LastPass, winner of the Tom's Guide Award for best password manager, continues to dominate the field after more than a decade in business, and it's not hard to see why. LastPass is easy to use, works on almost any device, and, best of all, is absolutely free for most users' purposes.
That's right — for almost anything you would need a password manager for, LastPass's free tier has you covered. You can sync an unlimited number of passwords, private notes and other personal items among all your devices. You'll have access to a password generator, will be able to protect your account with two-factor authentication (2FA) and can share passwords and other items with other LastPass users.
If you need more, LastPass Premium costs $36 per year for individuals, or $48 for families of up to six people. Premium users get priority tech support, advanced 2FA options such as physical security keys, 1GB of encrypted file storage, emergency account access for trusted individuals and the ability to share items with many people at once.
Paying users on Windows also can download the LastPass stand-alone desktop app from the Microsoft Store, but it's limited to 5,000 items and is no longer being actively developed. Apple users, free or paid, can get a stand-alone Mac desktop app.
However, the LastPass browser extensions and the LastPass website interface, which offer an identical user experience, are available to all users and contain all the features you might need.
LastPass does have serious competition. Dashlane lets you reset hundreds of passwords at once, has a user-friendly interface and tosses in an unlimited VPN, but you'll have to pay $60 per year, and Dashlane's free tier is pretty pointless.
Keeper is a no-nonsense password manager that nearly matches LastPass's abilities, and its premium tier is only $30 per year, but its free tier won't sync among your devices. 1Password ($36/year) lets frequent travelers hide passwords and accounts when crossing international borders, but it can't quite match LastPass's features and no longer has a free version.
If you've never used a password manager before, you've got nothing to lose by trying LastPass's free tier. You may never need to use anything else.
