Password managers are a vital part of keeping yourself safe online, and you’ll be happy to know that you don’t need to spend a penny to make use of them.
What Makes For the Best Free Password Manager?
Password managers, for most people, are the best and only way to keep your passwords straight, especially if you’re using strong, random passwords—and you should be. However, your browser password manager isn’t very good, and most standalone options cost money.
As it turns out, many password managers worth mentioning do offer a free tier, and they’re often a pretty good option. While the top picks from our roundup of the best password managers may be missing here, you’re still left with some very strong choices.
When putting together this list, we focused mainly on what you got in the free plan. For example, Dashlane’s free plan is so restrictive (read more about it in our Dashlane review) that there’s no point in using it. All our picks will let you store an unlimited number of passwords at the very least, as well as offer a number of other goodies.
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How-To Geek’s product recommendations come from the same team of experts that have helped people fix their gadgets over one billion times. We only recommend the best products based on our research and expertise. We never accept payment to endorse or review a product.
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Best Free Password Manager Overall: Bitwarden
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Pros |
Cons |
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Unlimited passwords |
Some usability issues |
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Open source |
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Cheap to upgrade |
Bitwarden is our favorite free password manager. It offers all the basics you need from a password manager without you needing to spend a penny. You can add as many passwords as you want and on as many devices as you own, and you also get use of passkeys, a new passwordless technology—read Bitwarden’s take on the future of passkeys.
While the free version of Bitwarden covers your needs, for just $10 per year, you get some extra features. The most interesting of these is the built-in authenticator, which should make two-factor authentication slightly less of a hassle. It’s also an easy way to support the company since, at just $10, Bitwarden is the cheapest password manager around.
For a free program, Bitwarden works extremely well. Since putting together my Bitwarden review, the user experience has greatly improved, and I found it a real pleasure to use. While some minor issues do need to be ironed out, you can’t argue with the price.
Best Free Password Manager Overall
Bitwarden Password Manager
A solid password manager with an amazing free plan and is cheap to upgrade.
Best Free Password Manager to Bundle: Proton Pass
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Pros |
Cons |
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Unlimited passwords |
Usability issues |
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Use of aliases |
Only 10 aliases |
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Other free apps, like Proton Mail |
Proton Pass is also an excellent free password manager. It lets you store unlimited passwords on as many devices as you want, giving you a fully functional password manager at no cost. The only real limits are that you can’t share your passwords and that you’re limited to only 10 aliases, fake email addresses you can use to avoid leaving a trail when creating new accounts.
Proton Pass is like Bitwarden in that it’s one of those rare cases where you don’t need to upgrade to the paid plan—the free version will cover most people most of the time. That said, it’s still a steal at only $24 per year, as you can read in my full Proton Pass review.
That said, there’s a reason Proton Pass doesn’t take first place, and that’s because it does have some issues with autofill and prompting you to remember new passwords. It’s nothing too serious, especially considering it’s a free product, but it earns a few demerits. Even though Bitwarden edges out, Proton Pass a a very close second.
Best Free Password Manager to Bundle
Proton Pass
Proton’s password manager does a great job, and at a great price. There are, however, some issues with autofill at times.
Best Open Source Password Manager: KeePass
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Pros |
Cons |
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Unlimited use |
Tricky to learn |
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Community-made |
Lots of forks |
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Open source |
The next great free password manager is KeePass, which has had so many forks and versions that it’s hard to keep track. However, all versions share a few characteristics: they’re free, secure, and have many mods that allow you to tailor your experience to your liking.
That said, as a community-driven program, KeePass is not the easiest password manager to use, as it values function over form. Even the most accessible fork, KeePassXC, had some quirks and issues as I discovered in the course of writing my KeePassXC review. Using any KeePass version can get frustrating if you run into issues.
However, once you get the hang of KeePass and customize it just how you want, you may just have the best password manager out there, free or otherwise. Maintained by a group of fans, you can be sure you’re always up-to-date on protection and have all the features you want and none of the ones you don’t. Though it isn’t for everybody, KeePass is a perfect fit for the right person.
Best Open Source Password Manager
KeePassXC
KeePassXC doesn’t offer cloud-based syncing, but that’s the point. It’s the perfect product if you want to be in charge of your own security.
Best Password Manager for an Old-School Feel: LogMeOnce
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Pros |
Cons |
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Unlimited passwords |
Limits on other items |
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Decent upgrades |
Dated interface |
LogMeOnce is a password manager that has been around for quite some time and is still going strong today. Like our other entries, it allows for unlimited passwords but has some pretty tough restrictions on storing other items, like credit cards and secure notes.
If you like LogMeOnce and want to remove these restrictions, its paid plans are quite generous. For $30 per year, you can store other data types such as credit cards, plus you get secure file storage and some extras like a password tracker. You could argue that it’s even better value than Proton Pass, although it is a little more expensive.
All that said, though, there is a major downside to LogMeOnce, which is its dated interface. The company has been around for a while, and you can tell by the app. While a client having an older look is fine, I do expect any product to go with the times when it comes to the user experience. However, if a lack of polish doesn’t bother you, LogMeOnce is a good pick.
An Old-School Cool Password Manager
LogMeOnce
A password manager with a long pedigree, though the interface could use some work.
Best Free Password Manager for Upgrade Deals: NordPass
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Pros |
Cons |
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Unlimited items |
Limited to one device |
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Sleek interface |
Issues with stability |
The final pick is NordPass, one of the last password managers to store an unlimited number of passwords and secure notes for free, though you can only store them on one device. It also has a decent interface that may be comforting to people new to password managers, as it lays everything out clearly.
However, as you can read in my NordPass review, there were some stability issues when I tested it. Things have improved in the meantime, but there are still more issues than you’d expect from a company as big as NordSec—its VPN also has some bugs, even after years of being around (read my NordVPN review for more on this).
Another thing NordPass shares with its VPN sibling is that if you upgrade (which is $40 per year before tax), you may not want to stick around after the first one or two years. Once the honeymoon is over, NordPass doubles its price. At $40, NordPass is an okay value, but at $80, it’s badly overpriced.
Best Free Password Manager for Upgrade Deals
NordPass
NordPass improves your team’s workflow with credential sharing, autofill form completion, and activity tracking at a reasonable price point.
