Comparative: find out which password manager best suits your priorities

Apple ID, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Evernote, Dropbox, Netflix We use so many services today that it would be impossible to memorize each user's username and password. Therefore, unless you have a photographic memory, you will not be able to combine security with practicality.

to which the password managers. To help you choose the one that best suits your needs, we have compared the features of five of them: 1Password, Dashlane, Enpass, LastPass and oneSafe.

Comparison of password managers

Password manager for what?

First of all, it is important to remember why there are applications that manage your passwords. When you sign up for a website or application and need to create a password, the most natural move you can think of is something easy to remember, like a birthday, a license plate or someone's name.

As much as you think your password is incredible, if it is made up of letters only, it can be easily discovered by malicious people. And more: if you use the same password on other services, who will discover to have even work on other accounts: just use that one and have access to your entire digital life! For this reason, nowadays many services ask for lowercase letters, capital letters, numbers and even symbols (special characters) to make life difficult for intruders. However, the password turns out to be so weird and difficult that even you can't remember it only at these times that password managers come to help us.

With a unique service that captures, stores and “delivers” your passwords when you need them, you can create the most difficult ones and still not worry about memorizing them as they will be stored in your manager. The only password you need to remember is the master, which “locks” your manager.

So, you ask: what if they discover my master password? In this case, it is extremely important that your unique password is very secure, if only you could be an easy target for cracker attacks. Despite this, we cannot say that there is total security (using or not using a manager) because malicious people and ways of breaking encryptions will always exist, but the more we make life difficult for these people, the less problems we will have.

1PasswordDashlaneEnpassLastPassoneSafe

(need to select the option in the app preferences)

Synchronization Offline: YESOnline: iCloud and Dropbox Offline: YESOnline: own server Offline: YESOnline: Box, iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV / ownCloud Offline: YESOnline: own server Offline: YESOnline: iCloud
Backup YES(automatic and manual) YES(if online synchronization is disabled or exporting data) YES(manual) YES(manually through the site) YES(with automatic backup option)
Browser extensions Desktop: Safari, Chrome, Firefox and OperaMobile: Safari, Chrome and Firefox Desktop: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Internet ExplorerMobile: Safari and Chrome Desktop: Safari, Chrome, Firefox and OperaMobile: Safari Desktop: Safari, Chrome, Firefox and OperaMobile: Safari, Google Chrome and Firefox Desktop: SafariMobile: Safari
Capture new website passwords? Desktop: YES (popup)Mobile: YES (manually, by the extension of Safari already fills the name of the site) Desktop: YES (popup)Mobile: YES (manually, but does not fill in the name / address of the site automatically) Desktop: YES (popup)Mobile: YES (manually, by the extension of Safari already fills the name of the site) Desktop: YES (new tab)Mobile: YES (manually, by the extension of Safari already fills the name of the site) Desktop: YES (popup)Mobile: AT THE
Generates and fills in a strong password when registering on a website? YES (by extension) YES(by clicking on the cone inside the password field or in the extension) YES (by extension) YES(by clicking on the cone inside the password field or in the extension) YES (by extension)
Autofill on logins YES(need to select the option in the app preferences) YES including on sites visited for the first time (from information already added in the app) AT THE(need to select from the extension or keyboard shortcut) YES YES
Option to enter the site automatically (auto-login) YES YES AT THE YES(you need to enable the option for each site first) YES
Question if you want to update your already registered password if we change it on the site? YES YES YES YES AT THE
Filling out forms YES (by extension) YES, (options appear automatically as soon as the cursor is placed in the form field) AT THE(if you want to fill it out, you can search the extension and copy each field manually) YES(by clicking on the cone inside the password field or in the extension) AT THE(under development)
Secure Password Demonstrator YES YES YES YES AT THE
How to add new fields to passwords? YES (desktop) AT THE YES YES (in the web version) YES
Import passwords that you had on your computer before (in Access to Keys) AT THE YES AT THE YES AT THE
Import and export information YES YES YES YES YES
Multifactor authentication (in two steps) YES YES YES YES AT THE
Security notifications AT THE YES(system notification) AT THE YES(in the browser itself) AT THE
In-app browser (iOS) YES YES YES YES AT THE
3D Touch and Touch ID (iOS) YES YES YES YES YES
Apple Watch YES YES YES YES AT THE
Web version YES(s for plans Family or Team) YES(only reading) AT THE YES(including, the only way to view / edit advanced settings) AT THE
Price Desktop: $ 65 (one time)Mobile: free with limitations (other categories or folders, among other resources can be purchased for $ 10) Desktop and mobile: free with limitations ($ 40 / year to sync platforms, among other features) Desktop: totally freeMobile: free with limitations (only 20 items or once $ 10 per platform) Desktop and mobile: free with limitations ($ 12 / year to use on more than one platform) Desktop: $ 20Mobile: $ 5

Each person has different priorities and, therefore, we have not decided on a “winner” among the five. However, in addition to the comparative table, below we list the pros and cons of each manager so that you can decide what weighs or not when choosing yours.

valid to quote that everyone has AES-256 encryption level.

1PasswordiOS, Android, OS X and Windows

1Password

1Password is one of the best organized managers because it allows the user to have several “safes”, categories, folders and also labels (wonderful resource). With the various safes, you can share one with work, another with the family and leave one for personal use. The categories are pre-defined and it is not possible to add more however, there are so many that it will be difficult for your password / note to not enter any (anyway, there are always “safe notes”). I also think it's great that you can change any and all information for an entry: title, image, name of a field and content of the field.

The company's support is excellent and many latest updates are released without being covered by new licenses. As a negative point, there is the fact that it is only possible to sync just one vault through iCloud if someone has more than one, you need to use Dropbox. In the form filling test, he did not recognize his CPF or date of birth.

