maintain access to your accounts. The Professional plan also adds a few extra 2FA methods, as well as MFA and some other nice-to-haves.

The Unlimited Plan includes all of this, but with unlimited secure notes and password sharing, access to all the 2FA methods, along with other security-oriented features such as remote logout, emergency access, and comprehensive security reporting. You also get access to priority email and live chat support.

LogMeOnce Plans & Pricing:

The Professional plan is priced at $2.50 per month, making it a middle-of-the-road option compared to other password managers in this guide. Ultimate will set you back $3.25 per month, and the family plan is $4.99 with 6 Premium accounts and a family dashboard included.

If you want to include dark web monitoring, which I would say is a fairly essential part of any password manager, you'll have to spend an extra $1.67 per month for the individual plans, or an extra $3.34 for the family plan, making it a comparatively expensive service.

Read our full LogMeOnce review . Today's best LogMeOnce deals LogMeOnce Password Manager $2.50 /mth View LogMeOnce Password Manager (Ultimate) $3.25 /mth View LogMeOnce Password Manager (Family) $4.99 /mth View ^ Back to the top Fact checked by: Dsir Athow

Dsir has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He's experienced in VPN, password managers and security and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium. We've also featured the best password recovery software . Tested by Mike Jennings

Mike Jennings has worked as a technology journalist for more than a decade.
He worked as a staff writer at PC Pro magazine in London for seven years, and during that time wrote for other tech titles, such as Custom PC, Micro Mart, and Computer Shopper. Since 2013, hes been a freelance tech writer and writes regularly for titles like Wired, TechRadar, Stuff, TechSpot, IT Pro, TrustedReviews, and TechAdvisor. His coverage includes the latest password manager software. The best password manager FAQs Comparison table Swipe to scroll horizontally Header Cell - Column 0

NordPass

Dashlane

Bitwarden

Keeper

Logmeonce

N-able Passportal

Proton Pass

1Password

KeepSolid Passwarden

RoboForm

mSecure

Free tier

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Device limit

6

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

n/a

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited (paid plan)

Unlimited

Apps for

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS

Android, iOS, Apple Watch

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Apple Watch, F-Droid

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Apple Watch

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS

Android, iOS

Windows, Android, iOS

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Apple Watch

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Apple Watch

Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, iOS

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Apple Watch

Browser extensions

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Brave

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, Tor, DuckDuck Go for
Mac

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Brave

Chrome, Edge, Safari, Internet Explorer

Chrome, Edge, Firefox

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Brave

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

Chrome, Edge, Firefox

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave Why do we need password managers anyway?

A lot of people still seem reluctant to use third-party password managers -
at least according to our own survey of 1,000 people conducted last year, which found that over a quarter didnt see the value in them. But the advantages of using one are quite clear.

Rather than being tied to the first-party managers offered by the likes of Apple and Google, using a standalone password manager means that you can access your credentials no matter what platform or device you are on.

They also give you the ability to organize your passwords how you like, by letting you create folders and grant different levels of access to certain items in your vault. Some come with additional tools, like a VPN in some cases, too. How does a password manager work?

A Password manager is a very simple and easy-to-use utility that requires minimal user interaction, since most of its actions are automated. They will work across numerous platforms, and they should feature a browser extension for use on desktop computers, as well as an app for smart devices such as
your mobile phone. The passwords you use on each platform will synchronize across all the devices you use the password manager with.

Once you set up your password manager, you can go ahead and create whatever digital accounts you want. They will usually throw up a prompt to create a strong password for you when doing so - this is the password generation feature of the manager. Once you accept, it will then store the password and username for you in its vault, so when you next go to log in, you should find your credentials already filled out for you.

If you ever want to change or update your password for an existing account, you can do this too. Again, a prompt will usually appear from the password manager, confirming whether you want to overwrite the existing password with the new one you have created, ensuring your password manager remains up to date. Some password managers even have a version history, so you can see the previous passwords you have used.

As for importing your existing passwords stored on another manager, this should be a fairly straightforward process. Many managers will give you the option to import and export your passwords as a CSV file, or any format that can be opened with spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google
Sheets. This allows you to export them from your old manager and import them into your new one.

If you have your passwords stored manually in a spreadsheet, you can also import that into your new manager, too, provided you follow the correct formatting for the manager in question. What are the most secure password managers?

Understandably, this is one of the most important questions to ask of a password manager. You would expect any password manager worth its salt to be secure as a given, but no one is perfect, and some have had issues. LastPass, for instance, although a very reputable and popular choice, did suffer a security breach, and although the company reassured users that no passwords were accessible, it is still a cause for concern.

