1Password vs. LastPass: Compare Password Managers

LastPass and 1Password, two of the top password managers, both ranked highly on our list of the best password managers. These services are comparable in price, features, and compatibility, especially with 1Password’s recent launch of a full-fledged Linux version.

LastPass has a leg up with its free tier, which has most of the basic functionality you could want. But it now limits syncing across all device types (computers, smartphones, and tablets) to its premium plan. 1Password’s user experience (UX) on Apple devices and its design improvements on other platforms put it near its competitors.

Which password manager should you get? Let this LastPass vs. 1Password face-off help you decide.

Both 1Password and LastPass offer reasonable pricing that makes them competitively cheap password managers. They cost essentially the same amount per year in their paid plans — about $36 — but I gave 1Password the edge because it offers a monthly billing plan, while LastPass only bills annually.

Plans also start a penny cheaper with 1Password, although LastPass has a bare-bones free password manager option. However, I find the free tier is more limiting than it used to be, as syncing data is now only among computers or mobile devices.

But there’s also no storage with LastPass’s free plan, which can make it limiting. Its plans also don’t allow for guest accounts, whereas you can get up to 20 guest accounts with 1Password plans. So on a per-user basis, you get a better deal with 1Password if you have more than one person on your account.

The Passwords section manages your saved accounts. Addresses will prepopulate forms. Payment Cards stores your credit and debit card information for speedy checkout. Bank Accounts does the same for bank routing and account information. And Notes is the catch-all for other information you want to keep safe, but that doesn’t fit into the above categories.

These extra sections make it a bit more like the web experience.. While the macOS version is fairly robust, the Windows desktop app is no longer being developed and has some significant limitations.

In my experience, the pairing of the LastPass browser extension with the web app is almost all you’ll ever need.

If LastPass or 1Password doesn’t support direct imports from a particular platform, you must export your password list from the other platform to a comma-separated-values (CSV) file (i.e., a spreadsheet’s data table), which 1Password or LastPass can then take in.

LastPass’ form-filling function uses the data you stored under Addresses, Payment Cards, and Bank Accounts to pre-populate forms. An unobtrusive red box appears in the field, letting you know LastPass has identified this as a form.

Once you click on the box, you can choose which information to fill it. This is great in theory but can be confusing until you’ve properly labeled your data sets in the platform, so in the end, I had to dock half a point.

The feature works on mobile devices using a Safari browser extension for iOS 8 and above and as a built-in app feature for Android 8.0 Oreo or later.

Both LastPass and 1Password have built-in password generators, offer 1GB of secure online storage, and let you securely share passwords with others.

Where LastPass fell short, in my opinion, is the recent data breach that calls its security into question. While the company says users’ passwords weren’t leaked in the breach, attackers did gain access to certain customer information. This brings security down to LastPass’s lowest-rating feature.

LastPass’s free plan works with various authenticator apps, but only folks with a paid subscription can use hardware authenticators like Yubico’s YubiKey, a fingerprint sensor, or a smart-card reader. The platform also offers an MFA chart you can print out to generate security codes manually called Grid.

1Password and LastPass are fairly comparable as far as the best password managers on the market go. LastPass still has a slight price advantage over 1Password with its free tier, though that option’s limitations make it a bit less attractive.

LastPass has a leg up when importing passwords from other platforms, although few customers will use that function more than once. Meanwhile, 1Password still offers the most convenience for Mac users.

Because LastPass and 1Password now cost almost the same for all premium features, it’s hard to ding 1Password’s pricing. LastPass does have the edge when it comes to the ability to recover your account if you lost your password. But it’s hard to beat 1Password’s unique Travel Mode, which could make 1Password essential for frequent international travelers.

Ultimately, it was LastPass’s history of security breaches that pulled its score down. That said, if LastPass uses this to fix holes in its security, it could bring the race neck-in-neck between these two best password managers.

On the surface, all password managers essentially generate and store passwords. As I evaluated providers, I dug deeper, comparing software on what matters most, including price, platform compatibility, security, and other factors.

I signed up for a plan with each provider to test:

• Plan value: Most password managers offer various subscription plans from free to around $20 per month. While free plans may be sufficient for some, those that need more functionality may prefer paid plans. We included various free and paid password managers to find the one that works best for you.
• Platform compatibility: You likely access your online accounts from multiple devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and through different web browsers. Your password manager should be compatible with various devices, operating systems and browsers, and sync seamlessly between them all.
• UX: This is how you interface with all the features and functions of your new password manager — if it’s bad, you’ll be less likely to use the service. While this is a highly subjective category and some will disagree, it’s important to provide an overview based on my experience.
• Form filling: A password manager doesn’t have to include form-filling, but it’s somewhat standard, and the ease with which it performs that function can be the deciding factor in which password manager you ultimately choose.
• Security: Since a password manager is first and foremost a security tool, it should come with all of the most up-to-date standard security features. This includes the highest level of available encryption (256-bit AES with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512); 2FA, such as biometric logins or MFA, and a password generator.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Used all over the internet to protect your accounts, this is quickly becoming a standard security practice. 2FA is a great way to secure more sensitive accounts to ensure they’re not breached.

Learn more about our review methodology.