We’ve combed through the ever-growing list of password managers to pick out the best ones for you.
What is the best password manager?
It’s easy to use phrases you’ll remember as passwords, but that typically makes them less safe. A good password is a complicated, unique combination of letters, numbers and characters and is hard to remember. That’s exactly why you might want to consider a password manager that will remember all your passwords for you. There are a lot of options out there, so we tested a dozen of the most popular password managers on the market. We’ve evaluated everything from encryption to pricing, features, platform compatibility, privacy policies and company history to make picking the best password manager easier for you.
Based on that rigorous testing, Bitwarden is currently CNET’s top pick for the best password manager, thanks in part to its commitment to transparency and its unbeatable free tier.Start videoLarge play-pause togglePlay pause
Best overall password manager
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.
Bitwarden scores points for being fully open-source, secure and audited annually by third-party cybersecurity firms, giving it a level of transparency that sets it apart from its peers. Meanwhile, its free plan lets you store an unlimited number of passwords and use it across an unlimited number of devices, which is unique for the industry. That’s in addition to many top-tier features like secure password sharing, encrypted vault export, and a username and password generator.
For those willing to pay for a premium plan, Bitwarden’s offers full vault health reports, 1GB file storage, emergency access (where you can designate a trusted contact to access your vault in case of an emergency), Bitwarden authenticator and advanced multifactor authentication with YubiKey, FIDO2 and Duo. Premium plans are budget-friendly at $10 per year for individuals and $40 per year for families, which allows for up to six users.
Best password manager for offline vault access
Like other top password managers, Keeper lets you store and sync an unlimited number of vault items across an unlimited number of devices. But the number of platforms you can use the service on is a little more limited than most other password managers.
Another great feature is its “offline mode,” which allows you to access your vault items even if you’re somewhere with zero or limited internet access.