Self-Hosted Bitwarden in Romania on Offshore VPS
The official Bitwarden self-hosted server is a multi-container .NET application: API, Identity, Admin, Notifications, Events, Icons, Attachments, plus MS SQL Server and an nginx reverse proxy. It needs a minimum of 6 GB RAM and 12 GB of disk for the stack alone, before any vault data. That is the right pick if you want enterprise SSO, SCIM provisioning, and policy enforcement that Vaultwarden does not implement. Romania is a strong EU offshore jurisdiction for it: GDPR plus no Fourteen Eyes membership plus no key escrow. This guide covers VPS sizing on the Anubiz Host Romania line, installer choice, licence key for premium features, hardening, and backup of MS SQL plus attachment volumes.
Need this done for your project?
We implement, you ship. Async, documented, done in days.
When to Pick Official Bitwarden Over Vaultwarden
Vaultwarden is enough for almost every household and small team. Reach for the official server when you need: enforceable Bitwarden Enterprise policies (master password requirements, 2FA enforcement org wide), SCIM auto-provisioning from Okta or Azure AD, SAML or OIDC SSO, key connector for users without master passwords. None of those work on Vaultwarden. The trade off is 6 GB RAM minimum and a heavier ops footprint.
Plan Sizing on Anubiz Romania
The Anubiz Romania VPS lines top out at 8 GB RAM tiers; an official Bitwarden install fits but headroom is thin. For more than 50 active users move to an Anubiz Romania Dedicated server (32 GB RAM E-2388G entry tier) which also gives you the IOPS for MS SQL transaction logs. NVMe required.
Installer and Domain
Use the official Bitwarden installer (./bitwarden.sh install). Provide your hostname, install id and key from bitwarden.com/host. The installer generates a self-signed cert by default; replace it with a Let's Encrypt cert via Caddy or use the installer's built-in cert flow. Bitwarden requires SMTP for invitations, set globalSettings__mail__smtp__host in ./bwdata/env/global.override.env.
Licence Key
Free self-hosted serves unlimited users and most features. Bitwarden Enterprise self-host requires a per seat licence even for self hosting; that unlocks policies, SSO, key connector. Vaultwarden has no licence concept and skips the policy/SSO features entirely.
Encryption Truth
Vault items are end to end encrypted client side. MS SQL stores ciphered blobs. We cannot read your vault even with full database access. Visible metadata: emails, organisations, collections, item counts, attachment sizes. The 6 GB baseline is the .NET stack overhead, not vault complexity.
Backups
The installer ships ./bitwarden.sh backup which dumps MS SQL plus copies the attachments directory. Encrypt the output with gpg or age, restic the encrypted archive to an Anubiz Host Iceland VPS daily. Test restore monthly.
Related Services
Why Anubiz Host
Ready to get started?
Skip the research. Tell us what you need, and we'll scope it, implement it, and hand it back — fully documented and production-ready.