Those days are gone when we have only two or three passwords to remember. Now, in today’s world of the internet, everything is online whether it is banking, shopping, or education. Moreover, due to COVID, the usage of online services got a surge to maintain social distancing. In such scenarios when we have so many websites and services with the registration processes, gives another headache to users of remembering passwords they have used with them. We can’t create and remember all the unique passwords we have used with various services. Therefore, to make sure we don’t forget them, either we jot them down in some Excel or text files or save them in the browser.
However, insecure passwords pose a serious risk and personal data can quickly fall into the wrong hands. Many researchers around the world show that people using primarily public wireless networks to access their social accounts are more prone to get hacked. Moreover, more than 40 percent of people in the age groups 18-24 and 25-34 use the same password for all accounts, which increases the risk of data theft…
Therefore, to minimize the risk of falling secret info into the hands of some hackers, it is better to start using a secure password manager application that not only omits the need for remembering passwords but also helps you in creating the strongest passwords to use. However, if you are confused about which is the best password manager software currently in the market to use free of cost and if needed can also be upgraded for more value. Then here we are with the list of some top password managers in the free and paid category.
Top Free & Paid Password Manager 2022
All the tools to manage passwords are available in the free version, however, some of them also offer premium features for that one has to pay. These password managers are available for Microsoft Windows 10/8/7, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and as browser extensions.
1. Lastpass – Best Free Version
The best thing about the Lastpass free password manager is its availability as a browser extension (free and premium) for all popular browsers and also for Windows, Linux & macOS as an application. This means it doesn’t matter you are using Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Android, or iOS, the LastPass as an extension or app will work on all of these platforms to store your passwords.
In terms of performance, the LastPass is quite satisfactory and available as a freemium product. Yes, if you are an individual with not many demands then the free version of LastPass is enough for you. It allows you to access, save, and sync passwords between all your devices. The free version cannot only save the password but also fill them in the corresponding websites.
LastPass encrypts and decrypts the stored passwords on the local device thus, even LastPass cannot access your secret data. This means none of your public and private will send on LastPass’s servers which ultimately makes this best password manager more reliable in the free category.
Apart from that, it allows one-to-one password sharing; gives the facility of password generator, secure notes, and multi-factor authentication to turn your browser into an encrypted password vault store.
Moreover, the free version comes with 30 days free premium trial with more features such as One-to-many sharing, Advanced multi-factor options, 1GB encrypted file storage, Dark web monitoring, Security Dashboard, and more…
It is available in three versions, the free one we already have discussed, however, for premium and family plan one has to shell out 3$ and 4$ per month respectively.
Download LastPass free version
2. Bitwarden- Open Source Password Manager
Well, if you are looking for an open-source password manager then Bitwarden is the best one is to look at. It is not only a completely free piece of software but also gives the user the liberty to create its own synchronization server, however, that is a little complex, but if you have technical knowledge then it is opened for the experiment.
The Bitwarden is well equipped free password manager for both beginners as well as advanced users. One of the reasons why people like it in the free category is because of open source transparency. This means, there will be a community effort to build the software rather than a single entity with complete control over the program.
However, as all of us are not too sound to set up our own server for syncing passwords using Bitwarden across the devices, thus we need to use the one provided by the team of Bitwarden.
All the core features of Bitwarden are free to use, whereas there are some premium ones as well for that we have to pay a very nominal price, 1$ per month ( 10$/year). On the other hand, if you want to use the premium packages of the Bitwarden with multiple people then the family package will be great and costs you 3.33$ per month or 40 $ per year.
The free account of Bitwarden offers unlimited access to item storage such as Logins, Notes, Cards, and Identities. Therefore, there will be no restrictions on storing vault items along with sync passwords across all your devices; a secure password generator, Two-step authentication, and self-host options will also be there.
The premium version will include Bitwarden Authenticator (TOTP), 1 GB encrypted file storage; a Two-step login with YubiKey, U2F, Duo; Vault health reports, Unlimited Collections, and shared Items; Priority Customer Support, and more.
Well, if you are looking for free password manager software without any commitment and paying a single penny then definitely you can go for this.
The range of supporting OS platforms of Bitwarden is also wide- Windows 10/8/7, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, ChromeOS including extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Vivaldi, Brave, and Tor Browser.
3. Zoho Vault- Best for individuals, families & businesses
If you are looking for the cheapest offline password manager then Zoho Vault is the best one, indeed it also works online to sync passwords across devices. Zoho Vault doesn’t limit you on password storage in the free version, even notes can be saved unlimited times.
Zoho Vault interface is sleek with multiple options that are clearly labeled to easily understand the usage of the software.