The managers offered by big tech companies, mainly Google and Apple, are generally very secure, as you might expect. Not only do they have the pockets deep enough to maintain the best protection possible, but it would also be a huge PR disaster should they incur any major breaches, and companies of that size have an awful lot to lose. How safe are password managers?

All the best password managers are very safe, using the best encryption methods to store your passwords securely.

Zero-knowledge architecture is one of the core principles for managers to
keep their passwords as safe as possible. This means that no one but the user has access to the passwords contained in the encrypted vault. Even the vendor and providers of the cloud backup service for your passwords are unable to
see what your passwords actually are - only you have the power to decrypt
your stored passwords, using your master password, or biometric data if you have this set up on supported password managers.

Complex algorithms are used to encrypt passwords, and there are different methods. Some managers, such as NordPass, use something called XChaCha20, which is military-grade and considered to be at the cutting edge of current encryption technology. It is also favored by big tech companies like Google and is faster than more traditional methods such as AES-256.

Also, NordPass claims that such methods may be crackable with new
technologies - for instance, quantum computing could put traditional methods of encryption at risk - but it believes XChaCha20 is resistant to these dangers.

All good password managers will also allow for biometric login and feature multi-factor authentication, two aspects that most people will be familiar with by now. The former involves technologies that recognize the physical aspects of the user, such as fingerprint scanners and facial recognition cameras, to authenticate them as the legitimate user.

Multi-factor authentication is an added layer of security on top of your password to make sure that its actually you who has entered your password on
a given site or service, usually by sending a text message code on your phone that you have to input to make sure it is you. There are also separate authenticator apps you can have on your phone that give you a code to authenticate your login instead, if youd rather not receive an SMS code.

And as with any piece of digital tech, how it is used by an individual or business goes a long way in determining how secure it remains. At the very least, make sure you are accessing your manager on a secure and protected network - always be cautious when using them in spaces with public wifi - and make sure you're using the best malware removal tools and the best antivirus software for your system.

Smartphones are generally very secure in this regard, although you should always be careful when downloading apps to make sure they are trustworthy - the Google Play store, for instance, has had its fair share of malicious apps doing the rounds recently.

Also, if you are using a master password to secure your password vault, then make sure it is a strong one. This will be one that you will have to remember yourself, so a long and complex string of various random characters will probably be out of the question.

Current expert advice suggests that for passwords you choose yourself, a string of three random words together is quite strong, as it will be hard to guess and easy to remember for yourself. Whatever you use, just make sure to avoid ones that are easy to crack, like your mothers maiden name, your birthday, or password1234. Can a password manager be hacked?

In a word: yes, in the sense that virtually any computer system can be hacked in theory. But the password managers in our list have a great safety record and utilize industry-standard encryption methods to protect your most
valuable assets. If we ever catch wind of any compromises to their security posture, well be sure to let you know straight away.

Of course, many of you will probably be aware by now of the breach suffered
by LastPass , one of the most popular password managers around, where users password vaults were stolen. The company assured them that they remained encrypted, so unless the hackers also guessed their master passwords, they should remain safe. However, other personal data that was stolen, including names, payment information, and the addresses of their IP, email, and
physical location, was not encrypted. For these reasons, LastPass no longer makes it onto our list of the best password managers.

Speaking of encryption, all good managers will use the strongest methods available when storing user passwords in their databases, which are extremely difficult to crack without the digital keys needed to unlock them. So the question then becomes whether a hacker obtains these keys? In the case of LastPass, its subsidiary, GoTo, recently announced that the encryption keys for its users accounts were stolen in the same attack that affected the password manager, but it has yet to confirm whether the same is true for its service.

LastPass isnt the only password manager to succumb to a breach, however. Many Norton LifeLock users had their accounts hacked in late 2022 via a credential stuffing attack, with the company warning them that unwarranted access to the suites password manager may have occurred.

Passwordstate also saw its users fall victim to a devious fake software update that stole their stored passwords. Unsurprisingly, none of these password managers made it onto our list. Should you use your browser to
manage your passwords?

It makes sense from a convenience perspective to use your browsers integrated password manager, such as that in Google Chrome. And although it is a perfectly solid choice, there are various reasons why you may want a
dedicated password manager instead or in addition to your browsers.

Firstly, your browsers password manager will likely not work with other devices quite so easily.

If you use Google Chrome on a desktop and have an iPhone, then passwords associated with apps will not be saved to the manager in Chrome - by default, they will be saved to Apples own password manager, Keychain. Keychain and Chrome password managers will not sync together, and there is no browser extension for Keychain that will work on Chrome. Therefore, you will be running two managers concurrently, one used for mobile app passwords and the other for website passwords. If you have an account for a service that has both a website and an app, then they will be saved to both managers separately.

