- What's the best password manager for you?
In this video,
I've tested all the top options
to find the simplest and most powerful password managers.
And stick around to the end of the video
because you might actually be wasting your money
on password managers.
First up is LastPass.
Now, LastPass has been known for its free plan,
but they kinda crippled it recently,
and now you have to choose between a device type.
So you can have your password synced
between mobile devices or between desktop,
but you can't sync them between your desktop
and your mobile phone on the free plan.
They do have a premium plan for $36 a year,
which is priced competitively with paid plans
of other password managers,
so how does it stack up against the competition?
You have all the basics every password manager needs.
You can store logins, credit cards,
personal information, secure notes,
anything you need to safely store in your vault.
But there's a lot about LastPass that bothers me.
The lack of custom fields is not something I'm a fan of.
I use custom fields in my password manager
to store things like bank account info
and the routing number in the login for my bank.
This way, if you did store a bank account number
in your bank account login,
you could just copy it with a custom field
instead of having to open that note field
and highlight just the bank account number
and copy that.
It's a lot easier with custom fields.
I also hate that you can't use multiple URLs
in a login item.
Some accounts like Microsoft
have a number of different domain names
that they may ask you to log in with.
And this is not a problem
because usually, in password managers,
there's a way for you to set multiple URLs for a record,
so that way, it can autofill on three or four,
or however many domains there are
that you'll need to use the account info on.
And there is a way to do this in LastPass
in the equivalent Domain settings screen,
but it's really quirky.
I've never really understood
why it's in the Settings screen,
and why you have to deal with the whole commas,
and equal signs, and all that,
instead of being able to just add multiple URLs
right in each login item.
Some security keys like Google's Titan Security Key
are not supported,
and you can only use a YubiKey
if you do want a hardware security key.
But at least they do support two-factor authentication
and some form of hardware security key.
I just wish they would support every security key.
Overall, the UI feels stale and bland,
and I really don't like
that the desktop app
is literally just a frame of the website.
It's not very easy to use.
Plus, LastPass has faced a lot of security incidents
over the years.
The news just broke on yet another security incident,
and if you ask me,
one security incident is one too many
for a company storing info as sensitive as passwords.
For that reason, I can't recommend LastPass to anyone.
The next password manager on the list
also has a free plan,
and that's RoboForm.
The RoboForm free plan works on one device,
or the premium plan for $24 a year
allows you to sync between unlimited devices.
In many ways, RoboForm reminds me of LastPass.
The web UI is similar,
which is to say, not great.
RoboForm lacks custom fields,
and they don't allow you to add multiple URLs
and a login item.
Much like LastPass,
RoboForm uses the same equivalent Domain settings screen
where you have to put the primary domain
with an equal sign
and all the other domains that it's equal to.
I don't really understand this way of doing it.
I wish that RoboForm would just let you add multiple URLs
in a login item,
similar to the way that 1Password and Keeper handle this.
The RoboForm browser extension is straightforward,
but the Mac app UI is all over the place.
It's cluttered, it's confusing,
and I often have a hard time trying to find stuff.
And RoboForm does not support hardware security keys.
This is a big bummer for me
because although they do support
app-based two-factor authentication,
I like to use physical security keys
for my most sensitive logins,
and a password manager is at the top of my list to protect,
so I personally wouldn't use a password manager
that won't let me use a hardware security key.
There's not much about RoboForm that makes me like it,
but at least their security reputation is clean
unlike LastPass.
Both RoboForm and LastPass have cluttered UIs
and share a lot of the same quirks,
but actually, if you're looking for a password manager
with one of the cleanest UIs,
the next one on my list is Dashlane.
Dashlane is a popular password manager
that previously required you to pay
for an expensive premium plan
because it included access to a VPN.
I've said before that if Dashlane
wanted to be taken seriously as a password manager,
they needed to offer a password manager only plan
that was competitively priced with other options,
so that way, people didn't have to pay an inflated rate,
and get a VPN forced on them.
Well, Dashlane listened,
and they finally have a plan that's $33 a year
for just the password manager.
So how does it stack up to the competitors?
Dashlane remains one of the simplest password managers
you can use.
If apps like LastPass, 1Password, or Keeper intimidate you
with all their settings,
Dashlane is a breath of fresh air.
The UI reminds me of Dropbox.
It's clean, it's simple,
and everything is organized.
It's just a basic app
that stores your usernames and passwords,
but some things about Dashlane are a little too simple.
