UPDATED MAY, 2020
What is a password manager?
A password manager keeps track of all of your usernames and passwords so you don’t have to! You do, however, need to remember a secure password for your password manager in order to access it, but don’t worry, most of them will help you figure out how to create one you will remember.
Why do you need a password manager?
You might be thinking this is overkill, or “I just use the same password everywhere so I won’t forget it.” If that’s you, then STOP right now! Each of your passwords must be unique, or else if someone finds out one of your passwords they will be able to login to other accounts of yours as well. A password manager will alert you if you are using an insecure password and help you generate a new, secure password to change it to. This will take time, but it will be so worth it!
Why do I need it on multiple devices?
Even if you are a “one-computer” kinda person, you may have a tablet or a smartphone that you will use to access some of your accounts. It’s not fun standing in a store trying to bring up that app with your 40% coupon on it only to find out it’s logged you out again! What the heck is my password for that craft store? Oh yeah, it’s in Lastpass – on my phone! Yay! But seriously, this has made my life infinitely more productive – not just in craft stores!
Top 5 with my favorite features outlined
Personal plan prices are per month unless noted | For Businesses, prices are per user per month
Prices are current as of April 2020
- LastPass: FREE plan should work for most, PREMIUM $3, FAMILIES $4, | Business Plans: TEAMS $4, ENTERPRISE $6
- 1Password: INDIVIDUAL $2.99, FAMILIES $4.99, | Business Plans: TEAMS $3.99, BUSINESS $7.99
- Dashlane: FREE plan, PREMIUM $4.99, PREMIUM PLUS $9.99
- Sticky Password: FREE forever plan, PREMIUM $29.99/1 year or $199.99 lifetime allows syncing across devices
- Keeper Password Manager: INDIVIDUAL $2.49/month or $29.99/year FAMILIES $4.99/month or $59.99/year BUSINESS $30/year per user
My favorite perks
- I can use on any device, even my phone (no more having to reset a password I couldn’t remember because I wasn’t at my desk where my locked password file was!)
- I can grant someone access to one of my accounts without having to share my password with them. Need to grant access to your email marketing platform to your VA? No need to hand over your password – just grant them access via LastPass, then even if you change the password, you just update it in LastPass and they still have access, or if you stop working together, you simply remove their access instead of having to change passwords.
- Password security – LastPass will notify me if any of my passwords are insecure or if I have used the same password on more than one website.
Which one is best for me?
This is a personal decision, but don’t fret too much about making the “wrong” decision. If you should decide the one you chose is not the one for you, most password managers will allow you to export your information so that you may import it into your new tool.
Want to read a bit more about online security? Check out this post I wrote 7 Tips for Keeping Your Website Secure
I’ve been using Last Pass and it is a lifesaver for me. I am a “password” moron!
Me too, Susan! Ha! I finally got sick of constantly having to look up or reset my passwords last year and I feel like every time I use LastPass I want to do a little dance! 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing the post. I always forgot my password and always trying to reset it. Can you suggest the best?
Hi Bob and thanks for visiting. I use LastPass and love how easy it is to use. Each time you sign up for something new, if you are logged into LastPass on your browser (I use Chrome) then it will prompt you to see if you want to save the login. That’s it! You can also log into your vault and add logins manually.