Bitwarden
CE 85 free tierBuyers who want the source code open and the bill at the bottom of the market.
Entry plan$1.65 / seat
× 6 seats$9.90
Against your $18 ceiling−$8.10
Team cost$9.90 / mo
Verified
Reviewed by
Oleh Kem
Oleh KemPlans checked27 / 5 vendors
“Contact sales”2/27
Median entry$3.37/mo
Entry range$1.65-4.99
Free tier3/5
Leader93 1Password
Password managers compared: pricing, dark web monitoring and health
Monthly and annual prices for 5 password managers, every tier taken from the price list each vendor publishes and re-checked July 29, 2026. What sets your 2026 bill is less the seat price than the count of people it covers, so the cap sits next to the cost on each card.
What does a password manager cost for one person, a family, and a team?
Free tiers exist here, 3 in all, though only one covers every device you own. Paid solo seats run from $1.65 a month up to $4.99 across the five vaults, midpoint $3.37, verified July 29, 2026. Fill a family plan to its cap and the cost per head drops under a dollar on four of the five.
- Nobody here is expensive by the standards of business software. The cheapest seat runs $1.65, the dearest entry plan $4.99, and the middle vendor sits at $3.37, all re-checked July 29, 2026.
- No two free tiers here are the same product. Bitwarden's Free plan syncs every device and caps nothing on passwords. NordPass Free allows a single active session. LastPass Free covers one device type, so the phone and the laptop cannot share a vault.
- Family caps run from five people to ten and the fee stays flat whatever the cap. Do that division before you compare seat prices. Four of the family plans cost less than half the cheapest solo seat per head, and 1Password's Families plan sits level with it rather than under it.
- Teams sell in blocks before they sell in seats. NordPass ships Teams as a ten-user pack and keeps a five-seat minimum on Business. 1Password bundles ten people into a single fee, and everyone after the tenth is charged per seat on top.
- LastPass and Dashlane never print a rate you can settle monthly. Both quote by the month and charge once a year, and Bitwarden's business tiers work the same way. Two plans in this category carry no figure at all, out of 27 we opened.
Ranked by a transparency score: pricing transparency 60%, user satisfaction 40%. Capability is not scored. It is the condition grid below. Prices are read from vendor pricing pages and re-checked per product on the dates shown. ComparEdge sells no password managers and takes no payment for placement. How the score is built.
01 / 07
Password managers ranked: dark web monitoring and password health
Two questions live in this console: what a vault can do, and what it charges. These products agree on nearly everything a buyer checks first. The generator, the sync, the autofill and the biometric login are off the board, because a condition every row wins tells you nothing. Dark web monitoring and a password health audit are where the record still divides. A blank square means we have no listing for it, not that the product is incapable.
Sorted by transparency scorePriced tiers 25 / 27Full disclosure 3 / 5
How to read this table
Reading the console
Money runs left to right on a logarithmic axis that begins at $1.65, the least anyone here charges for a seat, so a marker sitting further right really is dearer. Ticks price a person or a seat. Diamonds price an account: one flat fee, six people or one, which is how every family plan bills. LastPass and Dashlane never quote a month-to-month rate. Their markers are struck from the yearly figure instead, and Bitwarden's two business tiers work the same way. A filled square is a capability we could confirm. A blank one is silence in our data, nothing stronger. Slide the lens to a ceiling you name and the board keeps only the vendors under it.
- Price axis
- One shared logarithmic axis, $1.65 to $24.95. A tick further right is genuinely dearer. The tall tick is the cheapest paid tier.
- Diamond
- A flat platform fee, billed per month, not per seat.
- Granted
- Listed on the vendor’s own pages on the verify date.
- Conditional
- Present, but some tiers carry no published price.
- Not on the record
- Absent from the recorded feature set. It means unlisted, not incapable.
011PasswordNo free tierAll tiers pricedDark web monitoring not on the recordPassword health listed$4.99/u93Alternatives to 1Password
02LastPassFree tierAll tiers pricedDark web monitoring listedPassword health listed$3.37/u90Alternatives to LastPass
03NordPassFree tierAll tiers pricedDark web monitoring listedPassword health listed$1.99/u89Alternatives to NordPass
04BitwardenFree tier1 of 6 tiers unpricedDark web monitoring not on the recordPassword health not on the record$1.65/u85Alternatives to Bitwarden
05DashlaneNo free tier1 of 5 tiers unpricedDark web monitoring listedPassword health listed$4/u78Alternatives to Dashlane
GrantedSome tiers sealedNot on the recordCheapest paid seatFlat account fee, not per seatScore ranks pricing transparency and user ratings, not capability. Capability is the grid.
