Throw out a bunch of sticky notes and find peace of mind. This article presents the best password managers that will help you protect your data from scammers.
A strong password is the first and most important step in the security of your online accounts. However, using the same password over and over again is dangerous, and the likelihood of remembering dozens of different passwords is very small.
It’s time to think about using a password manager that will help you easily control and access all your login credentials for various websites. Password managers are also suitable for filling out forms automatically and synchronizing your data between PC and mobile devices.
A password manager is an encrypted data store that contains password-protected login information that a person uses to gain access to apps and their accounts on a mobile device, website, and other resources.
In addition to keeping your credentials completely safe, good password managers also usually come with a dedicated password generator to generate strong and unique passwords. Given the endless news about security breaches of various websites, having a unique password for each resource can save the rest of your accounts if one of the resources is hacked. Essentially, you create your own security environment where passwords are stored.
In addition, by using a password manager, you also won’t have to re-fill in various parts of your personal information on websites, such as shipping address or credit card information. You only need to remember one master password, and in some cases, enter a PIN or scan your fingerprint, so that the password manager fills everything out for you.
Some password managers are completely free but allow you to securely store your passwords on one device, while others can sync your passwords across multiple devices. If program transparency is extremely important to you, some of the password managers are open source.
In this article, we will talk about what password managers are currently on the market and what parameters should be used to choose them.
LastPass – Best Free Password Manager
- There is a free version.
- A standard subscription will cost you $36 per year.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and There are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Edge and Opera.
Some of the password managers presented in this article also have a free version, but most of them will only allow you to use the program on one device, unless you subscribe to a paid subscription. The free version of LastPass is the best password manager in this category because it gives you the ability to store passwords, login information, and any other credentials for free and sync it all across mobile devices and browsers. You are also able to share your login information with another person.
For a $36 subscription, you can use LastPass to share credentials with other users, as well as the ability to use multi-factor authentication via YubiKey and 1 GB of free encrypted data storage.
Purchasing a family subscription for $48 will allow you to activate a subscription for six separate accounts, create shared folders for these accounts, and use the dashboard to manage family accounts and control the security of your personal page.
It’s worth noting, though, that LastPass isn’t perfect: the vulnerability reported in September 2019 was a huge flaw in the program that could potentially compromise user passwords. However, the company fixed this vulnerability before it became widely known.
The best paid password manager
1Password
- There is a free trial version.
- A standard subscription will cost you $35.88 per year.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, iPhone. There are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and Opera.
If you’re looking for a reliable app to manage your passwords, 1Password is the best paid password manager for the job. This beautiful password manager does not have a free version, but you do have a 14-day trial period before signing up for a paid subscription.
An individual subscription will cost you $36 per year and will give you access to 1 GB of free storage space and additional two-factor authentication via Yubikey for complete security. Travel Mode lets you delete sensitive 1Password data from your device while you’re traveling, then restore it with one easy click when you return home so it’s not vulnerable to attack during that time period.
On a Mac, you can use Touch ID to unlock 1Password. On iOS mobile devices, you can use Face ID for this. You can also create separate guest password sharing accounts if you want to share information such as your Wi-Fi password with guests.
Other free and paid password managers that deserve your attention
Both LastPass and 1Password are reliable and affordable "password keepers". But if you find that none of them work the way you want, it’s worth considering some other alternatives. All of them have a free version.
Bitwarden
- There is a free version.
- A standard subscription will cost you $10 per year.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and There are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, Brave and Tor.
Bitwarden is the leading open source password manager. It can generate, store, and auto-fill forms with your passwords on mobile devices and popular browsers, including Brave and Tor, absolutely free.
It lacks some features, but if all you’re looking for is a service to manage your credentials, then Bitwarden is perfect for you. For $10 per year, you get an additional 1 GB of free space in encrypted file storage. And for $12 a year, five members of your family or friends can share Bitwarden.
Dashlane
- There is a free version with restrictions (50 passwords on one device).
- The standard subscription will cost you $59.88 per year.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Android, iPhone and There are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Edge and Opera.
Dashlane is a simple and secure way to manage your passwords and store other information. The program performs its functions perfectly, but the free version has its limitations – a maximum of 50 passwords on one device. The $60 subscription is similar to 1Password and LastPass. The $120 annual subscription includes a feature to track your credit history.
Keeper
- There is a free version with limitations (unlimited number of passwords on one device only).
- The standard subscription will cost you $34.99 per year.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and There are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Edge and Opera.
Keeper is another secure password manager that helps you manage your login information smartly across Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. The free version gives you unlimited passwords on just one device. The standard subscription costs $35 per year and allows you to sync your passwords across multiple devices. For about $45 a year, you can get 10 GB of free secure file storage.
KeePassXC
- The program is absolutely free.
- You can donate to the developers.
- Compatible with: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, iPhone and iPad, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Palm OS.
KeePass is an open source password manager. It was first released on Windows and later ported using the same codebase to other platforms including macOS, Android, and iOS. This program is absolutely free and is more suitable for advanced users. Its user interface is quite difficult to understand, so you will need some time to figure out the functionality.
What about NordPass and Norton Password Manager?
The VPN and antivirus software market has seen dramatic changes in 2020. Many companies that create such software have expanded its functionality. For example, NordVPN now offers its customers NordPass, a dedicated password manager, and Norton has released Norton Password Manager as part of its identity theft antivirus software. We purposely didn’t cover them in detail in this article as they don’t yet have a full feature set and a price that would be better than the options presented above.
Should you use a web browser to manage your passwords and login information?
You can, of course, use Chrome, Safari, or Firefox to manage your passwords, addresses, and other login information, but this will be less reliable and secure. And while using the browser’s password storage feature is certainly better than nothing, you won’t be able to easily access your passwords outside of it or share your login details with other people you trust.