Best Password Manager Software

With everything online, it’s often the case that you have to create passwords for a variety of accounts. However, it’s important not to use the same password for different accounts. Following on from that, it’s also important to store these passwords in a safe manner. With online security concerns growing, password management is now more important than ever, particularly with more people splitting their work time between home and the office. In this article, we will give you all the information you need about password management and the best password managers available at this time.

Ranking methodology of the best password manager software

When you are looking for the best password manager software out there, our list will help you out. We compiled our list after first checking the rankings of the top products listed by a number of our software-ranking competitors. From that exercise, we ended up with 100 different best password managers, which we then whittled down to our top best of the best products. In order to do this, we took a look at user reviews, undertook the demo versions of each manager, and looked at the usability of each one.

Additionally, we considered the additional features, such as password generation, encryption, and more, offered by each product. We also extracted some MetaData information, including starting price, pricing plans, and so on. Taking all of this into account, we were able to score and rank each of the paid and free password manager solutions.

Conclusion

When it comes time to manage passwords, the best software doesn’t just store all your passwords in one safe place – it also provides high-level encryption and protection protocols as well. Not only that, but the truly great password managers will also create highly secure passwords for you as well. With the best password manager software, you can protect both personal files and devices as well as any business data you might have.

However, creating this list is not an easy task. We carefully check each and every password management software product to ensure it provides strong security and good password creation. As such, all the options listed here will make sure your data is safe no matter what.

Of course, depending on your needs, different password managers will be more appropriate for some companies or individuals over others. Our list is chosen from the top 100 best password manager solutions, and each is great in its own niche. Any of the listed options here will provide you with high levels of functionality, security, and more.

Best password managers overview

Being able to manage passwords in a safe and secure way is hugely important in this day and age. No matter whether you are an individual or a large business, a password manager gives you total control over all your accounts and makes sure that they are kept safe and can’t be hacked. Better still, some of the best password managers will also help you to generate top passwords too.

What is password management software?

A password manager is an encrypted digital vault that can store all the secure passwords and log-in information you use across the internet. This can be for any site or app that you access on a regular or sporadic basis. Not only can this be done on your desktop, but it can help you across a range of devices as well.

The best password manager will also help you autofill forms online, sync your data across multiple devices, keep all your data secure, and more. Some of the top options will also make sure that your passwords are carefully generated too so that they aren’t the same passwords or password variants being used over and over. Instead, they ensure that you are using unique passwords every single time. Having a unique password is increasingly more important in this technological age, where hacking is getting more frequent.

For instance, password management is hugely important if you have multiple accounts for your social sites. Using the same password for all of them means that a hacker gets access to everything in one fell swoop. A password manager can help you to generate strong unique passwords, while also storing them for you. It can sync them to your other devices so that you can log in anywhere, and it doesn’t save these details for others to see and use. Of course, you could write your passwords on sticky notes to be completely unhackable, but the effectiveness of a good paid or free password manager is unmatched when it comes to the range of other features it offers.

What does password management software do?

Password management tools have similar features but will differ in some areas such as looks and fine details. Here are some of the common things that all the best password managers will do:

• Saves passwords — This software manages your passwords so that you don’t have to remember all the passwords you create for each site. All of them are stored in a secure way so that hackers aren’t able to hack the password manager either, thanks to a range of algorithms and top SSL encryption protocols.
• Automatic fill — The manager will also save other data such as your name, email address, username, and so on, so that when it comes to filling out these details in a sign-up or online form, the computer can do it automatically for you. It saves you having to retype everything each time.
• Password generation — Managers can also create and generate secure and strong passwords too through the use of their algorithms. These can then be used on any site and are more secure than passwords you can come up with yourself.

Password manager meaning

Password managers are a way of storing passwords so that you don’t have to remember them. Not only that, but they will also generate secure passwords, sync information across devices, and also autofill details such as shipping address, billing information, and email address. Some of the best ones will also warn you if your passwords appear in a data breach, which is incredibly helpful when it comes to updating old or weak passwords.

