Last year, LastPass has announced some big changes to its free offering, making the service much more restrictive for people who want to access their passwords across mobile devices and computers.
Now, before I go any further, I think it’s worth pointing out that I have been a LastPass Premium user for many years, and I’ve been 100% satisfied with the service. For the $3 a month, it’s pretty good.
But I can also understand why you might not be so keen to pay for something that was previously free. Also, it’s hard enough sometimes to convince friends and family to use password managers in the first place, and telling them that it’s going to cost money every month makes that an even harder proposition to sell.
So, let’s take a look at what alternatives are on offer to you.
This is a great choice for those in the Apple ecosystem. Save a password on one device, and it’s available on all your Apple devices.
It works well for saving web and app log-in details, but it’s not really suited to other passwords and things like PIN codes.
It’s free, but the cost of entry into the Apple club can hardly be considered free.
Pros
- Seamless across the Apple ecosystem
- Easy to use
Cons
- It doesn’t work on non-Apple devices
- The cost of entry into the Apple club is high
If you’re a Google Chrome user, then you already have a cross-platform password manager that will work anywhere you have Google Chrome installed and signed in to your Google Account.
It works well for saving web and app log-in details, but it’s not really suited to other passwords and things like PIN codes.
Pros
- A great cross-platform solution for Google Chrome users
- Passwords accessible across different devices
Cons
- Restricted to passwords and can’t store other data like PIN codes and such
- Lacking the advanced security features of a dedicated password manager
A reader suggestion!
Bitwarden says that “everyone should have access to password security tools,” and to support this, the company offers a free subscription that offers unlimited syncing across all your devices, a password generator and even the option to self-host your data.
It’s also platform-agnostic, offering solutions for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, and of the browser front, it covers Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and more.
For $10 a year — yes, a year — you can unlock advanced features such as Bitwarden Authenticator, 1GB of secure storage, two-step login with YubiKey, U2F, Duo, a vault health report, and the ability to set up emergency access.
A fantastic choice both for those looking for a free option or a paid service.
Pros
- Great security
- Easy to use
- Fully-featured password manager
Cons
- Advanced features require payment (although most users will be able to live without these)
The free plan allows you to store unlimited passwords, notes, and credit cards and sync them to an unlimited number of devices, but you can only have one active device (in other words, you’ll be logged out of other devices).
The premium plan, which starts at $1.49 a month if you take out a two-year plan, is one of the best-value premium offering out there.
Pros
- Ability to store passwords and other data
- Unlimited device support
- The premium plan is very competitive
Cons
- Free plan restricted to one active device
Along with a paid service, LogMeOnce offers a free ad-supported service that offers unlimited passwords across unlimited devices. You can also get a password generator and the ability to store three credit cards.
Pros
Cons
- An ad-supported password manager feels a little strange
Not a cloud-service, but a free, open source, lightweight and easy-to-use password manager for Windows. Not using Windows? There are unofficial ports for a variety of platforms (make of that what you will), including Android, macOS, iOS and iPadOS.
I’ve used KeePass in the past, but the absence of cloud syncing and automatic syncing across multiple devices makes it harder work to use.
Pros
Cons
- Not cloud-based
- Relies of unofficial ports of the Windows app for platforms such as Android, macOS, iOS and iPadOS
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