1Password
Password & Security
1Password manages team and personal passwords, with secrets vaulting and zero-trust integrations.
★★★★☆4.4
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ ← All tools 
Best Password Manager Tools 2026: Pricing
Password managers all do the same core job — store and auto-fill passwords — but the differences are in what each tier bundles, whether you can self-host, and how much the first-year promo jumps at renewal. We compared all five tools in our directory (1Password, Bitwarden, NordPass, Dashlane and LastPass) against their official pricing pages (verified 2026-08-31 through 2026-09-09) to figure out who each one is actually for. 1Password has the best overall experience but no free plan — just a 14-day trial — and its $2.99/month annual ($35.88/year) is a first-year promo: the regular price rose in March 2026 to $3.99/month ($47.88/year), with Families at $5.99/month for 5 users. Bitwarden has the best free tier and the open-source option: free gives unlimited passwords and devices, Premium is $19.80/year ($1.65/month), Families $47.88/year, and self-hosting arrives on Enterprise — its team ladder stays under half of LastPass or 1Password at $4/user/month (Teams) and $6/user/month (Enterprise). NordPass is the strongest budget pick: free covers unlimited passwords with autofill, sync and MFA; Premium is $1.59/month on a 2-year plan ($1.89/month on 1-year), Family $2.79/month for 6 vaults, Teams $3.59/user/month, Business $3.99/user/month — but personal plans are annual-only, with no monthly checkout. Dashlane only makes sense if you specifically want the bundled VPN: it discontinued its free tier in September 2025, offers a 30-day trial, and bills Premium at $4.99/month annually ($59.88/year), annual billing only. LastPass keeps a free tier but caps it to ONE device type — computer or mobile, not both — since 2021; Premium is $3/month annually ($36/year), Families $48/year for 6, Teams $4/user/month and Business $7/user/month with SSO. The short answer holds — pick 1Password for the experience, Bitwarden for free and open source, NordPass for budget, and Dashlane only if the VPN is the point.
How we rated
- Overall rating (independent scores)
- Free tier availability
- Cheapest paid plan (annual)
- Open source vs closed security model
1Password
Best overall premium vault★★★★4.4
The top-rated vault (4.4): polish, Watchtower and a family-friendly design at $2.99/mo billed annually ($35.88/yr, verified) — no free plan, but the best premium experience in the class.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day free trial
Paid from: $2.99/mo (Individual; $2.99/mo billed annually ($35.88/yr) is a first-year promo for new customers (regular annual price $3.99/mo); no free plan; 14-day trial (re-checked 2026-09-09: the increase landed in March 2026 — regular Individual now $3.99/mo = $47.88/yr, Families $5.99/mo for 5 users; independent 2026 trackers confirm the old $2.99/$4.49 pair is gone outside first-year promo))
Bitwarden
Best free tier & open-source value★★★★4.3
The open-source champion (4.3): free tier with unlimited passwords and devices (verified), Premium at $19.80/yr, Families $47.88/yr. The value king and the only true free-for-life plan here.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $19.80/yr (Premium; $19.80/yr ($1.65/mo); Families $47.88/yr; free tier = unlimited passwords & devices (re-checked 2026-09-09: Teams $4/user/mo and Enterprise $6/user/mo published — the open-source ladder stays under half of LastPass/1Password at team level; self-hosting on Enterprise))
Bitwarden
Password & Security
Bitwarden is open-source password management across platforms that you can self-host, with a complete free plan.
★★★★☆4.3
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ NordPass
Best budget pick & best value on 2-year plans★★★★4.1
NordPass offers a free forever plan with unlimited passwords, plus Premium from $1.59/mo on a 2-year plan ($1.89/mo 1-year) — roughly 50% cheaper than 1Password at the entry tier. It uses XChaCha20 encryption, has a clean cross-platform UI, and includes data breach scanning and email masking on Premium. The catch: no open-source option, no native monthly billing for personal plans, and the business tier is less mature than 1Password or Bitwarden.
Free tier: Yes · 30-day money-back guarantee on personal plans; 14-day business free trial (no credit card)
Paid from: $1.59/mo (Free plan = unlimited passwords, autosave, autofill, sync, MFA; Premium $1.59/mo (2-yr) / $1.89/mo (1-yr) — data breach scanner, email masking, unlimited sessions; Family $2.79/mo (2-yr) for 6 vaults; Teams $3.59/user/mo annual (fixed 10-user pack); Business $3.99/user/mo annual (5-250 users); monthly billing not available for personal plans)
Dashlane
Best for autofill & modern UI★★★★3.9
The modern autofill-first vault (3.9): Premium at $4.99/mo billed annually ($59.88/yr, verified) — but the free tier was discontinued September 2025, locking in the paid entry price.
Free tier: No — trial only · 30-day trial
Paid from: $4.99/mo (Premium; annual billing only; free tier discontinued Sep 2025)
Dashlane
Password & Security
Dashlane bundles a VPN and dark web monitoring with smooth password management, at a higher price.
★★★★☆3.9
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ LastPass
Most familiar name, hardest trust question★★★★3.5
LastPass (3.5/5) still installs like butter and costs $36/yr Premium (verified) — but its free plan is capped to one device type, and buyers are weighing a 2022 encrypted-vault theft plus a June 2026 vendor breach. Bitwarden is half the price with unlimited devices; 1Password is smoother with a clean record. LastPass remains mainly a stay-if-you-are-there decision.
Free tier: Yes · 30-day premium trials
Paid from: $3/mo (Free: unlimited passwords but ONE device type only (computer OR mobile — post-2021 restriction), dark web monitoring, 1-on-1 sharing; Premium $3/mo billed annually ($36/yr): cross-device, 1GB encrypted file storage, one-to-many sharing, emergency access; Families $4/mo ($48/yr) for 6; Teams $4/user/mo ($48/user/yr) up to 50; Business $7/user/mo ($84/user/yr) with SSO. The live pricing page personalizes its price strings client-side (static HTML ships tokens, not numbers) — ladder cross-verified against three independent 2026 reviews.)
Bottom line
Bottom line: 1Password is the best all-round pick if you want the most polished experience across every platform ($2.99/mo first-year promo). Bitwarden wins if you want open-source code, self-hosting, or the strongest free tier (Premium $1.65/mo). NordPass is the best budget option with a strong free tier and Premium from $1.59/mo on 2-year plans. Dashlane only makes sense if you specifically want the bundled VPN — it is the priciest and discontinued its free tier in 2025.
FAQs
Which password manager is rated best in 2026?
1Password leads at 4.4/5, ahead of Bitwarden at 4.3 and Dashlane at 3.9. The rating gap is small; the free-tier and pricing gaps are the real differentiators.
Which password manager still has a free tier in 2026?
Bitwarden — free with unlimited passwords and devices (verified). 1Password has a 14-day trial only; Dashlane discontinued its free tier in September 2025.
What is the cheapest paid password manager in 2026?
Bitwarden Premium at $19.80/yr (Families $47.88/yr). 1Password is $2.99/mo billed annually ($35.88/yr); Dashlane Premium is $4.99/mo billed annually ($59.88/yr).