5 vendorsMedian entry $3.37Coverage span 2 → 0 of twoSealed tiers 2 / 27
Scroll the console sideways to reach the remaining conditions.
02 / 07
Shortlist a password manager by household or team size and cost
The shortlist ranks by what the plan actually costs your team, not by list price. Flat plans are folded into a per-team number so they compare like for like. Only vendors rated 85 and up are eligible.
Seats
6
Budget / seat
For 6 seats at $3 per seat, start with these
Ranked by monthly team cost, vendors rated 85 and up · Your ceiling for this team: $18 / mo
NordPass
CE 89 free tierSmall businesses that buy a block of seats rather than negotiate a contract.
Entry plan$1.99 / seat
× 6 seats$11.94
Against your $18 ceiling−$6.06
Team cost$11.94 / mo
Not sure what to weigh? Five questions narrow it faster than the grid.Answer 5 questions
03 / 07
Every manager's plans, verdicts and the date we checked each price
The running order is the score we build, not a verdict on quality. A cheap open-source vault outranks a polished suite when it prints every figure and the suite holds one back. Read two things on each card before the price: the cap on the plan, and the unit underneath it.
Transparency scorePricing transparency 60%User satisfaction 40%
Households that stop at five people, and buyers who want the vault's own extras rather than a bundle of other products. 1Password puts Travel Mode and its developer tools on the Individual plan, and it is one of two vaults on this page that charge from the first day.
Critical gapThe browser extension exhibits inconsistent performance and frequent autofill latency issues.
Plan table and expert take
1Password: expert take
The annual rate that makes 1Password look affordable is a first-year promotion on Individual and Families, so the second year lands higher. The Teams Starter Pack carries ten people on one fee, and everyone after the tenth is billed per seat.
Where 1Password holds up
- Travel Mode temporarily removes vaults from devices for border crossings.
- Secret Key adds a unique 34-character layer of security on top of your master password.
- Watchtower provides advanced breach monitoring and security health checks.
- Seamless integration with privacy.com for creating virtual payment cards.
- Developer-friendly tools including a CLI and SSH agent.
4.7CE scoreG2 4.6 · 1,787 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2006Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $4.99 | $2.99 |
| Families | $7.99 | $4.49 |
| Teams Starter Pack | $24.95 | $19.95 |
| Business | $9.99 | $7.99 |
Teams under fifty seats that want an admin console without an enterprise contract, and beginners who live in one browser. LastPass caps Teams at fifty users, while the free version stops at one device type, so the phone and the laptop stay separate.
Plan table and expert take
LastPass: expert take
Every LastPass tier is quoted by the month and charged by the year, which is why the monthly column reads empty rather than hidden. SaaS monitoring and unlimited SSO apps wait two rungs above Teams, on Business Max at $8.84.
Where LastPass holds up
- Excellent cross-platform and browser extension support
- Simple, intuitive interface ideal for beginners
- Secure password sharing for individuals and families
- Emergency access feature for trusted contacts
- Robust password generator and security dashboard
4.5CE scoreG2 4.4 · 2,007 reviewsCapterra 4.6Founded 2008Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Premium | Not published | $3.37 |
| Families | Not published | $4.53 |
| Teams | Not published | $5.13 |
| Business | Not published | $7.54 |
| Business Max | Not published | $8.84 |
Small businesses that buy a block of seats rather than negotiate a contract. NordPass holds Business to a five-seat minimum, and a free account there covers one session at a time, which makes paying less optional than it looks.
Critical gapThe software exhibits inconsistent autofill performance when interacting with complex web forms and legacy authentication portals.
Plan table and expert take
NordPass: expert take
NordPass prices commitment as much as capacity: the month is list price, a year takes a chunk off, two years more. Teams sells only as a ten-user pack, so even the smallest team order is a block of ten.
Where NordPass holds up
- Uses modern XChaCha20 encryption, a more future-proof algorithm
- Password Health tool identifies weak, old, or breached passwords
- Data Breach Scanner actively monitors for your leaked credentials
- Offers secure password sharing with trusted contacts via NordPass
- Passkeys support for faster, phishing-resistant logins
4.6CE scoreG2 4.5 · 642 reviewsCapterra 4.4Founded 2019Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Premium | $1.99 | $1.49 |
| Family | $3.69 | $2.79 |
| Teams | $2.49 | $1.99 |
| Business | $5.99 | $3.99 |
| Enterprise | $7.99 | $5.99 |
Buyers who want the source code open and the bill at the bottom of the market. Bitwarden gives away a vault with no device limit on it, which is why plenty of people never reach the paid step at all.
Critical gapThe software presents a steep initial learning curve for new users.
Plan table and expert take
Bitwarden: expert take
The ladder splits at the segment tab: personal plans are flat fees, business tiers are quoted per user with only an annual rate showing. Self-hosting is free for personal use, but a company that wants it needs the Enterprise organizations tier at $6.
