A password manager is a powerful tool to organize and securely store your passwords. We’ve tested the top-rated password managers to find the best one for you - whether for business or personal use.
After a whole load of testing over many months, we think the best password manager is 1Password, thanks to its usability, convenience and robust security!
Honestly, with global cybersecurity crimes skyrocketing in recent years, it’s about time we start taking our passwords seriously. A password manager is an essential tool that more people are turning to organize and protect their log-ins. I know I’ll never be going back.
Note
All prices shown are based on a 12-month subscription rate.
To write this article, we tested dozens of password managers and compared them on the grounds of digital security, convenience, user-experience, and more. You can’t go wrong with the 5 brands that made it to this list.
To pick the best one for you, read on and choose the one whose features you like most!
Excellent
$2.99 /mo
Coming in first on our list is the OG of password security – 1Password. They’ve been around since 2006, making them one of the most experienced industry players. They’re used and trusted by over 80,000 businesses, including IBM, Slack, and our Bitcatcha team!
Something we love to see is how 1Password is constantly evolving. They’re always rolling out improvements (which they write about in their active blog), and they’ve just launched the 8th version of their app. They’ve also just secured a second investment round of $100 million from various tech leaders – so we’re dead excited to see what cool stuff they come up with next.
The 1Password tool itself is robust and very easy to use. Whilst writing this review, I ended up liking it so much that I’ve adopted it for my personal use.
In May 2021, 1Password also launched the ‘Secrets Automation’ feature to make it even easier for businesses to secure hardware, code, and other development secrets. They’ve got a whole slew of features that businesses are sure to find useful (though bear in mind some cost extra).
My only real gripe is I’ve noticed that their browser extension can sometimes glitch a bit. There have been a few cases where autofill hasn’t kicked in, and I’ve had to refresh the page. However, these hiccups are occasional.
I also wish they had a free version. You can, however, try their free 14-day trial to see if you like it.
Very Good
$3.00 /mo
Released in 2008, LastPass is a product that was acquired by the SaaS giant LogMeIn. It’s an excellent password manager that offers solid features and probably the best value, in terms of family plans.
LastPass’s free plan used to be one of the best, but as of March 2022, only works on 1 device. If you plan to use a password manager on both your mobile device and PC, you’ll need to look into a paid plan.
We did run into a problem in the past with contacting their servers, which meant we couldn’t access our password. We don’t know how consistent this issue is, I just hope it only happened during the time we were testing it, for their sake.
They also made the news a few times in recent years when vulnerabilities were found on their browser extension. In their defense, the problems applied to very specific use cases, and were quickly resolved. However, it could be something to bear in mind.
Excellent
$2.49 /mo
What do you get when one of the best Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers in the world, diversifies into password managers? A very solid and secure password manager!
Yup, NordPass is the brainchild of the guys from NordVPN, which is world-renowned for its expertise in online security. So, unsurprisingly, NordPass’s biggest strength is how well it protects your passwords.
When we first reviewed NordPass, it was a very new product with no bells and whistles. They’ve since added a lot of features.
It seems you’re still limited to only syncing with 6 devices at a time with NordPass. Granted, we don’t usually need more devices than that, but we just don’t really like limits. Especially when many other brands provide unlimited device syncing.
Very Good
$3.33 /mo
Dashlane first jumped into the password manager race in 2012. Since then, they’ve been steadily adding features to their product. Today, they offer a beautifully-branded and feature-rich security product. They’re certainly giving the more-established players in the industry a run for their money.
Compared to the others on this list, Dashlane comes at a slightly steeper price.
Their free tier is very limited. Their cheapest paid plan, the ‘Essential’ plan at $1.99/mo, is also pretty limiting as you can only sync to 2 devices. If you want their full security suite and unlimited devices, you’ll need to cough up $3.33/mo, which is a little higher than the competition.
Assuming you want to share accounts with your wife and children, you’ll have to pay full price for all of them because Dashlane doesn’t come with a family plan.
2022 Update: Dashlane now has a pretty great family plan! For $4.99/mo, you’ll get 6 accounts!
Very Good
$2.49 /mo
Coming up 5th on our list is Sticky Password – a product from a team of former executives of AVG Technologies.
Sticky Password has arguably as many problems as they have benefits, but the value they provide with their Lifetime plan earns them a place on this list. Plus, a portion of your payment will go towards saving endangered manatees!
Don’t get me wrong, Sticky Password isn’t plagued with problems. But they have some issues that might irritate users. Things like slow syncing, no dark web scanning, and an overzealous autofill system.
This password manager’s desktop app also looks dated, and they’ve made some questionable choices in regards to the placement of their features. These things won’t exactly ruin your experience, but they’re noticeable.
In this era, we all exist as two selves: our fleshy human selves, and our digital selves. Most of our everyday digital activities – from online shopping, to working remotely – need passwords. Good ones.
