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The more online accounts you have, the more you become a slave of the constant password management of each for all your accounts. Every now and then you read an article online about a company who became yet another victim to a data breach.
In one of our posts, we tried to get into the details of why do you need a password manager with some pretty compelling reasons in our opinion. This post is for the people who have never used a password management tool before and would like to look at a list of tools before deciding one one. It is also for people who may already be using one but looking to move a different tool. Committing to a tool who will be responsible to keep all of your Most Important data in a single place is not something any would decide in a few seconds.
Below we have a list of password managers. Do take a look at all the tools before deciding on one. Some may be free and some paid. Most of them, however, offer the basic core features in the free version. Depending on your needs, you can select one. Without any further ado, let’s jump to the list:
Dashlane is available as both Free and Premium mode. At the time of writing, Premium version costs $39.99 a year. There is an enterprise version available too. Moving on to its features, it works on PC & Mac on desktop and iOS and Android for mobile platforms. Although it can sync across all the devices, the feature is only available to premium users.
Other premium only features include Two Factor Authentication, Backup option, Dashlane account access through the web interface. The password sharing feature while unlimited for premium users is limited to only 5 items for free users. Apart from passwords, users can also securely store other information such as credit card details and payment receipts which is available to both free and paid users.
KeePass is a Free and open-source password management tool. Being open source, KeePass is available for all Desktop and Mobile operating systems through official and unofficial ports. Unlike other password managers in the list, KeePass file is locally stored on the user’s machine.
KeePass provides a unique plugin feature which helps you add many other functionalities besides the basic ones. The downside being the reliability and security of these plugins as they are created by independent authors.
KeePass supports Two Factor Authentication. It can also be carried in a USB stick and run on any machine without being installed. If you feel KeePass is something you would want to use, you can read about the installation and how to use the KeePass along with screenshots.
LastPass is available as a Free, Premium, and Enterprise. Needless to say, the free model offers all the basic features like unlimited storage and syncing, auto-fill and auto-login. Upgrade to premium gives you the ability to share 1 folder with customized permissions for up to 5 users. Enterprise makes that unlimited, bundled with other features such as integration with active directory, LDAP, and single sign-on, which doesn’t really cater to individual user needs in most cases. Premium model is charged at $1 a month, billed for a year.
astPass as an application is available for all major desktop operating systems (Windows, Mac & Linux), all major mobile platforms (iOS, Android & Windows) and its browser extensions are also available for almost all browsers.
It also notifies of you for any security breaches for the websites, so you can change the passwords on time. It allows you to take a secure backup, and also import and export your password database like the other password managers on the list.
1Password is a paid tool. There is no free variant. The paid version too comes in 2 variants, a $2.99 per month for a single user and a $4.99 per month 1Password Family which supports 5 users ($1 each for every user added beyond 5).
The family variant includes sharing and permissions feature besides the basic features which include web access, unlimited storage and syncing, offline access and a 1GB storage space, auto fills and security alerts for websites and services used.
It supports Windows and Mac for desktop platforms and iOS and Android for mobile platforms.
Although similar to all the other password managers in the list, sticky password provides an option to backup all the data on its cloud servers, it provides an additional option for syncing that data across your devices. If you are a little apprehensive about having your data full of passwords transmitted and synced (in spite of being encrypted) across your devices using their cloud servers, sticky password allows you to do that via your local Wi-Fi and so the data will never leave your device.
In terms of pricing, it has an interesting pricing model compared to others. You do get a free version of course with all the core features, however, they have also included two-factor authentication, biometric authentication, support for major desktop platforms (Windows & Mac) and mobile platforms (iOS & Android). The premium model includes all these plus cloud based syncing, cloud backup and local wi-fi syncing across devices. And an interesting initiative wherein sticky donates a certain amount from every premium model to save Manatee, an endangered species which is also their brand logo.
The premium model costs $29.99 a year, however, if you feel sticky suits your needs, there a lifetime license costing $149.99.
Password Boss is a relatively new password manager. It was founded in 2014 and is privately funded. However, don’t let the fact that it is a new entry hold you back. Although new, password boss has been well received. It can compete with any password manager on this list.
Naturally, it allows you to store unlimited password, along with providing the digital wallet. One of the downsides, however, is the missing support for Mac operating system. At the time of writing, it only supports Windows for desktop and iOS & Android for mobile platforms. Rest of the features have been reserved for the premium variant which includes, two-factor authentication, sharing, syncing, automatic online backup and also the ability to remotely erase all data if you lose your device.
The premium model costs $29.99 a year and a family pack variant covering 5 members costing $69.99 a year.
In 2014, a password manager named PasswordBox was acquired by Intel. Intel had it re-branded as True Key. All the migrations will be completed by the end of this year and PasswordBox will no longer be supported from next year.
