At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Powerful security
- Supports Passkeys
- Can store other secure information
Cons
- Appearance is clean but a little tame
Our Verdict
An easy to use and reliable password manager with strong security and useful features.
Passwords are one of the banes of most people’s online lives. Even though passkeys (where you can use a second device to prove you are you and gain access) are beginning to make things easier, it will be a long time before we move away from the confusing collection of numbers, symbols, and letters (at least one of which should be upper case) that are demanded by online services.
Remembering the various account details for each site or app we use is an overwhelming task, meaning we often resort to having the same login for everything, which is a disaster waiting to happen. To get around this, without having to write down all our passwords in a little book or, worse still, in the notes app on your phone, a password manager is a far more secure and simple solution, as it does all the remembering on your behalf.
Canadian made 1Password has long been a favorite of ours, and the current iteration doesn’t put that status in jeopardy. One advantage it has out of the gate is that the company will actually credit you the remaining months on your current contract if you decide to switch from a rival password manager. But what will you find waiting for you when you install and set up 1Password?
For alternatives to 1Password take a look at our roundup of the Best password managers for Mac.
Software & Features
- Clean, simple interface
- Passkey assistant
- Auto-fill passwords, credit cards and other information
1Password has a nice, clean layout that makes it easy to get to grips with how things work. Along the bottom of the screen, you’ll find four icons for the main areas – Home, Items, Search, and Watchtower.
As you’d imagine, the Home screen is where you’ll normally enter the app, and it’s home to any recently created login details, links to your profile page, and also has several guides that take you through the features on offer. These include setting up your Profile so that it can quickly and automatically fill in online forms. You can have your address plus credit card details, so that when you’re on a site or app and get to the checkout, everything is done for you instead of having to enter the information manually.
1Password can also store other important document information, such as your drivers’ licence, passport, membership cards, secure notes, medical record, social security number, and pretty much whatever else you want to store that you can access easily wherever you have your device.
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Obviously, passwords are the main feature, and the app allows you to either enter them directly or save them when you’re using a browser to log in or update your details. There’s also a section that lets you know which accounts can use passkeys, which can then all be stored in 1Password. All of these will then be auto-filled for you when you reach the login page of the relevant site or app. On a Mac you’ll need the browser extensions installed, all of which are free. There’s ones for Safari (which has had improvements made to ensure auto-fill works better than in the past, where certain sites would make it difficult for the feature to be implemented properly), Chrome and pretty much every other main browser.
The Items section is where you can organize the passwords and secure information. These can be stored in a general vault or separated into specific ones for things like Work, Travel, Home and Shared. This can be helpful on a family plan, where you can make the Netflix and Spotify account details available to all, but stop anyone being able to run amok with your Amazon account.
Search does what you’d expect, while Watchtower analyzes the overall strength of your online security, with warnings of how often passwords are repeated and which ones have been reported as vulnerable after any security breaches on the apps or sites to which they pertain. It’s a helpful way to see the status of your passwords and what you may need to do to stay safe.
Security and Encryption
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Secret key security
- Support for Touch ID and Face ID
Password managers are only truly useful if their security is up to scratch, and thankfully 1Password is strong in this area. The service uses 256-bit AES end-to-end encryption to keep your details protected at all times, and there’s also a secret key created on your device that adds further layers of security and prevents intercepted data from being cracked.
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
The same is true with the Secure Remote Password (SRP) protocol, which allows you to authenticate your details to a site without the information being sent to a server which could compromise security.
While the principle of a password manager is that you create a single, complex password to access the app (meaning you only have to remember that one rather than all the individual ones to sites), support for Touch ID and Face ID means you don’t have to enter the password every time you log into the app, which is a definite bonus.
Price and Availability
There are a few different tiers available for 1Password. If you want a single-user account, which you can use on all your devices and comes with 1GB of secure storage, then this will set you back $35.88 p/a (which works out around £30). Alternatively, for a family package that includes five accounts you’ll be looking at $59.88 (around £50) for the year. Business users will also find a variety of options available, which include additional support for Azure AD, Slack, Duo, starting at $95.88 (approx £80) per year.
All accounts offer a 14-day free trial so you can give 1Password a proper outing before deciding whether you want to switch or not. If you do, then you can migrate all your passwords over and be up and running in no time.
1Password is available for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows, Android, plus has extensions for all the major browsers.
Should you buy 1Password?
These days a password manager feels like an essential item, as so much of our lives revolve around our online accounts. 1Password is a mature and solid service, with useful features, strong security credentials, and most of all it’s easy and reliable to use. If you’re thinking of using a password manager for the first time or are unhappy with your current provider, 1Password should be top of your list.
