Best Password Managers Compared

Bitwarden's free plan has no limit on passwords or devices and supports passkeys, which is rare. Premium costs $1.65 per month ($19.80 per year) and adds features such as built-in two-factor codes, file attachments and vault health reports. Families costs $3.99 per month for up to six people. The code is open source, Bitwarden publishes a long list of independent audits (several by Cure53 in 2025), and it can even be self-hosted.

Two 2026 events are worth knowing: in April 2026 a malicious version of the Bitwarden command-line tool was on npm for under two hours in a supply-chain attack (Bitwarden says vault data was not affected), and an ETH Zurich study described attacks that assume a malicious server, which Bitwarden says it is fixing.

1Password is known for its clean apps, the extra Secret Key that protects your vault even if your master password is weak, and Travel Mode, which hides selected vaults when you cross borders. On the check date Individual cost $3.99 per month billed yearly ($2.99 as a first-year offer for new customers) and Families $5.99 for five people ($4.49 offer). There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial without a credit card.

1Password is not open source but publishes its security assessments, holds SOC 2 Type 2 and several ISO certifications and runs regular external penetration tests.

Proton Pass comes from the Swiss company behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN. The free plan stores unlimited passwords, supports passkeys and includes 10 “hide-my-email” aliases, so you can sign up to websites without giving out your real address. Pass Plus costs $2.99 per month on a yearly plan and Pass Family $4.99 for six people.

The apps are open source and were audited by Cure53 in 2023. Compared with 1Password it is younger and has fewer advanced features.

Dashlane ended its free plan on September 16, 2025, and now sells only paid yearly plans. The official pricing page loaded its prices dynamically on the check date, so please check the current price there; third-party listings mention around $4.99 per month for Premium. Dashlane no longer has a desktop app: it works through the browser extension, the web and the mobile apps.

Its strengths are a smooth interface, phishing alerts and good business features. The 2026 ETH Zurich study also described attacks against Dashlane that assume a malicious server.

NordPass is made by Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN. The free plan stores unlimited passwords and passkeys but only keeps you logged in on one device at a time and does not include breach scanning. The official pricing page could not be read on our check date; third-party listings mention around $1.59 to $1.89 per month for Premium on multi-year plans, with higher renewal prices.

NordPass uses XChaCha20 encryption and is easy to use. It is not open source, and its last public consumer audit is from 2020.

KeePassXC stores your passwords in an encrypted file on your own computer. There is no account, no cloud and no subscription. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and supports passkeys through its browser extension since version 2.7.7. An independent volunteer review in 2023 found no serious problems.

The trade-off is convenience: KeePassXC does not sync by itself (you can put the file in your own cloud folder) and has no own mobile app; compatible apps such as KeePassDX (Android) or Strongbox (iOS) open the same file.

Apple's Passwords app (iOS 18 and macOS) and Google Password Manager (Chrome and Android) are free, built into the system and support passkeys. For someone who only uses Apple devices, or only Chrome and Android, they are far better than reusing passwords.

Their limits show when you mix systems: sharing between an iPhone and a Windows PC with Chrome is clumsy, family sharing is basic and there are fewer extras such as secure notes or breach reports.