Every feature provided for the premium model comes with the free model too. The catch being, the free model allows you to store only 15 passwords. You might as well say that the primary purpose of the free model is to introduce you to the product. If you happen to like the product, it will probably take less than a day for an average internet user to quickly run out of space.
It supports Windows and Mac on desktop platform and iOS and Android for mobile platforms. The features and functions supported also vary every platform so you may want to have a look before making a decision.
However, if you purchase McAfee Internet Security (Intel owns McAfee) you also get a True Key premium subscription bundled with it. McAfee Total Protection comes with 5 True Key subscriptions. If you use McAfee security services, we would say this is a great deal.
Founded in long back in 1996, Zoho started as a network management company then known as AdventNet Inc. It entered the SaaS industry in 2005 with its cloud based applications. Unlike other password managed in this list, Zoho has a very wide range of products ranging from CRM, email hosting, bug tracker and site creator among many others. An account with Zoho gives you access to all these services.
But in this post, we talk about its password management service aptly named Zoho Vault. Zoho Vault offers 4 types of pricing model viz. Free, Standard, Professional and Enterprise.
The Free version offers all the core features including two-factor authentication, offline access, password import & export, password access and activities, unlimited storage of passwords and notes. The Standard model adds sharing, centralization controls, user roles management and much more. Professional goes on to add user groups and user access and activity report. Enterprise version provides active directory integration and password access control workflow. The premium models costs $1 per user per month for Standard, $4 per user per month for Professional, $7 per user per month for Enterprise. At the time of writing, an annual subscription gives you a further 10% discount on these plans.
Zoho Vault is available for iOS and Android and browser extensions available for Firefox & Chrome.
Headquartered in Chicago, Keeper is regarded as one of the best in business. And perhaps that is why it offers a very limited number of features to a free user. To give the free users a preface on what more features they can enjoy with the paid model if they already like the free version which only includes local password storage and support for a single device.
The user will need to upgrade to the Individual plan costing $29.99 per user per year which offers unlimited devices and syncing, cloud backup, fingerprint authentication, web access and so on.
If you need more users, you will need to upgrade to Family plan which costs $59.99 per user per year and supports up to 5 users. This plan also provides an additional 10GB file storage.
Keeper is available for all major platforms which include Windows, Mac & Linux for desktop, for mobile and tablet platform it supports iOS, Android, Windows Phone and even Kindle & Nook. Its browser extensions are also available for all major browsers i.e. Firefox, Chrome, IE, Opera and Safari.
Roboform is definitely the oldest password manager in the list. It launched its first password manager in 1999.
It supports all major desktop platforms i.e. Windows, Mac & Linux and also all major mobile platforms I.e iOS, Android, Windows Phone. Besides, you can also carry its portable version on your USB stick.
The Free version offers all the core features of a password manager. The premium version, which is the Enterprise version will cost you $29.25 per user per year.
LogMeOnce has a lot to offer, including the free model. For instance, they provide Real-Time syncing of data, for all their plans, which is unlike some vendors who provide syncing itself in the paid versions.
Speaking of pricing plans, the Free version which LogMeOnce calls Premium, offers a lot of features including the one mentioned above and group management, dropbox connect to securely encrypt and store the backup, automatic password changer, single sign on, two-factor authentication, BYOD business vaults and much more.
The paid versions include Professional plan costing $1 per month which provides additional features such as more number of secure notes, beneficiary management, etc. The Ultimate model naturally provides all the features mentioned above and some more, giving you complete control over all the data and management. Ultimate plan costs $3.25 per month.
Encryptr is password management tool made by SpiderOak. It’ is a free and open source product and available for Windows, Mac & Linux on desktop and iOS & Android on mobile based operating systems.
Encryptr likes to see itself as more about security focused product above anyting else, which is why the available functionalities aren’t that many to boast of at the time of writing. If you are someone who can do away with certain functions depending solely on securing your passwords, Encryptr is that password management tool in the list which sees that through.
Conclusion
For 1 individual, it would make sense to have a password manager with all these features if he/she deals with sensitive information and cannot afford to have the password lost or fall into wrong hands. On the other hand, another individual may just be using it to maintain all his/her social media and email accounts but still need a password manager to keep them all in one place. Where the first one may need a paid model, the second one may not.
Same goes for businesses and enterprises who not only deal with critical information but also need to constantly keep checking on certain accesses and folder filled with login credentials shared with the specific set of people. However, most of the password managers in the list offer both free and paid variants so it would make sense to get a hands-on on them before committing.
Note : The prices mentioned for all the tools may or may not change in future (depending on when you are reading this port). It is highly recommended you visit their website as well.
Feature Image Credit – Flickr / Elias Bizannes
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