Main features of the best password manager software

The best paid and free password manager solutions will have a number of different features, including various levels of security on their platforms. Without these tools, your passwords could be at risk, so here are some of the important features you need to consider when selecting the base free password manager.

• Two-factor authentication — This is the first thing to look at as it indicates how safe your passwords will be. Good password management necessitates that your actual manager needs protection too. The top ones will have two-factor authentication to ensure you are who you say you are when you try to log in with a password. This gives you that extra layer of protection and security.
• Syncing capabilities — Being able to sync passwords across all your devices is a must. If the manager can’t do this, then it’s a waste of time, and you might as well have your passwords on bits of paper.
• Customer service — usually these password management solutions are very easy to use. However, if you do run into issues, it can be good to have a strong customer service team ready to help you out.
• Secure storage — Top products will have secure storage options for all the data you provide. And that’s not just for the passwords, but for your personal data as well. The solution should also be protected from hackers and also not save your details to the company that runs the management software.
• Multi-device — For many of us, it is also important to be able to use a password manager across numerous different devices and incorporate various operating systems. This is where multi-device options are so important.
• Free password manager — If you are new to using a password manager, then there are some that are completely free. Some will have basic free options and then have a tiered system to get more features when you join a paid plan.

Benefits of using the best password manager software

There are a number of benefits to using a paid or free password manager. However, when it comes to being able to manage passwords, the type of manager you need will depend on the company or situation you are in. For instance, you will need to have stronger security if there are more people using the same free password manager, or you will need to have better multi-platform compatibility if you have many people on different devices. If you’re an individual, some of the large storage levels offered might not be necessary for you.

Use case scenario

There are many use-case scenarios when it comes to using a free password manager. For example, as an individual, if you are accessing numerous shopping sites and inputting your bank details, you will need to have multiple passwords. Having one single password across all these shopping sites means that a hacker will be able to get access to numerous accounts in one go, and get your banking details. By using a solution to manage passwords, you keep yourself safe.

Benefits of password managers

There are a number of top benefits to using a password management tool. Here are some of the main ones when using a paid or free password manager solution.

One password

One of the best things about using a paid or free password manager is that you no longer need to remember millions of passwords. Instead, the manager does it for you. Now you only need to remember the one password that is for the password manager itself – the software does the rest.

Password generation

The best paid and free password managers will also generate passwords for you. These can be done at random through algorithms. This means that you don’t have to spend the time trying to come up with a strong password. And let’s face it, none of the passwords you will create will ever be as random as one made by a generator. These passwords will automatically include all the right symbols and have upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, all to avoid creating a recognizable pattern. As such, you won’t repeat passwords.

High levels of security

The best password managers also have high levels of security in place. This means that no one will be able to see your passwords even when they are stored there. You can opt to save your passwords on a document on your computer or on paper, but people can find these relatively easily and use them anyway.

Syncs across all devices

The best password managers will also be able to sync all your passwords across all your devices. This means that if you create a new password or change it on a site, this will be updated across all your devices. This can be a huge time-saver as you don’t need to remember to log in to that site on all your devices to resave the password that way.

Which companies should buy the best password manager software

All organizations and individuals often face the issue of whether or not to protect their passwords properly. The fact is, having a good password management tool is a must in this day and age. Having something that can protect and store all your passwords across a range of devices is essential. Here are some of the companies that should consider using a password management solution.

Individuals

In reality, it doesn’t matter who you are, a password manager is a must. For individuals, this type of password management is important in order to keep track of all your data. Of course, as an individual, you won’t need high levels of storage as the number of passwords you have will be much smaller than a company.

Small businesses

Similarly, small businesses should use password management solutions as they can help them manage passwords across the team. This is especially useful if there are some team passwords that everyone will use to access specific apps or software. With this type of business, it’s important to have a management solution that can cater to multiple devices and platforms as it is likely the team will have different phones and computers.

Large enterprises

Large companies with hundreds of employees will also need to have a good way to manage passwords. Companies with many employees will need to have an option that can support numerous individuals rather than compelling all passwords to be stored in one space. It also needs to be easy to roll out to the entire team and have a great user interface. Finally, larger companies will need to have super levels of security with some of the top options including scanning tools for stolen credentials, notifications of hacking attempts, and alerts for when it is necessary to change a password.

