Best Free Download Password Manager

Thorin Klosowski has spent a decade writing about technology, with a focus on software for many of those years. He has written about privacy and security for the bulk of that time and has tested countless password managers.

Andrew Cunningham spent years testing, reviewing, and otherwise writing about computers, phones, operating systems, apps, and other gadgets for AnandTech, Ars Technica, and Wirecutter. He has been building, upgrading, and fixing PCs for more than 15 years, and he spent five of those years in IT departments buying and repairing laptops and desktops as well as helping people buy the best hardware and software for their needs.

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Passwords are as annoying as they are necessary, and a good password manager can keep you secure while making it easier to juggle the sheer number of passwords you need to be a person on the internet. Using a password manager is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself online, aside from using two-factor authentication and keeping your operating system and web browser up to date. If any of your passwords are weak and easy to guess, if you reuse any of your passwords across multiple sites, or if the sites you use are ever hacked and your account is compromised, you risk losing access to your accounts and your data. In fact, if you reuse passwords, chances are good that your password is already out there on an easy-to-find database. You can even check to see if your email address or password has been involved in a data breach.

1Password is compatible with all the operating systems and browsers that most people use: Standalone apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android all allow you to view and edit all the items in your vault. 1Password also has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge that handle basic functions like autofilling passwords and creating new ones. If you use Safari on Mac, you need to download the desktop app, which includes the extension for Safari. Figuring out exactly which program to download is often confusing for newcomers and still manages to trip us up sometimes. We recommend downloading the desktop and mobile apps for your operating systems, along with the browser extensions for whatever web browsers you use.

Bitwarden supports the same operating systems and browsers as 1Password does, including Windows , macOS , iOS, and Android. Bitwarden, like 1Password, supports logging in with your face or fingerprint, whichever method your device supports. Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera (like 1Password, Bitwarden packs its Safari extension into the desktop app) let you easily autofill usernames and passwords no matter which browser you use.

We dismissed most other password managers for lacking one or more features, such as not participating in third-party security audits or not supporting one or more of our desired operating systems. That list includes Ascendo DataVault Password Manager, Avast Passwords, Avira Password Manager Pro, Blur, Enpass, eWallet, F-Secure ID Protection, LogMeOnce, McAfee True Key, mSecure, Norton Password Manager, oneSafe, Password Boss, Password Safe, RememBear, Revelation, RoboForm, SaferPass Premium, SplashID Pro, Sticky Password, and Splikity.

Usually, yes. Both 1Password and Bitwarden Premium accounts support security keys as a second factor for login. The free version of Bitwarden does not support security keys but does support using an authentication app. Consult the feature list on other password managers to look for such support before signing up.

Yes. Most password managers with iOS and Android apps can autofill usernames and passwords both on websites and in apps, replacing (or augmenting) the built-in autofill features in those operating systems. You can find directions for setting this up in 1Password on iOS and Android, as well as directions for Bitwarden on iOS and Android.

Andrew Cunningham is a former senior staff writer on Wirecutter's tech team. He has been writing about laptops, phones, routers, and other tech since 2011. Before that he spent five years in IT fixing computers and helping people buy the best tech for their needs. He also co-hosts the book podcast Overdue and the TV podcast Appointment Television.

Did try doing some prior research on this subreddit, but most seem somewhat sponsored or out-of date now. I'm currently using Bitwarden on the free subscription, and used to pay for 1password. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but something that is very secure as cybersecurity threats seem to be on the rise on a daily basis.

Hey everyone! Recently I started thinking about purchasing a password manager for my family and myself. With all the cyber threats going around recently (did you know that a random, eight-character password can be hacked within eight hours?), I am starting to lose all trust in saving my password anywhere else.

Password health check: I think it is a great feature to see if my passwords are easy to hack as sometimes I am not as creative as I think I am with my passwords. I guess the password generator feature will be helpful in this area too.

After signing up for a password manager, you'll be prompted to create a master password. Your master password should be a strong password or passphrase that you can remember but haven't used for any other logins. The master password is the one password you need to access your password manager vault. The next step is to download the app or browser extension to the devices you plan to use the service on. You can also opt to use the web-based user interface if you prefer (if offered by the service you choose).

Once you've signed up and gotten acquainted with the app, start adding passwords and other vault items you want to keep secure. If you have passwords stored in a web browser or other password manager, you can easily import them to the new password manager. You also can manually enter the login credentials, or you can have your password manager automatically save your credentials when you log into one of your online accounts. Once you've got your passwords saved, you can use your password manager to autofill the login credentials for the accounts you have stored in your vault.

Password managers are extremely attractive targets for cybercriminals -- and yes, they can be hacked. But all of the password managers listed above operate on a zero-knowledge approach to password management, meaning that not even the company storing your vault data has the ability to decrypt the information contained within. Only the user can decrypt and access their own vault. Similarly, the password managers featured above don't have access to your master password.

All of this makes it difficult for an attacker to actually gain access to the passwords and other items in your vault. In the case of the 2022 LastPass breach, attackers were able to steal encrypted user vaults. So all the attacker would need to do is crack the master password for a stolen vault to access everything inside, which would be an easy task if the master password is weak. The best way to protect your data in case of a similar breach is to create a strong master password.

A strong password should ideally be a minimum of 12 characters. You can also create passphrases that consist of randomly strung-together words. The best password managers offer customizable password generators that you can use to create truly random passwords and passphrases based on the criteria you select. The longer and more complex the password or passphrase, the better.

There are a few legitimate free password manager options for anyone who wants to securely store their passwords without paying a dime. Bitwarden is CNET's recommendation for the best free password manager. NordPass is another option and, if you're more technically inclined, you can go with KeePass, which is completely free and unlimited but not as easy to use as many others.

Look for a password manager that operates on a zero-knowledge basis and secures user vaults with industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption. Independent security audits can also help bolster trust in a password manager.

Most password managers have pricing plans for individuals, families and businesses. Pricing for family and business plans are more expensive than individual plans, but family and business plans cover multiple users, while individual plans are limited to a single user.

Before you purchase a subscription to a password manager, make sure it's compatible with all of the devices, operating systems and browsers you regularly use. The password manager should also automatically sync your passwords and other vault items across all of your devices.

Make sure your password manager has standard features like multifactor authentication, a password generator, secure sharing and automatic sync. Other useful features to look out for include secure file storage, login autofill, vault health reporting and data breach and dark web monitoring.

Most password managers include secure sharing features that allow you to safely share vault items with others. Some password managers allow secure sharing only with other users of the same service, while others allow secure sharing with anyone, regardless of whether they use a password manager.

Some password managers offer secure file storage options that allow you to safely store documents like health records, bank statements, insurance paperwork and title documents. Some allow for 1GB of secure storage space, while others may offer up to 10GB.

If you want to share a password manager subscription with family or friends, it's a good move to opt for a password manager family plan. With a family plan, one subscription fee covers anywhere from five to 10 individual accounts, depending on the provider.

Bitwarden is a solid choice if you want a well-rounded premium password manager that's secure, transparent, budget friendly and easy to use -- or if you want a legitimately unlimited password management solution for free. e24fc04721