Where Bitwarden holds up
- Fully open-source codebase builds trust and allows for security audits.
- Extremely generous free tier with unlimited passwords and devices.
- Self-hosting option provides complete data control and sovereignty.
- Broad cross-platform support, including extensive browser extensions.
- Advanced 2FA options available even on the free plan.
4.8CE scoreG2 4.7 · 975 reviewsCapterra 4.8Founded 2016Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Premium | $1.65 | $1.65 |
| Families | $3.99 | $3.99 |
| Teams organizations | Not published | $4 |
| Enterprise organizations | Not published | $6 |
| Enterprise (large org) | Contact sales | |
Large households, up to ten people on one subscription, which is the widest family cap in this group. Dashlane's Friends & Family gives every member the vault and keeps the bundled VPN for whoever manages the plan.
Critical gapThe browser-only desktop architecture mandates active internet connectivity and prevents native offline application support.
Plan table and expert take
Dashlane: expert take
The free tier is gone and no consumer plan shows a month-to-month price. The business line is two modules rather than two tiers: OMNIX Credential Protection at $4 per user, OMNIX Password Management at $8, sold as different jobs.
Where Dashlane holds up
- Built-in VPN for secure browsing on public Wi-Fi.
- Live dark web monitoring alerts you to breached credentials.
- Intuitive one-click password changer for supported sites.
- Secure file storage (1GB) for sensitive documents.
- Excellent auto-fill and password capture capabilities.
4.6CE scoreG2 4.5 · 625 reviewsCapterra 4.5Founded 2012Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | Not published | $4.99 |
| Friends & Family | Not published | $7.49 |
| OMNIX Credential Protection | Not published | $4 |
| OMNIX Password Management | Not published | $8 |
| OMNIX Enterprise | Contact sales | |
04 / 07
Compare any two password managers: plans, seats and our score
vs
What the records say
LastPass starts cheaper: $3.37 / seat against $4.99 from 1Password, $1.62 apart at the door.
For 6 seats, LastPass bills $20.22 / mo and 1Password bills $29.94 / mo, $9.72 / mo between them.
LastPass carries 2 of the 2 capability columns on the record; 1Password shows 1.
Users side with 1Password: 4.6 on G2 against 4.4 for LastPass.
LastPass runs a free tier to start on; 1Password does not.
Both publish every tier they sell.
Pick 1Password for: Households that stop at five people, and buyers who want the vault's own extras rather than a bundle of other products.
Pick LastPass for: Teams under fifty seats that want an admin console without an enterprise contract, and beginners who live in one browser.
1Password
CE 93 · G2 4.6Published plans, US$/mo
Individual$4.99
Families$7.99
Business$9.99
Team of 6$29.94 / mo
Verified July 8, 2026
LastPass
CE 90 · G2 4.4Published plans, US$/mo
FreeFree
FamiliesNot published
Business MaxNot published
Team of 6$20.22 / mo
Verified July 8, 2026
Both price lists on the category axis
1Password
LastPass
Where they differ
Only 1Password has on the record
—
Only LastPass has on the record
- $0 tier
- Dark web monitoring
05 / 07
Password manager questions: family cost, ten people, free against paid
What do families actually pay for a password manager?
Less per head than anybody paying alone. A family plan buys one flat fee with a set headcount under it: Bitwarden's Families plan at $3.99 a month covers six, and Dashlane's Friends & Family covers ten. Split either one to its cap and the cost per person lands under a dollar a month. The cap is the constraint, not the price.
What is the bill for ten people on one password manager?
Ten is the number this market prices around. NordPass sells Teams only as a ten-user pack, so ten is also the smallest order it will take. 1Password holds ten people on one flat Teams Starter Pack fee, $24.95 a month, less if you pay for the year. Bitwarden quotes its Teams organizations tier per user and bills annually, so ten people means ten seats and no pack rate.
Should you pay for a password manager by the year?
With LastPass and Dashlane there is no choice: both bill every consumer tier annually and quote you the monthly equivalent. Where a choice exists it is worth money. NordPass discounts a one-year term and discounts a two-year term further. On 1Password the annual rates for Individual and Families are a first-year promotion for new customers, so year two costs more.
Is a free password manager enough?
For one person on their own devices, often yes, though only one free tier here behaves that way. Bitwarden is the exception: its Free plan has no device limit and no password limit. NordPass keeps its free users to one active session, and LastPass Free covers a single device type, which means the phone or the laptop, not both. Covering a second person is where the paid plan starts.
Why not just use the password manager built into your browser?
