If you’re thinking of replacing LastPass with a more secure, flexible, and open source solution, Bitwarden is a great option.
Since you probably don’t plan to add all of your passwords (Opens in a new tab) And Other Data From scratch, you’ll want to know how to export LastPass passwords and import them into Bitwarden. Contrary to our expectations, it’s just as easy as with its near-sourced counterparts. Therefore, it certainly does not live up to the stereotype that all open source software requires technical knowledge.
While it’s true that LastPass is more beginner-friendly than Bitwarden, its recent security breaches have left a serious stain on its record – strong security should be a top priority for any password manager.
In contrast, Bitwarden has never been hacked nor has it experienced any serious security issues. On top of that, the company is regularly audited by some of the best third-party security firms (such as Cure53 and Insight Risk Consulting). Like all the best password managers, Bitwarden uses 256-bit end-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication (Opens in a new tab) (Ministry of State), the “zero knowledge” policy.
And if you’re working on a tight budget, Bitwarden is a more budget-friendly option than LastPass, too.
So, if you are sure that you want to switch to Bitwarden, here is how you can securely transfer your LastPass passwords to it.
Export your passwords from LastPass
For this to work, you’ll need to make sure you have accounts for both LastPass and Bitwarden — however, installing the apps themselves isn’t necessary. After all, you can directly export your data via the web versions of these tools.
However, before processing password export, make sure that the computer you are going to use is secure enough. The safest strategy is to use your personal computer because you will be exporting (and later importing) your sensitive data via a CSV file. If not, you could seriously compromise your online security and let your data fall into the hands of cybercriminals.
Also, if you are using any backup software, turn it off immediately. Of course, once the export/import process is complete, you can run it again – just don’t forget to delete the CSV file from your computer before then.
While you can export your passwords via both the LastPass browser extensions and the official LastPass website, we’ll apply the latter approach because it’s somewhat simpler.
1. Sign in to your LastPass account
For starters, log into your LastPass account — you can’t do anything without it. If you are using LastPass’ official website, you will be asked to provide your email address and master password. After that, press the “Login” button – as many times before.
However, if you want to do this via the LastPass browser extension, go straight to your browser and click on the button that looks like a puzzle piece. Once the dropdown appears, choose LastPass from the list, and that’s it.
Take a look at the left side of your LastPass dashboard and select the “Advanced” button on it. As suggested, this will open up some other options, so go ahead and click the “Export” button – there’s no way to miss it.
3. Enter your master password and download a new CSV file to your computer
After clicking the “Export” button, you will be asked to enter your master password, so go ahead and do it. Once done, click on the Continue button.
Automatically, a CSV file titled “lastpass_export.csv” with all your data will be saved to your computer – note where it is because you’ll need to use it soon.
That’s it, your passwords and other data have been securely exported from LastPass.
Import your passwords into Bitwarden
Although there are two main methods you can use to import your passwords into Bitwarden – standard import via CSV file and import via CLI, we’ll cover the first in detail because it’s something all users can use.
For all you tech savvy users out there, you can use the following command:
import bw <تنسيق> <مسار>“
Then, since “bw import” requires a format (you can use “import –bw-format” to get a list of formats), and a path, you’ll need to do something like this:
“bw import lastpasscsv / Users / myaccount / Documents / mydata.csv”
Also, don’t forget to delete the CSV file from your computer after you’re done.
1. Login/Sign in to your Bitwarden account
As expected, you will be asked to provide your email address and master password to access your Bitwarden account. If you’ve enabled a master password hint, here’s where you’ll get it.
Before you are allowed to access the Bitwarden dashboard, you will have to prove that you are not a bot (even if you are), and you will do so by selecting the statement that says so and verifying your email address.
After that, you’ll end up at the old but fairly intuitive Bitwarden dashboard.
First, find “Tools” in the top menu – click on it – and then choose “Import Data” from the left sidebar menu – it stands between the password generator and the option to export your vault data.
3. Choose “LastPass (CSV)” from the list of supported file formats
While the list of supported platforms is quite long, you’ll see LastPass among the top ten password managers, so go ahead and select it.
4. Select the “lastpass_export.csv” file that you exported earlier and press the “Import Data” button
Although you can do it in two ways, the method described above is recommended the most. Alternatively, you can copy/paste the content of the CSV file, then hit the “Import Data” button.
If everything went well, you will soon see a list of imported items on the Control Panel, in the Vault Items section. Here, you can add attachments to items, clone them, move them, or delete them from your vault.
Also, Bitwarden won’t let you know if you’ve successfully imported your passwords—only if something goes wrong—so, it’s smart to check your stuff before deleting your CVS file, just to be on the safe side.
Since Bitwarden isn’t as polished as other popular password managers, two types of errors can occur in the middle of the import process – a length-related import error and a so-called max combinations error.
If you are one of the less fortunate, head straight to the Bitwarden knowledge base as there are some solid step-by-step instructions on resolving these errors.
Now, delete your old LastPass account and all the apps you installed
To do this, go back to your LastPass dashboard, and go to Account Settings. Once a new window appears, select “My Account” and then choose the “Delete or Reset Account” option.
This will bring up another window with another “Delete Account” button – so, click on it.
Now, enter your master password, confirm your choice, and say goodbye to LastPass. After that, go ahead and delete all LastPass apps you have installed.