The Best Free Password Managers for 2023

Forgetting your password for an important website can send you down the rabbit hole of figuring out the password reset procedure, often just when you’re in a hurry. It’s wildly tempting to reset it to something so simple you won’t forget it or to memorize just one tricky password and use it everywhere. However, both strategies set you up for failure. For instance, a hacker can easily guess or brute-force a simple password. A data breach can expose whatever complex password you create, too, thus potentially compromising each account using it.

The only solution is to use a different password for every account and make them long and random. I know there’s no way you can remember dozens of strong passwords. In fact, the average US internet user is locked out of 10 accounts per month. That’s why you absolutely need a password manager.

What Is a Password Manager, and Why Do I Need One?

LogMeOnce Password Management Suite Premium

Best for Abundance of Password Management Features

Bottom Line:

The free, skillfully redesigned LogMeOnce Password Management Suite Premium boasts more features than any competitor, free or paid. But do you need all of those features?

PROS

• Syncs across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
• Many options for authentication.
• Secure Wallet fills credit card data, displays card images.
• New, streamlined interface.
• Vast number of features, many of them unique.

CONS

• SMS-based two-factor authentication costs money.
• Vast number of features may overwhelm users.
• Displays advertisements.

Bitwarden

Best for Open-Source Password Management

Bottom Line:

The open-source Bitwarden’s free tier handles all expected password manager tasks with surprisingly few limitations. Its paid tier adds security and storage tools at an extremely low price for the category.

PROS

• Offers apps for all popular platforms and browsers
• Free tier and inexpensive paid plan
• Supports multi-factor authentication
• Send sharing feature is effective
• Open-source

CONS

• Some struggles with automatic capture and autofilling in testing
• Multi-factor authentication via hardware keys limited to paid users
• Premium users only get 1GB encrypted storage by default

WWPass PassHub

Best for Security-First Password Management

Bottom Line:

The unusual cloud-based WWPass PassHub works on any platform and is very secure, but it doesn’t automatically capture or replay passwords. It’s a good password manager for those who value security over convenience.

PROS

• Highly secure.
• Uses smartphone for authentication.
• Flexible secure sharing.
• Works on any platform.
• Free.

CONS

• No automated password capture or replay.
• Limited import ability.
• No report on weak or duplicate passwords.
• No web form filling.

NordPass

Best for Managing Passwords on a Single Device

Bottom Line:

Password management is easy but pricey with NordPass, which is especially attractive for use in business settings.

PROS

• Supports secure credential sharing
• Supports multi-factor authentication via app and security key
• Mandatory multi-factor authentication option for business accounts
• Data breach scanner and actionable password health report
• Audited

CONS

• Pricier than competition
• Free version cannot be used on multiple devices simultaneously

Norton Password Manager

Best for Extra Web Protections

Bottom Line:

Norton Password Manager is an easy-to-use, free solution for popular browsers and mobile devices that lacks the features and slick appearance found in premium password managers.

PROS

• Fast setup process
• Safety Dashboard evaluates credential strength
• Unlimited password storage
• Cross-platform syncing
• Free

CONS

• No secure credential sharing
• No password inheritance options
• Minimal import functions
• Few form filling options for desktop users
• Limited multi-factor authentication options for desktop users

Avira Password Manager

Best for Simple Password Storage

Bottom Line:

Avira Password Manager performs the basics of password management on all your devices, but it doesn’t offer form-filling, secure sharing, and other advanced features in the best competitors.

PROS

• Syncs passwords across all your Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Free.

CONS

• Doesn’t fill web forms.
• Lacks secure sharing, digital inheritance.
• Security status details require upgrade to paid edition.

Enpass Password Manager

Best for Syncing Passwords Using Personal Cloud Storage

Bottom Line:

Enpass Password Manager can sync your passwords without uploading them to the cloud and handles the basics, but it doesn’t support many multi-factor authentication methods and offers unsecured sharing options.

PROS

• Free for desktop users
• Syncing options don’t require you to upload your data to company servers
• Excellent vault organization features

CONS

• Limited multi-factor authentication choices
• Cross-device syncing isn’t seamless
• Offers an unsecured sharing option
• Very limited free tier for mobile users

KeePass

Best for DIY Password Management

Bottom Line:

KeePass is a free, open-source password manager that lets you add the features you want from a library of plug-ins, but its interface is outdated and it may be too complicated for beginners.

