When was the last time you visited a website without being welcomed with an obnoxious login prompt? Do you remember? Maybe you do, but honestly, I don’t. I might be exaggerating it a little bit, but this exaggeration is based on the fact that it is hard to surf the internet and be productive without signing up.
There is nothing wrong with signing up. It lets you save your progress and make your experience of service more personalized. But with signing up comes a responsibility. Responsibility to remember the magical string called password.
And I know how hard it is to do just that. That’s why tools like password managers come in handy. These do the overwhelming work of remembering the password for you. Not only that, but they also provide seamless synchronization across your devices.
So, today we will discuss some of the best password managers out there. The list starts with the pricier option and slowly moves toward the budget segment.
Dashlane
Dashlane is a French-based software company that launched its password manager in 2009. It has both free and flagship premium plans. The free plan with 50 passwords over a single device is limited yet valuable. It offers payment autofill, two-factor authentication, and a standard form.
Pricing Model
Personal Plan
The personal plan costs the user 59.9 dollars per year. It offers the user the following:
- Unlimited Password Protection
- Unlimited Devices
- Real-time dark web monitoring — scans the web for possible vulnerabilities.
- Built-in VPN
Premium Plan
The premium family plan costs the user 89.9 dollars per year. It offers:
- All the features of the personal plan
- Allows to add up to 5 users per plan
Pros
- Smooth synchronization across devices
- Built-in VPN
- Real-time Dark web monitoring
Cons
- The password limit is 50
- Single device
- Limited cloud storage
Last Pass
One fine day, 3 indie developers, tired of having to encrypt and decrypt their password documents, decided to start a company called LastPass. It is a browser-based application that majorly utilizes extensions to render services. However, android and desktop applications are also available.
Pricing Model
The premium costs the user 3 dollars per month, and it comes with added features like:
- Security dashboard
- Dark web monitoring
- Emergency access
They have also got a family plan which costs 4 dollars per month and provides:
- All features of the premium plan
- 6 encrypted safes
- Family management dashboard and much more
Pros
- Easy to use
- The free version is feature-rich
- Multi-factor authentication
Cons
- An outdated desktop application makes it difficult to work with
- Inconsistent auto-fill feature.
- Their website has got hacked once
Zoho Vault
Zoho Vault, a product of Zoho corporation based in Chennai, India, offers robust password management capabilities. When it comes to offerings, it makes syncing between devices such as Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS smooth. It also comes with the ability to import passwords from browsers and handles multi-page logins effortlessly.
Pricing Model
The personal plan costs the user 1 dollar per month. It offers users the following:
- Standard password management features
- Single user
- Password assessment report
- Browser extension and much more
The professional plan costs the user 5 dollars per month (At least five users are required). It offers the user the following:
- All personal plan features
- Ability to create and manage user groups
- A Break glass account for emergencies and much more
The Enterprise plan costs the user 5 dollars per month (At least five users are required). And it offers:
- Everything in the professional plan
- Single sign-on for cloud apps
- Passwords access control
- Custom password alerts and much more
Pros
- Smooth sync across different operating systems.
- Multiple login handling capabilities
- Extensive free plan
- It lets you import passwords from browsers
Cons
- It lacks the standard form-filling feature
- The UI could be more intuitive.
Bitwarden
Not everyone got money to pay for a premium service. So, it is on us to take care of those as well who are looking for a good password manager for free.
Though each of the products we talked about earlier has free plans, this one beats them hands-on when it comes to features.
Pricing model
Their Free plan includes a variety of features like:
- Smooth sync across devices
- Secure credit card storage
- Two-factor authentication
They also have got a premium model, which costs around 10 dollars a year. The user enjoys:
- One GB encrypted file storage
- Password generator
- Improved support
Their family plan costs 40 dollars and allows up to a maximum of 6 users, including all the features of the premium plan.
Pros
- Feature-rich free version
- Password generator
- Open source
Cons
- The user sometimes faces compatibility issues with the Edge browser
- iOS support is limited
- Encrypted storage is limited to 1 GB only.
Conclusion
So, this has been our go-to list for password managers. Our list started with Dashlane, a premium product without a doubt, but, indeed, it comes a bit on the costlier side. Then comes the Last pass, a feature-rich product with decent pricing.
Then we moved on to the low-budget segment. Here comes Zoho Vault, an inexpensive product that precisely gets the job done. And finally comes the budget king, the Bitwarden, that provides mind-boggling value for free.
FAQs
What is the best password manager?
There is no single answer to this question. It depends upon many factors. One may choose Dashlane if one has a reasonable budget and is looking for the best. At the same time, others may choose Bitwarden as it provides a robust package for free.
Which one is better, Bitwarden or Zoho Vault?
Both are good options if one is looking for good password managers on a budget. Zoho’s premium plan is cheap and flexible, while Bitwarden’s premium is slightly costly.
Do I really need a password manager?
We can’t say for sure if you need one, but one indeed comes handy at times.