For example, the login item is a bit confusing.
They've got an email field,
and a username field,
and then sometimes an alternate username field.
I haven't really figured out the difference
between these three fields.
Normally, in a password manager,
you just have your username field
and your password field.
And if your username happens to be your email address,
you just put your email in the username field.
Thankfully, you can add multiple URLs
and a login item,
which is a huge upgrade from LastPass and RoboForm.
Dashlane also does support physical security keys,
but you have to use the web app to activate them.
And the web app is really buggy.
I had to use it to import my passwords
from my other password manager,
this was slow and laggy,
and I also had issues adding my hardware security key,
and I had to reach out to their customer support
for a resolution.
I thought maybe it was my browser,
so I tested Dashlane in multiple browsers,
and I was having it freeze and glitch
no matter which browser I use.
Dashlane also recently discontinued their Windows app,
and I'm personally someone who likes to have a desktop app
to go along with my password manager.
The Mac app is still around,
and I'm a Mac user,
but if I was a Windows user,
I wouldn't be willing to use Dashlane
because there's no desktop app.
I appreciate Dashlane for its simplicity,
but the bugs make it hard to recommend.
An improvement in functionality
over Dashlane is 1Password.
1Password is another popular password manager,
and the only one in this video
that doesn't offer a free plan.
1Password caters to power users
with many features to fit different scenarios.
The ability to create custom fields
is a feature that any password manager can implement,
and 1Password does it really well.
Their custom fields even support autofill.
So with some websites like airline websites,
the login screen sometimes asks for your last name
or other details beyond your username and password,
and I was able to create a custom field in 1Password
that would auto-fill with my last name,
so I didn't have to type that every time
when I autofill the username and password.
Another game-changing feature
is the ability to share a public link
to a login item.
In many password managers,
the only way to share a password
is by sharing it with another user,
putting in their email,
and then they have to have an account
on the password manager.
And I find that you end up just copying a password
and pasting it in a text thread
or an email thread.
But this is not secure and it's not a good idea,
so 1Password allows you to generate a link
which can be viewed one time or multiple times
within a given time period,
and share that link with others
so they can securely copy the link,
log into whatever they need to access,
and then the link expires in due time.
Keeper is the only other password manager I've tested
that has both custom fields and public link sharing.
1Password can also generate two-factor authentication codes
and store them in your vault,
and you can even autofill them when logging into a website.
One feature that is unique to 1Password,
and brand new,
is the ability to track
which sign in with provider you've used for a website.
Sometimes you may choose to sign in
with Google or sign in with Facebook
instead of creating an account
with your email and password,
but the problem is you often forget
which provider you pick when you set up your account.
I know I've been in that position many times,
and I get frustrated
not knowing which one I used.
But now, 1Password can keep track of this
and it will remind you when you visit a site
if you use sign in with Google
or sign in with Facebook to create the account.
And it will tell you which provider you need to click
in order to access your account.
Now, 1Password isn't without its quirks.
I've had a lot of confusion around the desktop app
and the browser extension,
and whether I need one or both.
It seems to function with one or the other,
but it also seems to have benefits to having both.
There's also no way to remove app-based
two-factor authentication
to log into 1Password
if you're using a hardware security key.
Like I said earlier,
I prefer to use hardware security keys
to secure my accounts.
And if you choose to use one with 1Password,
they force you to also have app-based 2FA set up
as a login method.
And since you're only as strong as your weakest link,
it's kinda pointless to use a hardware security key
because app-based 2FA is a little bit weaker,
in my opinion,
and someone could always use app-based 2FA
to get into your account.
Also, the my.1password.com UI is very disjointed.
You have to use this interface
to set up 2FA, or add team members,
or family members,
or certain things that you just can't do on the desktop app,
and boy, is the interface cluttered and confusing.
I can definitely recommend 1Password,
but its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.
It's for power users and it shows in the UI.
It's not a simple experience like Dashlane.
You can't have it both ways though.
And if you are looking for a simple password manager,
maybe consider using NordPass.
But don't pass on hitting that Subscribe button.
I know the stats,
less than 5% of you watching are subscribed.
Anyway, NordPass is the youngest password manager
on this list,
and it's by Nord Security.
The parent company that brings us NordVPN.
The NordPass UI is similar to Dashlane,
and it's got just the basics.
It autofills your passwords,
stores secure notes and credit cards,
and lets you share login items with other NordPass users.