What does a password manager cost?

Password managers do vary quite dramatically in how much you pay. For instance, there are many free password manager solutions out there that work incredibly well. These can be used by individuals or small teams or even families. However, for the really high-end options, especially when it comes to security or the need for a manager that can deal with an entire company, then you will have to pay. Some plans can be as much as $90 per year, especially if you are opting for a family plan.

Types of password management

There are a number of different types of password management solutions out there. Some of these do not provide the same features as others when it comes to how they manage passwords. Additionally, these software options are often focused on only protecting passwords, while others are more flexible. There are different types of managers out there, so it’s important to look at the options, cost, features, and usability to determine which option is right for you and your business. Here are some of the different types of paid and free password manager solutions.

Cloud Password managers

This type of manager saves passwords in their own servers. This means it is easy to access throughout the world and can be done from any device. It’s also generally subscription-based meaning fewer upfront costs.

On-premise managers

This type of option to manage passwords is great for those who wish to host their own password management system in their own IT environment. It’s similar to the cloud option, but is pricier and used by big companies with the resources to maintain this as part of their own infrastructure. It’s great for teams that need password access over poorer internet connections.

Mobile managers

This type of manager is also usually cloud-based. It provides users with the chance to save passwords securely on their mobile devices. It also tends to be good for autofill options. These are also often free.

Browser-based

Many popular internet browsers such as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox now include a password manager as an extension within their browsers. These can help users to create, save and manage passwords without needing to get any additional software. Passwords will be synced and managed across any devices that can use these browsers. However, passwords can’t be synced across browsers.

Single sign-on

Single sign-on, or SSO, is a method that enables users to log in to multiple cloud apps with a single set of credentials.

Trends in the best password manager software

With everything being online, sites are getting hacked more frequently. Data protection has never been more pertinent than it is now. So, this has necessitated the need for a strong password manager for everyone. However, what might have been a great solution one year may not hold up the next as technology changes so swiftly. Here are some of the current trends to look for when choosing the best password managers 2022.

• Multi-device platforms — The need to manage passwords over a range of different devices and operating systems has grown as the years go by. It’s therefore incredibly important for a management solution to be able to perform this action as well.
• UI — It is not only the functions that the software provides that are important, but also the way it is set up. Newcomers to password manager solutions will need easy access, with an intuitive interface that allows the tool to be set up quickly. This goes for big businesses too who will need to contend with a wide range of user capabilities.
• Free options — Being able to trial a manager for free is of growing importance too. Not all managers are created equal, so accessing one for free will give you a good idea of what it is all about and whether it will work for you.

Which is the best password manager software?

Choosing the best password manager can be hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual, looking for a family plan or a massive business. Some managers are perfect for low numbers of users offering free password generation and syncing. Others are geared toward big businesses and can provide high-security vaults for multiple users to store passwords. We’re here to help you find the best option for you. We recommend that you begin by looking at our top list as these are the options we think the best cover various password protection market niches.

How to choose the best password manager software

It doesn’t matter which password manager you are looking for, you must ensure it meets your needs. For instance, a large company will need a solution that can handle hundreds of different users, each with tens, if not hundreds, of passwords. In contrast, a smaller company or individual doesn’t need that level of management, but will only require password generation, autofill, and syncing capabilities. We look at all of these options and create our list of the top solutions with the best features.

Many of these have a free plan, which means you can check out the options, interface, and so on without paying. Importantly, you should check the way it syncs passwords, whether it is compatible across a range of devices and platforms, and whether you can use autofill or generate passwords.

Summary

To protect your business or simply your at-home shopping and recreational activities, finding the best password manager is a must. These tools can help to protect your passwords from hackers. They can create unique, strong, and truly random passwords, and even give you access to all of these passwords across devices no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter the size of the business either – hackers will hack! As such, we have given you the information necessary to make the right choice when looking for a password manager tool to manage passwords. So, take a look at our top list to see the options.