Anyway, 1Password does what it proposes in a wonderful way, without many errors, and very well organized.

DashlaneiOS, Android, Mac and Windows

Dashlane platforms

Dashlane has a beautiful, simple and intuitive interface on both mobile and desktop. As with others, it is possible to add your information and cards to be filled in quickly when purchasing, but it goes further: in "wallet", you can also find your receipts! With the card, bank account (Brazilian banks have appeared!) Or PayPal account that you register on it, whenever you use them to buy something, the application stores the purchase receipts, with values ​​and details. Incredible, really.

Unlike most managers, I really liked that it shows the login for a website as soon as we click on a specific field if you have more than one login for that website, all the options appear and you choose right there. And I also found the “standard login” function that allows the app to suggest usernames even if you haven't registered the site with the app yet. Other great features are notifications push that warn when a weak or duplicate password is the “password history” with all those already used on a website.

On negative points, I can say that there is no possibility to add more fields to the sites; notes have categories (for example, “Wi-Fi passwords”), but a large block of text, there are no fields.

EnpassiOS, Android, BlackBerry, Mac, Windows and Linux

Enpass for iOS

If you rarely use password managers on your smartphone, this may be one of the most accessible options, since the desktop version is completely free and the free mobile with a limit of up to 20 logins (afterwards, a paltry price of $ 10 is a single turn).

In design (and even in features), it looks sooo much like (almost a copy of) 1Password which is not a bad thing, on the contrary. Despite this, there are many improvements that 1Password has added lately and that are not present in it (such as the tag system).

When testing, I saw something that I don't know if the app crashes or if it really works like this: I couldn't use the browser extension unless the app is running (and it doesn't stay on the menu bar when we close the app, as with the others). Another aspect that I did not like was that it does not automatically fill in logins and it is not even possible to fill out forms (even though there is an option to register contact information).

Despite this and for its price, it can help a lot those who need a cheaper solution.

LastPassiOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux

Official LastPass image

Definitely one of the most well-known and beloved managers in LastPass today and there are some reasons for that. With the excess of oneSafe, everyone I tested shows whether the password is strong or weak and whether it has been used on another site, but none has a notification system as good as this one.

With the help of the extensive browsers, LastPass shows the number of logins saved for that site; when the icon turns yellow, we click on it and a message appears that the password is duplicated or that password is weak, then asks if you want to modify it. Filling out his form is also excellent because it is possible to create a contact and within it have all the information you possibly would fill in such as name, birth, address, credit card, telephone, bank, etc.

In it, it also has an option similar to that of "Safe" from 1Password which is called "identities". You can create different identities which will store different passwords (in order to separate, perhaps, personnel work) but this feature is only enabled by the website.

Something that bothered me a little was the iOS interface, which seemed a little messy, full of tabs like a walking browser. One thing I also didn't understand was why opening tabs whenever we added a new password couldn't be a popup like all the others? It is also not possible to add new fields to the sites, just notes. Oh, and the main settings are not on the Mac app, but on their own website. Apart from these little things, it really is a very good option and has a great price and worthy of its features.

oneSafeiOS, Android, Mac and Windows (beta)

oneSafe on multiple platforms

With a very modern and colorful design, its interface is filled with cards (one for each login), credit cards, contacts and several other types available in very well made models.

The application has several features that only it has, for example, a "Decoy Safe" (“False Vault”) that allows you to activate a totally false password and vault in order to trick anyone who wants to enter your account. The "Safe sharing" that allows you to send the details to someone (who also has oneSafe) and they will self-destruct within the time you determine (10 minutes to 1 week). It is also possible to scan cards and save photos and videos in your safe, not to mention the various options for creating the master password which can be a PIN number, just symbols, pattern and a normal password with numbers, letters and symbols.

As a negative point, I can say that the price is a bit steep (even more if we combine the mobile and desktop versions). Another point that disappointed me a little was that it only has extension for Safari, it could have at least for Chrome I hope they develop for others soon.

When I tested the auto-fill part, I came across a sinister bug: I registered several passwords as normal and activated automatic login; when I went on a website to simulate a new registration, the extension filled in all fields with a username of a website (which had nothing to do with that one) and was trying to login automatically, over and over again (of course, it always gave an error)! When going through the settings, I saw that I had the option (unchecked) to “fill out forms” and had “beta” written on the side.

The security level that its features present are really unique, but it seems that they still need to run a little to make some features available that others already have, for example, the verification of strong or weak passwords.

Access to Keys (Keychain Access)

Keychain Access

We cannot fail to mention, of course, the native password manager for Macs, iPhones and iPads: Access to Keys. If you have already seen that Safari itself asks you if you would like to save your passwords and, when you return to the site, the fields already fill in automatically, then you have already had contact with the native manager.

On the Mac, there is an application that has a few categories (Passwords, Secure Notes, Certificates and Keys) and it is possible to add new passwords manually as well as create strong passwords. However, there are several reports by the Apple community that users have lost all passwords and cannot be recovered even by iCloud.

It is a fact that other managers are much more robust, well organized and beautiful, but this would definitely be the best way to remain secure (create strong passwords!) without spending anything extra.

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In the mobile version, all solutions allowed the use of Touch ID instead of the master password, but be careful with that, if you do not use the digit password, you may end up forgetting the only password you need to remember (and your life is locked forever)! 😝

If we consider the amount of security and practicality that these managers provide us, their prices are considerably good. But even if you can't / want to choose to pay for someone, take advantage of the free accounts even with your limitations as the most important thing is that you have secure passwords and a reliable place to keep them.