LastPass vs. Bitwarden
Which password manager is better?
WHILE THE WORLD’S leading technology companies are finally vowing to put an end to passwords by using a smart phonebased PIN, fingerprint, or face unlock (see News, page 10), passwords remain essential for now. Google Chrome and Windows Credential Manager will perform the basics of remembering your passwords and suggesting secure logins, but that quickly becomes a problem if you frequently switch platforms or software. If you use more than one device, as most people do, then a password manager is the answer, as it works across platforms and syncs between devices. The result is that you never have to remember a password again, other than the one you use to access the password manager, of course.
Having had the password manager conversation with friends at dinner parties (yes, we are that person), we can already feel the eye rolls—and we get it. Moving to a password manager and then remembering to use it is a pain at first. But security is such an important part of your digital life that once you make the leap, you’ll soon wonder how you managed without one.
On their most basic level, password managers do exactly what they say on the tin—they store and manage your passwords. But it’s the extra bells and whistles that make them essential. They integrate with browsers like Chrome and operating systems, such as Android and iOS, and automatically fill in login information on sites and apps you’ve used before while suggesting new unique passwords for those you haven’t. They can also be used to store sensitive information beyond just passwords, such as credit cards, ID information, and private notes.
There are plenty of password managers to choose from and, although we only cover two here, we’d also recommend checking out NordPass pr 1Password if you’re in the Nord ecosystem or a Mac user, respectively. Here, we focus on two of the most popular options: LastPass and Bitwarden.
Until last year, LastPass was the de facto choice for many because it was really good and also free. It’s still really good, but sadly no longer free, as LastPass now charges users if they want to access their database on more than one type of device (free users can only do computers, or only do mobile devices), which makes it useless for most. LastPass Premium, which unlocks this feature and adds more features, is $36 per year (equivalent to $3 per month), while Families, which lets you share Premium features between up to six people, is $48 per year ($4 per month).
If a piece of software is well made and/or valuable, then it’s definitely worth paying for, and LastPass is certainly both. But if all you need to do is securely store and access passwords across a variety of devices, Bitwarden will do that for you for free, which makes it an immediate winner for most. To justify paying out for LastPass Premium, you will need to take advantage of its advanced features, which include emergency access plus a security dashboard with dark web patrolling. There’s also 1GB of encrypted file storage, but Sync.com offers that for free.
LastPass’s security dashboard is worth deploying once or twice a year, as it will alert you to any passwords that may have been compromised, or any that are being duplicated across multiple services. Of course, the more you use a password manager, the more unique passwords you should end up creating, and the less duplication becomes an issue, but LastPass can also auto-change passwords on websites such as Facebook
and Amazon just to add another layer of security. Emergency access is another modern-world essential, as it allows you to set access permission for certain contacts either immediately or after a period of time.
This means that, if the worst happens and you’re in an accident or otherwise unable to access important information such as medical records, financial accounts, or anything else that unforeseen circumstances might require, your next of kin can obtain your details instead.
These are great features for LastPass, but the problem is Bitwarden also has equivalents in its premium offering, which is priced at a much more competitive rate. Bitwarden Premium is just $10 a year for an individual who wants emergency access and security reports, rather than the $36 annually for LastPass. Bitwarden Family, which again offers premium features to up to six users, is $40 compared to LastPass’s $48 offering. All of this means that you’re probably better off starting out with Bitwarden, which has a free offering with enough features for most people, while its premium features are cheaper if you need them at a later date.
So, is there any point in going for LastPass? As you’d hope from the premium price, it feels like a more premium product. The main difference is that there’s more granularity to categories, with separate listings for bank accounts and payment cards, whereas Bitwarden only has cards. LastPass also has separate sections for Wi-Fi passwords, addresses, and memberships, basically, any information that you need securing, LastPass will do it. We also preferred LastPass’s security reports, which break down how well you’re doing overall and make it easy to address any potential issues.
Bitwarden, while more basic overall, still has its benefits. If you’re a power user and would prefer to control where Bitwarden stores its information, then you can host it on your own network or server, which is free to do no matter what plan you’re on. Its simplicity also makes it easier to use overall, as you can manually add banking details as a secure note in your banking login details, meaning it’s all in one place. However, we found Bitwarden’s Chrome plugin annoying to use, as it would freeze when typing in search terms, meaning it would miss letters and then not find the correct information.
Ultimately, these are two good password managers that nail the basics while offering some excellent features to justify their premium price tags. LastPass in particular is easy to use, while the organization freaks among you will love having your entire life’s worth of private information to hand in an emergency. Once you have your passport information stored digitally in a secure vault, the idea of having to root around for your physical passport when booking a flight seems archaic.
As it stands though, we recommend you start with Bitwarden, whether you’re new to the password manager game or you already have a password manager you’re paying for without taking advantage of the advanced features. All of these password managers make it easy to export your data from one service to another, although do remember to encrypt the exported CSV or JSON files if possible, and properly delete the local file and your old vault when you’re finished.