people	Families plan with shared vaults; Emergency Kit; family organizers recover accounts
Platforms	iPhone, iPad and Mac	macOS, iOS, watchOS, Windows, Android, Linux, browser extensions
Price model	Free; Bunker Pro weekly, yearly with a free trial, or lifetime	Subscription, billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial

1Password details come from its pricing page and its support pages on the Emergency Kit, the Secret Key, account recovery, family organizers and Travel Mode, checked Oct 24, 2026.

How 1Password handles documents and family

Your data lives in your 1Password account, protected by your account password and a Secret Key that is stored on your devices and in your Emergency Kit. Without the Secret Key, 1Password says, nobody can access your data, including you. Individual and Families plans include 1 GB of storage per user.

The Families plan covers 5 people with shared vaults. Family organizers can manage members and recover the account of someone who forgets their password or loses their Secret Key: the member gets an email, sets a new password and receives a new Secret Key.

For emergencies, 1Password suggests you print your Emergency Kit, write your account password in at least one copy, and give a copy to someone you trust, such as your spouse or someone in your will.

Prices: Individual is $3.99 a month and Families $5.99 a month, both billed yearly, with lower first-year promotions for new customers. Prices can change.

Where Bunker is different

No account. Bunker has nothing to sign in to. Your vaults are encrypted on your device under your Pattern, and Encrypted Backup goes to your own iCloud, encrypted before it leaves the device. We have no copy of your keys.

Built for papers and media. Scan & Search scans documents with the document scanner, reads the text on your device, and lets you search inside your scans. Photos and videos open in a full viewer, and the Secure Camera saves straight into a vault.

Hand-over without sharing a master key. The Emergency Kit works by giving someone what they need to sign in as you, to everything. A Legacy Vault shares one vault only. You choose up to 5 trusted contacts and how many must act together, such as 2 of 3, and each gets a printed Legacy Card. One card opens nothing, unless you choose a set of just 1. Together, enough cards open a read-only copy. In v1, enough contacts together can open it at any time, including while you’re alive, so choose people you’d trust with it today.

Vaults nobody can list. 1Password shows your vaults by name. Bunker’s Hidden Vaults each open with their own Pattern, and there’s no list of them anywhere. With Bunker Pro, a Duress Vault opens normally and clears the others from this device, without planning ahead or a connection. Your iCloud backup still holds them.

Choose 1Password if…

You need a password manager. Autofill, passkeys, password generation and Watchtower alerts about weak or breached passwords are what it’s for. Bunker has none of these.
You want Face ID. 1Password unlocks with a glance. Bunker always asks for your Pattern or Passphrase.
Your family uses Windows, Android or Linux. 1Password runs on all of them. Bunker is iPhone, iPad and Mac only.
You want a family vault everyone uses. 1Password lets you create vaults and share them with your family. Bunker’s shares and Legacy copies are read-only for the people who receive them.
You want someone to help when a family member is locked out. Family organizers can recover accounts; Bunker can’t recover a vault without its Pattern or Recovery Phrase.
You want everything in one subscription. 1Password’s 1 GB per person is enough for many families’ key documents.

Choose Bunker if…

You’d rather your scans and photos weren’t in an online account at all.
You want to find a document by the words inside it.
You want your family to be able to open one specific vault, and nothing else, without anyone holding your master password.
You want separate private spaces, or a vault you can open safely under pressure.

Bunker Pro is $19.99 a year with a 7-day free trial ($1.67 a month), or $39.99 once. Family Plans share Bunker Pro with up to 6 people for $49.99 a year or $99.99 once.

Limits of Bunker

If you forget a Pattern and lose its Recovery Phrase, nobody can open that vault, including us. Someone who holds your unlocked phone and knows your Pattern sees that vault. Legacy Vaults aren’t a will and don’t make legal decisions. For how 1Password, Bitwarden and Apple compare for emergencies, read password manager emergency access compared.

Questions

Can I keep documents in 1Password?

Yes. 1Password's Individual and Families plans include 1 GB of storage per user for documents and attachments. Bunker Pro has no item limits; your vaults live on your device and back up to your own iCloud, so your device and iCloud storage set the limit.

How does my family get into 1Password if something happens to me?

1Password's own guidance is the Emergency Kit, a PDF with your sign-in address, email and Secret Key, with space to write your account password. You can print it and give a copy to someone you trust. Family organizers can also recover the accounts of family members who can't sign in.

Is Bunker a password manager?

No. Bunker doesn't autofill, generate passwords or store passkeys. Use a password manager for logins and Bunker for the documents, photos and letters around them.

Does 1Password have something like a Duress Vault?

1Password has Travel Mode, which removes vaults not marked safe for travel from your devices before a trip. You turn it on in advance, online. Bunker's Duress Vault works in the moment, offline, by drawing a Pattern, and clears your other vaults from that device.