Everyday we use our electronic devices and chances are, we need to enter a password. In essence, passwords function as our keys in the digital space. It is used to secure essential information either for our business or personal life. At times, we may forget our password, especially if it is not a passcode that we use often. This article will guide you to the best password manager apps that you could use to ensure that passwords never stay forgotten.
What Does A Password Manager App Do?
A password manager is a storing encrypted database that can assist you in generating and retrieving complex passwords. These platforms can be locally installed as software application, online portal and can serve as key to access local hardware devices.
15 Best Password Manager Apps Of All-Time (as of 2020)
1. 1password
Price: Free / $2.99-4.99 per month
Capable of password capture and replay. The 1password browser extension will automatically determine your credentials when entering the secure site and offer you to save your details. You can create nested tags to indicate separation of levels (e.g. restaurant/Bo’s café). Although the system is not as wholly automated than others, you can press Ctrl+ to fill the saved credentials.
Uses a popup list (you may press Ctrl+Alt+\ to bring the 1password mini) where you can scroll down or type the name you want to login.
Offers password generator to help you create a strong password in default of 24 characters in combination of capital and small letters, digits and symbols.
Capable of safe storage of personal data, address, and other contact details. Also, it can separately store credit card information from your own identity.
Capable of viewing and editing the saved logins and data. The 1password uses a tag system for every login.
2. Bitwarden
Price: FREE
The app includes AES-256 bit encryption, salt-hashing, and PBKDF2-SHA-256 that can prevent force attacks. It is an open-source app, totally free, and can host your server password. It uses Yubikey or FIDO for the two-factor authentication and can generate TOTP codes for 2FA-supporting sites. However, the app does not work well in edge extensions and limited iOS support.
When you upgrade to a premium version, you can synced and encrypt the online storage and can attach files to passwords and secure notes.
The two-factor authentication capacity can assure you that no hacker can get your passwords by stealing your master password.
The use of email authentication can provide a backup to your physical key
One of the best password managers that can work as authenticator to websites that support Time-based One-Time Password.
Capable of giving feedback if your password is weak and reports the sites having identical passwords.
3. Dashlane
Price: Free / $4.99-$9.99 per month
Dashlane is known to be one of the best password managers that can sync all windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. It can provide advanced password management features like VPN protection. Dashlane is capable of scanning Dark Web to prevent compromising the accounts, and that even includes capturing online shopping receipts. However, the app is expensive. When you want VPN protection, you cannot choose VPN country server. It has limited support when using Internet Explorer.
It places user-interface elements right in front of the main window. When signing up for a new account, the app assists you with a password generator.
You can view passwords by category.
It has a Vault group that you can see, manage passwords, check security score and add or see security scores.
Dashlane is considered one of the best password managers because you can use it in any platform (Chromebook, Linux Box) and any extensions like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
For added security, you may enable two-factor authentication.
If Dashlane is set-up in smartphone two-factor authentication, you can register more than two Universal Second Factor (U2F) security keys.
4. LastPass Password Manager
Price: Free / $2-$4 per month
One of the best password manager that can auto-fill password to your apps, sites, and forms. It can store photos and audio securely. It supports fingerprint scanning, password generation, password audit and granting of emergency access to a second person.
Lastpass is one of the best password manager for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, where it can sync passwords between operating systems.
It can automatically capture your credentials when you get to log in to the site and automatically replays every time you revisit.
If you get the full-access version, you will have an online vault where you can edit entries, personal data such as credit cards, bank accounts, social security information, and addresses.
For emergency, you can identify one or more LastPass users to receive your passwords, and you can revoke access within a specified period.
The two-authentication factor feature will ensure that nobody can open your password vault by just using the master password.
When using a premium version, the Yubikey is used for authentication.
The premium version offers the “Add Attachment” button, where you can add up to 1GB of attachments.
5. Keepass2Android
Price: Free
A popular best password manager because it is entirely free and open-source. It is better integration with Android compared to other password managers and has a custom keyboard feature. However, the downside is that it is only made available through Google Play Store where Google can slip malicious code. But you can use either KeePass DX or KeePass Droid if you are wary of Google.
The use of Android’s built-in clipboard can allow you to paste usernames and passwords from an opened KeePass database.
Although the auto-fill functions can be prone to stealing information, the K2A-owned keyboard can directly access the Keepass database and enter the usernames and passwords by not necessarily saving the data on Android’s clipboard.
6. Keeper
Price: Free / Up to $9.99 per month / Up to $99.99 per year
Keeper is one of the older best password manager apps and one of the most expensive password manager. It can support all popular platforms and browsers. It has two-factor authentication, secure password sharing capability, secure password inheritance, secure file storage and messaging and ability to retain full history of passwords and files. However, the web filling is limited and not fully automated.
If you happen to forget the master password, then the passwords stored can never be accessible. But password can be retrieved by answering the security question.
You can import passwords from the other 20 competitors like LastPass, Dashlane, RoboForm and True Key.
7. Password Safe
Price: Free / $4.99
The best password manager that boasts zero internet connections and 256-bit encryption. The design is seen to be lackluster. A windows-exclusive app that is simple to use but secure. It has no fancy extra loads like sharing, emergency contact, and password evaluator. But there is one thing that makes Password Safe stand out in the competition—the ability to manage multiple vaults at the same time. All vaults can be merged, compared and synced.
An expiry date for the password can be set which is an added security feature.