Sure, you may not be in the 24% of folks who’ve used ‘password’, or ‘123456’ as a password. But did you know that many passwords that mix letters, numbers and symbols can still be cracked by a computer in minutes? Sorry…
Humans love crappy passwords because they’re easy to remember. Thing is – they’re also easy to hack.
And the more online accounts that we accrue over the years, the more chaotic things get. If you’re setting strong passwords, how can you remember them all? You can’t. But a password manager can. To use them, you only need to memorize one master password to access a secure vault where all your logins are neatly organized.
Password managers have lots of benefits, but the most important one is they let you start setting complex passwords that hackers can’t crack.
In order to pick the best password managers for this list, we paid special attention to these considerations.
Yes – the best password managers are very safe. Most cyber-security specialists agree that they’re the best way to protect your passwords.
Some brands, like 1Password, have never been hacked. However, every few years, a password manager might make the news because a vulnerability has been found or breached.
However, all good password managers store your passwords in an encrypted format. The industry standard encryption is the military grade AES 256-bit, which is virtually impenetrable to brute-force attack.
On top of that, a good password manager will use something called zero-knowledge architecture. Since passwords are encrypted before leaving your device, they can’t be deciphered by any outside parties. So in the rare event of a server breach, your passwords should still be unreadable to outsiders!
That said, there are some risks to understand. A password manager essentially puts all your eggs in one basket so it’s veeeery important that you choose a strong master password, and that you keep it safe. If you forget your password, many password managers will lock you out, with no option to recover it!
It’s also very important to secure your digital devices. If your device gets infected with malware, it’s possible for hackers to record your master password and get into your database.
The best way to keep your password safe is to pair a good password manager with good online security habits. For example:
For an extra layer of securit, you should set up two-factor authentication for your password manager account.
In short, if you’re smart about how you use the internet, the security benefits of using a password manager far outweigh the risks. Just make sure you’re using a good brand!
Secure your digital life!
A password manager isn’t the only tool to make sure you’re using the internet safely. Make sure you’re using a solid VPN and check out our round up of the most secure browsers.
Many people first start using a password manager through a web browser password manager – such as Google Password Manager that works through Chrome.
Unfortunately, it’s just not that hard to steal passwords from web browsers. There’s plenty of malware out there to do it, and even free software that people can use.
An old version of this article included G Password Manager, but we’ve removed it since it doesn’t seem worth the risk. As convenient as G Password Manager is, Google isn’t in the business of keeping your passwords secure and you won’t get the same features as a dedicated password manager.
Also, you never know what Google might be doing with your data. *shrugs*
We’d pick one of these other dedicated password managers any day.
Using a password manager couldn’t be simpler:
Bear in mind that your password security still depends heavily on how good your actual passwords are for each account. Most password managers will offer a password generator to help you come up with long and complicated ones.
Otherwise, you can generate secure passwords manually. Make them around 20 characters long, and include a mix of ALL the major character types (numbers, symbols, uppercase & lowercase).
Here is a recap of Bitcatcha’s best password managers:
If you’ve made it this far, you’ll have noticed that each password manager on this list has its merits.
Some have business strengths, others are more focused on providing value via shared plans. Knowing this, we know that it can be hard to make a decision.
If we had one piece of advice to give, it’s to decide on the features you want, then see if the brand has that functionality. No point in picking a password manager that doesn’t do what you want it to do. That also means checking it supports each device platform you use.
A password manager is a useful digital tool that allows users to safely generate, store and manage your various passwords for apps and websites. Typically, your passwords will be stored in an encrypted database that will be accessed by one master password. A good password manager like 1Password, use military-grade security and have a user interface that’s very easy to use.
Not all password managers are made equal, but the best brands use military-grade encryption, multi-factor authentication and biometric authentication to keep your passwords safe. Brands such as 1Password and NordPass use Zero-Knowledge security, which means that your passwords look like gibberish to any outsiders. You’ll also need to set a strong Master Password and keep this safe.
Password managers are generally inexpensive, ranging between $2 – $4/mo for a standard personal plan, if you purchase an annual plan. Most password managers offer savings on Family Plans. LastPass Family plan costs $4.00 a month for 6 users, which costs under $0.70 cents per user.
We recommend 1Password for personal use for its balanced feature set, solid security, and user-friendliness at a fair price. Their Travel Mode feature is an added bonus if you travel frequently, which enables you to hide certain passwords from unwarranted searches at customs.
Both LastPass and 1Password are very similar in terms of usability, features, and pricing. For security, however, 1Password offers an extra layer of protection by requiring you to input a set of Secret Key and Master Password when you’re setting it up on other devices; whereas LastPass only require your Master Password for the setup. If you prefer extra security, go for 1Password.
If you care about your password security, we recommend against using Google Password Manager. It’s accessible on the Chrome browser but doesn’t require a master password to unlock. In other words, anyone who got hold of your devices will be able to access all of your logins saved on Chrome.