For one browser on one account it is free and it works. What the vendors here sell against that is portability and control. One vault across every operating system you use. Sharing built for a household of six or ten, and emergency access for someone you nominate. An admin console arrives once the household turns into a payroll.
Which password manager is cheapest, and does that survive a second person?
Bitwarden's Premium seat at $1.65 a month sets the floor here, with NordPass Premium just above it at $1.99 on the monthly term. Add people and the order moves. NordPass Family and Bitwarden Families each cover six people for one flat fee, and per head both land well under either seat price.
Why is 1Password more expensive than Bitwarden?
They sell different shapes, not different feature lists. 1Password offers no free tier at any point, and its cheapest way in is the Individual plan at $4.99 a month. Bitwarden gives the vault away and sets the floor of the paid market. Neither plan card shows a capability the cheaper vault lacks. What the premium buys is packaging: flat packs with caps, and onboarding support sold alongside them.
Why does the cheapest Dashlane seat belong to a business plan?
Because the business side is priced as modules rather than as a bigger version of the consumer plan. Dashlane's OMNIX Credential Protection runs $4 per user, under its own consumer tier, and it goes through a salesperson instead of a checkout. That is why our axis plots Dashlane below its own household price. Read the segment tab first, then the number.
At what plan do these vaults include SSO?
Business tiers only, at different rungs. NordPass puts Google Workspace SSO on Teams and keeps Entra ID, ADFS and Okta for Enterprise. Bitwarden folds it into Enterprise organizations at $6 per user. LastPass sells unlimited SSO apps on Business Max at $8.84. Dashlane pairs SSO with SCIM in OMNIX Password Management at $8, and 1Password lists a basic integration on its Teams Starter Pack.
Which of these has never been breached?
Not something this page decides. We score published pricing and user ratings; incident history is not in the number, and we make no ruling on it. All five describe the same zero-knowledge design, where the vault is encrypted before it reaches the provider. Read the audit and certification pages each vendor publishes, and read them before the price.
The cheapest password manager is rarely the cheapest household
The entry figure here covers exactly one person. A household or a team buys something else: a flat fee with a ceiling written into it, five seats on one plan and ten on another, and nothing refunded for the seats nobody uses. Work out the cost per head before you set two seat prices against each other. The ceiling moves that number further than the price does.
Caps and families do not line up neatly. Five is generous for a couple and tight for a house with grandparents in it, and the plan that fits today is the one you outgrow at the next birthday. Count the people first. The tier that fits is usually one step along from the one you thought you needed.
Every vault does the same job, so the money buys the plan shape
Read the capability grid and this market looks solved. The generator, the sync, the autofill, the breach alerts: all of it sits on nearly every product here, at every price. That is the reason the score ranks how straight the pricing is rather than which product carries more features.
A cheap seat and an expensive one differ in the shape of the plan around them. Who is allowed on it, how many of them, on what term, and which extras reach the other members instead of stopping with whoever pays. Dashlane bundles a VPN and hands it to the plan manager alone. Lines like that decide what a household really pays, and not one of them appears in the headline figure.
The verdict on password managersSigned review · Updated
Start by asking whether you need to pay at all. Real free tiers exist in this market, and for one person with modest needs they finish the job. The question that follows is not which vault is best. It is how many people sit behind the subscription.
That is where the money moves. A filled family plan drops the cost per person far below any solo seat, and a team plan is usually sold as a block rather than a headcount. Count the people first and the features second. Our number reflects how much of the real price a vendor prints, renewal included. It says nothing about how good the vault is to use.
MethodWe read 27 plans across five vendors, personal tiers and business blocks alike, and dated every figure .
DisclosureCollection is tool-assisted; every verdict is written and signed by a human analyst.
06 / 07
Not sure which? Answer one, take a shortlist.Pick the line that sounds like your team. Each one opens the vendor built for it.
Households that stop at five people, and buyers who want the vault's own extras rather than a bundle of other products1PasswordTeams under fifty seats that want an admin console without an enterprise contract, and beginners who live in one browserLastPassSmall businesses that buy a block of seats rather than negotiate a contractNordPassBuyers who want the source code open and the bill at the bottom of the marketBitwardenLarge households, up to ten people on one subscription, which is the widest family cap in this groupDashlaneStill weighing it? Answer 5 questions, take a shortlist.
07 / 07
Read next: cost guides for password managers, plus related categories
How this review is made. Prices are read from vendor pricing pages and re-checked on the dates shown against each product. Condition columns reflect the feature set recorded on the vendor’s own pages on that date. ComparEdge sells no password managers and takes no vendor payment for placement. Where a vendor publishes nothing, this page says so rather than estimating. Ranking is by transparency score: pricing transparency 60%, user satisfaction 40%. What a product can do is shown in the condition columns and carries no weight in the number.