PROS

• Can set password update reminders
• Stores password history
• Strong security settings
• Local credential storage
• Highly customizable using plug-ins

CONS

• Cannot automatically capture credentials
• Setup is not user friendly
• Unattractive, outdated interface
• Default generated passwords do not contain special characters
• Auto-Type did not handle multipage logins in testing
• No mobile support

Buying Guide: The Best Free Password Managers for 2023

What’s that, you say? You can’t afford to buy yet another security tool? In truth, you can’t afford not to. The potential hit, financial and otherwise, that could result from using weak passwords could cost you plenty. Never fear. Quite a few password managers offer free tiers for their popular services.

When you put all your passwords into one repository, you’d better be extremely careful to protect that repository. That’s where your master password comes in. This password is used to encrypt the contents of your password vault, so it needs to be as strong as possible. On the flip side, it is unlikely you can recover it. Store your master password in a secure place or risk permanently losing access to your password manager.

Setting up multi-factor authentication is another way to mitigate the risk of possible attacks. Multi-factor authentication could be biometric, requiring a fingerprint, facial recognition, or even voice recognition. Some password managers rely on mobile authenticator apps; others use SMS-based methods or hardware security keys to authenticate. Allowing access only from registered, trusted devices is yet another form of multi-factor authentication.

How Your Password Was Stolen

What Do Free Password Managers Do?

For most people, getting started means installing a password manager’s extension on your browser of choice. The best password managers need only the extension, so they can operate on any platform that supports the browser, but you will find some require a desktop component.

When you log in to a secure site, the password manager captures the username and password and saves them to your vault. The best password managers capture your credentials during account creation, and when you change your password online, they offer to update the stored password for that site.

It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure Online

When you revisit a site, most password managers can automatically fill in the saved data. If you have more than one set of credentials, you can choose which one to fill. Another handy (and common) feature of most of these browser extensions is that clicking an entry directly navigates to the site and logs in.

Many of us are just as likely to log into a secure site from a mobile device as from a desktop computer, so it’s vital to find a password manager that syncs your credentials between all your devices. Most password managers use encrypted cloud storage to sync between devices. Some keep your data entirely local, syncing between databases on different devices without keeping anything in the cloud. The real benefit of having your password manager on your phone is that you can use it to autofill credentials for any mobile apps you use.

One great thing about free password managers is that you can try several and find out which one you like best. If you’re thinking of making such a survey, look for products that can import from other password managers. Otherwise, you have to go through the password capture process again for each candidate.

Simple Tricks to Remember Insanely Secure Passwords

What Else Can Password Managers Do?

The point of adding a password manager to your security arsenal is to replace your weak and duplicate passwords with strong, unguessable passwords. But where do you get those strong passwords? Most password managers can generate strong passwords for you and many let you take control of things like password length, and which character sets to use. The very best ones offer a password strength report that eases the process of identifying and fixing poor passwords.

(Credit: PCMag)

Filling in usernames and passwords automatically isn’t so different from filling in other sorts of data in web forms. Many commercial password managers take advantage of this similarity and thereby streamline the process of filling forms with personal data, such as addresses or payment card details. Some password managers also give you some storage space for secure documents, though the allotted storage is typically not sufficient enough to replace a dedicated cloud storage service.

In addition to using your passwords on multiple devices, you may find you want to share certain logins with other users. Most free password managers do not support secure sharing. Very few let you define an inheritor for your passwords, someone who will receive them in the event of your demise.

Are There Free Editions of Paid Password Managers?

If you’re willing to give up a little something, you can use many for-pay password managers for free. If you see a paid password manager with features you like, check out its conditions. You may be able to get it without paying. For example, some companies let you use all the features of their product for free if you give up syncing across multiple devices. RoboForm is free for use on a single device, with no syncing. Dashlane, too; but it also imposes a limit of 50 passwords for free users and only allows sharing between up to five accounts.

If you fully commit to using a password manager, you’ll quickly run up against these limitations. We don’t include any free password managers in this list that limit the number of passwords you can create or that can’t sync passwords across devices.

What Is the Best Free Password Manager?

Bitwarden is our Editors’ Choice pick for free password management because it has impressive security features and few limitations for free users. If you’re concerned about your online security, you should also read our best antivirus and best VPN roundups.