It comes with an inbuilt password assessment tool that identifies weak passwords and can fix them instantly as per the user’s exclusive password strength assessment report. The Dashboard that provides the report is also clean, and anybody can recognize the total number of passwords with good strength.
We further can attach files/documents to keep them safe in the Zoho Vault and access to the same will be possible from all the registered devices. Apart from all this, automatically login to websites, password generators, track password access, and activities are also there.
To further strengthen the security we can define and enforce password policies, plus the implementation of extra multi-authentication is also possible in the form of text message, voice call, time-based OTP, touch ID, push notifications, QR scan, or Google authenticator.
Zoho vault uses the AES-256 bit encryption standard to secure data before sending it over the internet through the SSL protocol layer. As per the company, they also keep testing its application against Cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and other vulnerabilities to ward off any imminent threat.
Although the free version is enough to secure your crucial items, however, those who are looking for some business features such as Centralized admin control, password expiration alerts, cloud backup, integration of with G Suite and Office 365, IP based restriction, role-based management, sharing of password with a team member and more… they can go for the standard version.
That makes it one of the low price password managers in a paid plan, available at 0.9 $ per month only, however, the user has to pay it annually.
In terms of application availability then you will have it only in the form of browser extensions for all popular ones – Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Vivaldi, and Brave. Yes, Zoho Vault mobile apps are available for Android and iOS.
4. Dashlane- popular enterprise password manager
Dashlane is another best contender on the list to use as a free password manager application and browser extension. Just like LastPass, it also offered a free plan as well as premium, family, and business. However, unlike our other top password managers, it has a limit on password storage in its individual free version, which is restricted to only 50 passwords.
Furthermore, the Dashlane is only limited to one device, of course, the user can use the smartphone app of the Dashlane’s password manager with the same account, however, the sync will not be there. And for that, the user has to go for the premium plan.
Apart from this, the free individual version offers Form & payment autofill, password share up to 5 accounts, personalized security alerts, password generator, password changer, and two-factor authentication.
The free trial of their premium plan is available for 30 days.
To know about its versions, see our article Dashlabe free vs premium versions.
Dashlane is known for its US military-grade encryption, security capabilities, low price which starts with 3$, smooth password import, dark monitoring, and cross-platform supports. That means you can use it on almost all platforms -Windows, Linux, macOS, Andriod, iOS, Chrome OS, Edge, Firefox, and more…
5. 1Password
Although 1Password offers 30 days free trial only, however, after that if you are ready to pay 3 dollars per month (billed manually) then it is one of the best password managers to ponder upon at a very affordable price. The operating of this manager is not differ much from others. We can create a master password to use before accessing the data. 1Password is a really very security-centric software that’s why it uses six different cryptographic encryption routines.
Apart from securely saving and using passwords, other data can also be stored on it such as credit card information or software licenses. It is practical that the data is arranged in categories such as “registrations” or “wallets” and can be structured in folders.
Just like most of the managing software available for passwords, it is also available for multiple operating systems such as macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux, Chrome OS; Command-Line usage is possible as well. Those who don’t want to install any application on their operating system, can go for browser extensions – supports Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
One thing which can intrigue some users is its ability to store 365-days item history so that the user could restore deleted passwords.
Therefore, the 1Password stores your sensitive data very securely, thanks to synchronization with the mobile phone you always have your passwords at hand. However, there is no completely free version.
Paid plans start from 2.99 dollars that one has to bill annually.
6. KeePass Password Safe
KeePass is another free and open-source manager for the password in the list that offers encryption with the most secure encryption algorithms currently known as AES-256, ChaCha20, and Twofish.
The open-source application developed by Dominik Reichl and offers a classic Windows-style interface that makes it very easy to use for all kinds of users.
KeePass is a portable password manager that doesn’t need to install. You can keep it on a USB drive and plug it on any Windows platform where you want to use it. This also enhances the security further. However, those are looking for an Installer package that is available as well.
Officially available for Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 (each 32-bit and 64-bit), Wine. Whereas ported versions can be used for macOS and Android.
Also, the KeePass is available to run under Mono for Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, …
Key features of KeePass: Multiple User Keys, a wide range of import and export file formats, Support of Password Groups; Auto-Type, Global Auto-Type Hot Key, and Drag & Drop; Easy Database Transfer and more…
One of the key disadvantages is that the program does not provide an error message regarding weak passwords and does not issue a warning if passwords are used twice.
Well, as open-source software, the program works as a modular system and leaves space to add your own extensions.
So, the Keepass is free and still has many functions and a high level of security as an open-source program to convince you of its usage.
Verdict
These were some free popular software to manage your passwords or login information securely. If you rely on any of them or using some other tools, then share your experience with our audience to help them out in making decisions. The comment section is all yours…
The best is the utopia ecosystem. Because p2p.