As you can imagine, things can start to get messy and disorganized fast. The solution would be to have a dedicated, third-party manager like those on this list, so they can centralize and sync all your passwords for both websites
and apps across all your devices. They will usually have an app for mobile
and for desktop, as well as an integrated extension compatible with most common web browsers, so no matter what platform youre on, youll always have access to your passwords.

Secondly, dedicated password managers often come with a lot more useful extras. For instance, a small but useful feature of many password managers is the ability to give a nickname to your account passwords, so you can locate them easily. Sometimes, you will find that searching for your account credentials by username or by the URL that the account is stored on may not yield the results you're looking for. Where to find the password manager on Chrome

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world right now , so theres a good chance you're using its integrated password manager already.

On desktop platforms, youll find it under settings - autofill - password manager. You can see all your passwords here, and search for them via their username or the web page they are used on. It will also show you any
passwords that have been compromised, based on known data breaches and leaks.

There is also the Google Password Manager, which is the official password manager for Android, and has now taken over the integrated manager in Chrome as well . This means it now stores passwords you use on Android apps as well, not just website passwords. Do password managers work with apps?

All the best password managers will have an app associated with them, and
will work on both Android and iOS devices. This means that passwords you use for other apps will be able to be stored in your password manager and easily accessible on your device, allowing for instant login.

They will be cross-platform, so they can be used across all your different devices, as well as having an extension you can download to allow them to
work in popular browsers, such as Google Chrome and Apple's Safari.

However, as many smart devices now have biometric login capabilities, such as using fingerprint scanners and facial recognition, a lot of apps will simply require this to log in instead, without the need to input a password every time. This biometric data is stored on the device itself, such as your iPhone or Android phone, so a password manager isnt used in these cases.

However, many password managers now support biometric data too, so you can save it to the manager as well. How to choose the top password managers Choosing the best password manager comes down to your personal needs and whether others will be using it in addition to yourself, such as your family or the rest of your business.

The top two on our list, NordPass and Dashlane, are arguably the best all-around password managers available, more than capable of servicing anyone from single users to large organizations. But if you dont want to pay a penny for a password manager, then theres only one choice in our view: Bitwarden.

Here are some key considerations when choosing a password manager:

1. Security : This is one of the most important aspects of any password manager. We have done our best to check that every manager featured in this guide adheres to best practices in terms of securing your vault and personal data.

They will use industry-standard encryption methods to ensure that no one
knows what your passwords are. Some will also offer biometric login in addition to or instead of a master password, and many will also offer two-factor authentication (2FA) to help prevent hackers from accessing your account if they somehow manage to steal your master password.

Many are also starting to support passkeys as a way of logging in, too, which are thought to be both easier and more secure than using a master password.

2. Synchronization : Although many other vendors will offer free versions of their managers, be aware that oftentimes, some fairly basic features will be omitted, such as cross-platform synchronization and unlimited storage and devices. Bitwarden does include these, though.

3. Compatibility : Weve also indicated what platforms and browsers each manager is compatible with, which is another very important consideration
when choosing a password manager. In fact, it is one of the main advantages
of using a third-party password manager in the first place, since managers integrated with Apple, Google, and Microsoft products will usually only work within their respective ecosystems.

The managers in this list, though, will work across at least some of them, since they will be compatible with Windows and Mac (and even Linux in some cases), as well as Android and iPhone.

For those who value the utmost privacy when online, you should look for a password manager that has a browser extension for specialist privacy
browsers, like Brave. Again, weve done our best to inform you which browsers and platforms each manager works with.

4. Price : When it comes to price, bear in mind that while many will show monthly costs, they will often bill you annually, so keep in mind that you will have to part with a larger sum rather than spreading the cost throughout the year.

Most managers on the market today will charge anywhere from $10 to $60 a year for individual plans, with family plans being somewhat more expensive. Business plans, on the other hand, can be more costly, and some even offer tailor-made enterprise plans that will require consultation before getting a quote. How we tested the best password managers We tested close to 30 of the most prominent password managers around and picked out the very best to feature in this guide. During our testing, we made sure to try them out on every platform possible to make sure they offered a consistent experience across all manner of devices and browsers.

We spent a considerable amount of time with each password manager to ensure that there were no nasty surprises that wouldn't necessarily crop up during a brief run through. We also tried to use them in every kind of situation we could think of, again in an effort to reveal any shortcomings that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The last thing you want to do is to change your password manager after discovering major flaws or aspects that you personally cant live with, so we do our best to be as thorough as possible and consider all the different
types of users that will deploy password managers for their specific wants
and needs.

However, it is worth noting that good password managers usually offer easy ways to export your vault from one manager to another, so if you dont personally like a manager after spending a lot of time with it, dont feel youre stuck; most vendors offer easy-to-follow guides on switching to their manager from others - they want to win your custom, after all.

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