It's $36 a year or $15 a year
if you subscribe with NordVPN.
But there's not much else to NordPass.
No custom fields, no sharing public links,
no storing two-factor authentication codes in your vault.
It's super basic.
And there's a big quirk to NordPass.
It doesn't support multiple URLs for a login item
in any capacity.
You can't add several URLs to a specific login item,
there's no equivalent domain setting screen
or anything like that.
The only way to have the same account autofill
on multiple URLs
is by manually duplicating the record,
and copying and pasting the password
for as many URLs as you need.
And then anytime you reset your password or update it,
you'd have to go through to each URL for that account
and update the password.
But overall, NordPass is great
for anyone wanting a simple password manager
that's not gonna be overwhelming
with too many advanced features.
It reminds me a lot of Dashlane,
but it's more stable.
It doesn't have all the bugs and glitches of Dashlane,
and I really enjoyed it for a simple password manager.
For power Users,
Keeper is a password manager
designed with flexibility in mind.
Their website has an enterprise feel to it,
and you can tell that they're going
after the corporate audience,
although they do offer a personal version.
They have a lot of features
that IT departments would appreciate,
and it's definitely the most advanced password manager
that I've ever taken a look at.
It supports custom fields including importing them
from other password managers.
You can store multiple URLs
and a single login item.
You can generate two-factor authentication codes
and auto-fill them when logging in.
And you can also generate a public link
to share with anyone,
or just share a login item with other Keeper users.
There are a few downsides to Keeper though.
The BreachWatch dark web monitoring feature
is an additional $20 a year,
and I don't think they should be charging extra for this.
Dark web monitoring is typically included
in the premium plan
of almost every password managers
so I don't really understand
why Keeper decided to make this an upsell.
Also, adding a security key to Keeper
requires you to have
app-based two-factor authentication active,
just like 1Password.
I don't get why these password managers
won't let you just have a hardware security key to log in.
And the browser extension experience is poor.
Whenever I click it,
instead of displaying the login items for the URL
that I'm currently on,
I still have to manually search for the URL every time ,
and this is just not a good experience.
There's no doubt that Keeper
is meant for power users,
and I highly recommend it
for anyone who needs ultimate flexibility.
But what if you need a free password manager?
Every password manager up to this point
requires the premium version
to really take advantage of all the features,
but Bitwarden is changing that.
Bitwarden started to grow in popularity
right around when LastPass crippled their free plan.
It's an open source platform
that packs a big punch for the $0 price tag.
The UI is not the simplest or the prettiest,
but Bitwarden has everything you need.
You can sync passwords between all devices,
it has support for custom fields and multiple URLs,
and you can do all of this in the free plan.
Bitwarden is already a great choice with the free plan,
but they do have a paid version for $10 a year.
This adds the ability to use a hardware security key,
generate two-factor authentication codes in the vault,
and add emergency access for trusted contacts.
My big gripe with Bitwarden
has got to be the restrictive sharing.
There's no way to add a public link to share with somebody,
and there's no way to just type in someone's email
and send the item to their Bitwarden account.
They have to be located in your organization,
which could be a family plan or a team plan.
They don't really define exactly what an organization is.
This is not a good design,
it's highly restrictive,
and I wish there was a way to generate a public link
to share with somebody.
But if you need a free password manager,
Bitwarden is the obvious choice.
Honestly, I think Bitwarden could be a good option
for a lot of people.
And it may not be worth paying for a password manager
unless you need the advanced features
that other platforms offer.
I think it's also worth considering the paid plan
if you can get past the subpar UI and sharing options.
So if you're new to password managers
and want something basic and simple,
I would recommend NordPass.
I think it makes a lot of sense as a first password manager.
And if you've been intimidated by the thought
of using LastPass or 1Password,
give NordPass a try.
If you need a free password manager,
the only password manager
without a free plan in this video is 1Password,
but my favorite free password manager is Bitwarden.
For power users,
it's clear that Keeper is the best choice.
Keeper can do it all
and has an emphasis on teams and enterprise users.
And my personal favorite password manager is 1Password.
It's a well-rounded option
that has advanced features
while still having an intuitive UI.
I've been using 1Password with my team
and personally for several years,
and I've been a big fan.
I highly recommend using a VPN
if you're gonna use a password manager
because it's another way to improve your security
on public WiFi.
I have an entire video I made
looking at the top VPNs that you can check out here.