The vault saves the auto-fill and auto-login of credentials.
Substitutes cloud syncing by installing the software into a mobile external drive.
Capable of a backup function where the entire database can readily be saved.
Does not have a browser extension.
8. Google Smart Lock
Price: Free
Google’s Smart Lock is surprisingly listed as one of the best password manager. Of course, it is a native feature of Android, Google Chrome and Chrome OS. It supports usernames, passwords and credit information. But the two-factor authentication will let the convenience weaken because by the time you log in to another device, you will be asked for your password and a code send through your phone.
Within the myaccount.google.com, you can have the two-factor verification turning on.
You can revoke trusted status from a logged-in device.
Yubikey is another option of an additional layer of security feature.
9. Trend Micro
$14.95 per year
Trend Micro syncs your passwords across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Captures and replays of credentials and ability to identify weak passwords. However, it cannot manage non-standard log-in pages. It does not have two-factor authentication and automated password updating.
Offers fill-in data when you return to one of the sires that you capture your credentials. It would have a drop-down list if you saved more than one set of username
The browser extension can provide list of saved sites. It has a password generator. It determines the password you have that are safe and unsafe. A password Doctor appears to provide the help. If you are opening a site related to finance, it offers you to open in a secure browser.
10. RoboForm
Price: $19.95 per year
It can sync across all types of devices and browsers. The security protocol can identify weak and duplicate passwords. It has a comprehensive web form. However, it has limited importing capacity, confusing interface system, and limited two-factor authentication. A menu can let you choose categories like Logins, bookmarks, applications, identities, contacts, and others.
It has program option that determines security center password scorecard. Roboform can notice you when logging in to a secure site and save your credentials. Roboform can create form-fill identities—person, business, passport, address, credit card, bank account, care, and authentication.
Another stand-out feature is it can save personal data for your contacts—person, business, and address. It is convenient especially when buying and shipping online. It has emergency password access whereby the emergency contact’s email will receive a specific time-out period of 30 days. A new feature for this best password manager is it allows the sharing of individual passcards.
11. True Key by Intel Security
Price: $19.99 per year
It syncs passwords across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It is capable of secure function even without a master password. However, it lacks advanced features like password sharing, inherits of password and automatic changing. It also does not support Internet Explorer on Windows and Safari for Mac.
Captures all credentials during login and plays back when revisiting the sites. By default, it creates 16-character passwords.
The ability to multiple factors for authentication is what makes this manager competent. It always requires a master password and a trusted device or face-based authentication or fingerprint verification.
If someone tries to reset the master password, an email notification will immediately give you the warning. You can opt to lock the password recovery for a day.
12. Zoho Vault
Price: $12 per year
The best password manager that is accessible to any browser and platform. It provides better password strength report, allows sharing and transfer of logins even for free version. However, it works best in browser extension of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Lack of web form filling capability and do not import passwords from browsers.
Password capture and replay and you can add tags and notes to indicate if passwords are for business or personal use
Although it has access to Zoho Vault, it does not work well with two-page logins. The competing popups of Zoho and Facebook can cause Chrome to hang-up.
13. F-secure KEY
Price: $32.99 per year
It syncs saved passwords across Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. But you need to enter password data manually. It could not autofill Firefox and Chrome at the same time.
When you lost or forgot your password, nobody in the company can decrypt your password. To avoid, once you created your master password, you will be prompted to save a Recovery Code (i.e., QR Code). It helps you retrieve your master password if you lost it. You may be disappointed with F-secure because the entry of password is entirely manual but can export passwords from XML files or import from other manager platforms.
F-Secure Key is capable of automatic lock up after a period of inactivity. By default, it can lock after five minutes. But you may choose to lock up in 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 10 hours, or one week. For mobile devices, F-Secure gives breach alerts when a popular website has been hacked or otherwise breached. It gives you a signal of changing your password for any breached site.
14. Kaspersky
Price: $14.99 per year
One of the best password manager that can sync across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It can move document and images to secure online storage. However, it has no automatic filling in passwords, no two-factor authentication and no sharing of logins.
It can install Kaspersky browser plug-in to Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Yandex (Russia-based browser). For better organizing of passwords, you can create folders and drag related items. Hence Kaspersky doesn’t support nested folders.
15. Aunthetic8 Silo
Price: $10 per month
The best password manager that the local browser is protected by all web-based hacking, no traces of web activity can be found. It can mask the IP address as well as the full password manager. It has two-factor authentication and protection from brute-force attack of hackers. But it does not support Android and more expensive.
Silo looks like and quacks like a browser because all the actual web browsing takes place in the Auntic8 servers when a local Silo client will establish an encrypted connection.
Like using VPN service, the internet usage is encrypted between IP address and of the server (18 Authentic8 servers around the world). When Silo is running, drive-by downloads and other possible web-based attacks can hardly reach you.
A user-friendly app, as you can maneuver all its features for your convenience. You can expand the panel and show all logins, simple clicking of icons can quickly launch and log in to the website, you can gear in dock if you need editing, and pin most-used icons in the dock.
The authentication of Silo is unique. You don’t need to enter the PIN, but instead, on the on-screen PIN pad you will type the letter you see above each digit, and after each digit you get random messages. When using an iPad, you will be asked to tap out the PIN code in digits as the numbers shuffle after each tap. Any hacker will have the difficulty of guessing or surf to memorize your PIN.
For all the best mobile apps at your disposal, check out our mobile apps page on Cellular News.
