The password manager used to be a “nice thing to own” thing – an assistant player in the online security tools team. Now, using the password manager This is a must if you want to make sure that you properly protect yourself from threats such as data theft and phishing on the Internet.
However, with so many options available, it can be difficult to find the right password manager for you. Some may be easier to use than others, and some may be more technology-oriented. Although password managers usually have very similar basic functionality, the availability of custom functions can vary at different price levels. If you are not sure what is right for you, CNET sections the best password managers is a great place to start.
This list contains the first two password managers Bitwarden and LastPassare two of the industry’s leading leaders in offering perfect, polished password manager options to internet users.
LastPass – perhaps the most popular and widely used password manager – has long held the crown of CNET’s best password manager. However, the company’s decision to limit its free offer in 2021 to just one device type and receive email support from free users, along with a number of security bugs, put it second only to Bitwarden.
However, the quality of the paid level of LastPass is at the highest level. It’s intuitive, easy to use, and packed with tons of useful features like automatic synchronization between devices, dark web monitoring, password generator, and secure notes. However, while LastPass fixes a vulnerability that could leak user credentials, the company Using web trackers in Android app is still worrying.
For comparison, Bitwarden allows you to use its services for free on an unlimited number of devices and device types. Bitwarden’s free level includes basic functionality such as two-factor authentication, unlimited checkout elements, username and password generator, and automatic synchronization between devices. If you pay for a premium plan, you get all of them, as well as advanced two-factor authentication, encrypted text and file sharing, instant access, and priority support. Like LastPass, Bitwarden runs on a zero-knowledge encryption model (companies themselves don’t have access to your master password or anything stored in your cash register) but earn bonus points for being fully open source.
Lastly, both are great choices – but Bitwarden is generally a better choice, especially for its transparency. Let’s take a closer look at how the password manager Bitwarden and LastPass overlap in terms of price, platform availability and security.
Sarah Tew / CNET
You can use Bitwarden’s free step on an unlimited number of devices by device type, which helps it make significant progress in terms of overall price effectiveness in LastPass – even if its free option doesn’t include all the features like LastPass’s free level. is. Bitwarden is a fully open source and highly secure option with zero knowledge of encryption and multifactor authentication. The simple user interface of this password manager is easy to use on all major platforms, as well as in browser extensions including Brave and Tor.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Although not a fully open source, LastPass offers an incredibly polished and feature-rich password manager that is easy to use and as secure as Bitward. However, the fact that LastPass no longer allows unlimited devices and device types on its free ladder is a major drawback, and is largely a reason why the provider has fallen to No. 2 after Bitwarden in CNET’s ranking of the best password managers.
Cost-effectiveness: One mile bitwarden, especially during factoring at unlimited free levels
Bitwarden is undoubtedly more economical than the two. Bitwarden’s fee level is $ 10 per year for a personal account and $ 40 per year for a family account that covers up to six individuals. Premium personal account allows you to share cash items with another user, and with a family plan, six people can share cash items with each other.
LastPass, on the other hand, charges $ 36 per year for an individual account and $ 48 per year for a family plan that includes six accounts.
The difference between the free level of each password manager is where the work is separated more dramatically. As LastPass did more than a year ago, Bitwarden allows you to use its service on an unlimited number of devices, regardless of the platform you use. LastPass took this convenience from its free users in an attempt to push users more aggressively into their paid plans. If you are a free user, you will be able to access your LastPass checkout only on mobile devices or desktops, but you will not be able to access both.
Lack of access on all devices is a big problem, as password managers must be available wherever you are online to be most effective as a security tool.
Rae Hodge of CNET said, “Internet users are forced to completely forget their password managers if they don’t appear immediately and consistently when browsing the Internet between devices.” LastPass and 1Password compare. “As a result, they will most likely keep their growing passwords in the browser, which is a less secure option.”
If you have registered for two separate free accounts using two different email addresses, you can theoretically overcome this restriction. However, this means that you will also have to manage two separate repositories – one for your mobile devices and the other for your desktop computers. This solution is not very practical, as it is a very important functionality to have an automatic synchronization password manager between devices.
One place where LastPass has lost in terms of Bitwarden’s cost-effectiveness is a 30-day free trial, unlike Bitwarden’s seven days.
Availability of the platform: Bitwarden, thanks to a wider range of browser extensions
Both Bitwarden and LastPass offer mobile desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. You can also download Bitwarden from the F-Droid repository.
Both password managers offer different browser extensions, but while LastPass offers extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Safari, Bitwarden also has Vivaldi, Brave, and Tor in addition to all of them. Bitwarden’s Web Vault will also allow you to access the checkout from any browser without the devices you use.
You can use the command line interface of both providers to write and execute scripts on different platforms. Using CLI requires less processing power and can be excellent for automating tasks and creating individual interfaces and integrating password managers for enterprise IT teams into the internal systems of organizations. However, it involves more technical know-how than using a password manager application or browser extension. If you’re a casual user who prefers the ease of use of a standard graphical user interface, then CLI is probably not for you anyway.
Finally, Bitwarden offers you more options than LastPass when it comes to which platforms you want to use the service. While Bitwarden is easy to use on any platform for any user, its wide range, including its Tor expansion, will definitely appeal to customers who pay more attention to technicality and privacy. If you don’t need to log in to your checkout on all of these platforms, LastPass does the job better in terms of platform compatibility.
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Keep your information safe with the password manager
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Security: Bitwarden, because it is more transparent and fully open source
In terms of security, Bitwarden and LastPass are basically on an equal footing. However, Bitwarden has an advantage here because it is more transparent than LastPass. Bitwarden is open source and more open about compliance, audits and certifications. Unlike the five trackers in LastPass’s Android app, Bitwarden has two – it’s not as good as the zero found with 1Password and KeePass, but we prefer more than two out of five. Trackers can be a major privacy issue because even if your passwords and other safe entries are securely encrypted and hidden from third parties, other websites can still track the sites you visit.
Bitwarden is also open source, meaning the code is open online to anyone who wants to check it out. LastPass, on the other hand, is a closed-source property program, which means that it is not openly available for public scrutiny. With LastPass, we don’t know if there are any vulnerabilities or backdoors in the program, unless the company discloses them to the public. However, LastPass’s command line interface is open source, which makes it a proprietary proprietary feature if you choose to use the provider’s CLI.
With both Bitwarden and LastPass, you benefit from zero knowledge encryption along with encrypted file and password sharing, multifactor authentication, and personalized password creation.
Bitwarden’s privacy policy states that it collects personal information such as your name, email address, IP address and information about the device you are using. The Company states that it may use this information to provide its services to you and to share that information with subsidiaries, affiliates and partners “to facilitate our anonymous global operations and in accordance with applicable laws and our agreements with customers or service providers”.
LastPass collects the same categories of information in accordance with its privacy policy and may share the information with “third party service providers under its respective privacy and confidentiality obligations.”
Finally, with both providers, you can be sure that your cash register is safe enough, but Bitwarden is crowned here.