Last month I spent $219 buying subscriptions to 7 of the most popular password managers
on the market using an anonymous persona so they wouldn’t know who I was. Why? I
want to compare the differences between these password managers side by side: how they work,
their key features, and how much they cost.
Not surprisingly, there’s plenty to share, including the fact that - you
know what - I’m just going to go ahead and knock LastPass completely off this
list because they’ve had multiple security incidents over the past two years and have
lost any credibility as a security software. So that leaves us with 6.
For this series of tests, I’m going to compare each of the remaining 6 password
managers based on trust factors including the company transparency and years on the market,
as well as how easy it is to setup and use the software.
Finally, we’ll compare the extra features that set
each password manager apart and the pricing investment for each.
Let’s start with source code. For some users, it’s a big deal to build transparency by way
of publishing the software source code for users to independently verify. There
are benefits to both an open and closed source model that I won’t dive into here,
but I will add that I have no problem using a closed-source system. Of this list,
only Bitwarden and Proton Pass are open source. 1Password,
NordPass and RoboForm are all closed sourced and Dashlane is just partially open source.
In terms of longevity, though, RoboForm and 1Password have 23 and 18 years of
proven track record respectively, while Dashlane, Bitwarden and NordPass all have
a respectable number years in the market. Proton Pass is the only outlier here,
having been launched in June of 2023, but Proton as a company has been around for
a decade now and their young age in this case doesn’t really bother me.
Let move on to rapid fire feature comparisons. First, every password manager on this list
provides an easy import manager to move your passwords from your browser, your operating
system or whatever other password manager you’re currently using to your new password vault.
All of them have good mobile apps and are very easy to use on any device you have.
As far as I can tell, Bitwarden is the only one on this list that allows
you to self-host your password vault. This would be for advanced users only,
and I’m not taking into account business plans that may or may not allow this.
Each password manager I tested has the ability to store and autofill
more than just passwords. You can keep credit card numbers,
encrypted notes, passport numbers, and even upload specific documents or scans.
When it comes to storing 2FA authenticator codes, which is that 6-digit number that changes every
30 seconds, RoboForm is the only one on this list that offers it for free. Dashlane includes 2FA,
but their free plan sucks so I don’t think it counts. 1Password, Proton Pass and Bitwarden
include a built-in authenticator on their paid plans and NordPass is weird in that
they only offer this for their business and enterprise plans. I’m not sure why that is.
Before we end with pricing, let’s talk about the features that make
each of these password managers unique. For example, Proton Pass launched with a
native email aliasing feature that nobody else has. It allows you to create and store secure
passwords and secure email usernames. It’s also one of many Proton security apps that
work best when used together, which is how I would recommend most people try Proton Pass.
1Password has a number of cool features including an integration
with [Privacy.com](http://Privacy.com) to help you create and autofill virtual
credit card numbers, a Travel mode to protect vaults while on the road,
and a feature called Watchtower that alerts you to security breaches and weak passwords.
Bitwarden, other than being the only open source software on this list, is also the
cheapest for individuals at less than $1 a month.
If you want to protect your whole family, though, NordPass is the low cost winner,
both for one and two year plans with up to 6 accounts.
Dashlane includes a VPN for WiFi protection on their individual plan which, to be fair,
you can easily get with Proton or Nord if you buy into their ecosystems. I haven’t tested this VPN,
though, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not.
Finally, RoboForm provides you with a password audit and has an interesting feature called
Master Password restore, which allows you to use your iOS device with biometrics to
restore your password vault if you forget your master password. Now to be honest,
I’m not sure I like that feature and would probably turn that off personally, but if
forgetting your master password is a major fear of yours, that might be an attractive feature.
At the end of the day, I realize you probably want to know what I recommend. First,
this stuff is worth paying for, but if you absolutely refuse to spend money on
a password manager, Bitwarden, Proton Pass, NordPass and RoboForm all have
reasonable free plans with unlimited stored passwords. Just take your pick.
Beyond that, it depends on a number of things. Bitwarden is a favorite for more advanced
users who value controlling and owning their password vault. I personally think 1Password
has the best user interface, which is why I’ve used them for so many years.
But if you want to take this moment to really built extra privacy and security,
it makes sense to consider Proton Pass from the perspective of all the other
secure apps they offer such as Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive and more.
Listen, we’re talking about 1 to 4 dollars a month here, guys,
so my advice is to just pick one and go for it. I’ve linked to each service below,
which is an affiliate link that helps to support this channel.
I’m sure there are other things I’ve forgotten to include in this comparison
which you can leave in the comments, but if you want to see a full breakdown,
visit AllThingsSecured.com/passwordmanagers which I’ll keep updated long after this video goes live.