Tips & Tricks
Jenny Knafo

As Devolutions’ Product Marketing Specialist my role consist in staying up-to-date with the latest updates made to our software to create weekly technical blogs and tutorial videos to keep our clients informed. I am also in charge of the creation and overall successful organization of marketing events and trade-shows. I’ve worked in a corporate environment for a long time and it is a joy to be back to my roots and working again in the IT world.

Password Vault Manager Compared

Most Popular Password Managers Compared

LastPass vs KeePass vs 1Password vs Dashlane vs Passwordstate

There are a lot of options out there for password manager software, but finding the one that will fulfill your needs can sometimes feel overwhelming and a tad like trying to find a needle in a haystack. To help you find the one that will fit you like a glove, we’ve gathered some of the most popular ones and broken down their features.

A great password manager software should be of great help in your everyday routine by generating, managing and storing all of your passwords for you. It should be able to generate secure passwords rapidly, and save them automatically in an encrypted database.

Some of the features that we look for in a great password manager are security assessments, random-character generation, and automatic login on your favourite websites.

Now let’s start doing some digging and take a closer look at some of the most popular password manager applications. As you all know there are password management software that are more enterprise driven and made for larger teams like Secret Server, AuthAnvil, Lieberman, CyberArk and ManageEngine. However, we have opted for the utmost popular ones according to our RDMers: LastPass, KeePass, 1Password, Dashlane and Passwordstate.


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LastPass is one of the most widely known and widely used password managers.

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  • Convenient Access: With the browser extensions, you can use LastPass with almost any browser available to you. Your login and password information are automatically saved on LastPass’s servers, and are available to you from any computer with the extension installed.
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  • Passwords on the Go: If browsing on your phone or tablet is part of your daily routine, then LastPass might be the perfect fit for you. It is available on Android and iOS, but you also have the options of having it on your Windows Phone or Blackberry.
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  • Password changes: LastPass keeps a database of hacks on the web and will alert you if your accounts have been affected by a breach of another website. Once you have been notified, you can easily and quickly change your password with just a mouse click.
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  • Password audits: LastPass performs an ""audit"" of your passwords, highlighting weak or duplicate passwords, and then helps you create more secure ones. It is a top-tier feature that really makes it easy to test both the quality of your passwords as well as making changes to enhance them.

LastPass is a perfect fit for people who just wish to keep their passwords safe without any headache. It has multiple advanced features that will please most power users, even if you’re only working with the free version.

LastPass also has the largest mobile support of all password managers, with apps on Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry. Between the outstanding browser integration and the great mobile apps, LastPass helps to bring harmony between the user and an easy to manage password management.

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  • Interface: You might found LastPass's interface a little hefty, while they are improving it with the new LastPass 4.0, some users could still take a while to get the hang of it.
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  • Password storage: The software keeps your encrypted passwords in the cloud, which might make some of you uncomfortable, but it will still keep your passwords safe from hackers. LastPass quickly and efficiently notify users if a breach occurs. By enabling the two-factor authentication you will be even more protected from any intrusion.

LastPass is free if you’re only using it on your computer, but the extra features and mobile apps do cost $12/year.

If you wish to use it for your company the price ranges from $18 to $24/user/year, they also do offer site licencing.


KeePass - Password Management
KeePass is incredibly powerful and well supported. It is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way.

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  • Open Source: KeePass gives you full access to its source code. You can easily have a look at its source code and compile it yourself, thus making it easy to verify if the security is properly implemented and, if you wish, use any other encryption algorithm.
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  • Portability: You can carry your KeePass on a USB stick since it doesn’t require any installation on your system. It will even run on Windows systems without being installed.
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  • Mobile apps: The KeePass team doesn’t officially support any mobile apps, but developers have taken the open source code and adapted it for various platforms like iOS, Android and Blackberry, only to mention a few of them.
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  • Plug-in Architecture: One of the strengths of KeePass is the support for multiple plugins since other people can write plugins for KeePass. If you are a DIY'er you can easily extend the functionality of KeePass, providing additional import/export methods for other file format. 

KeePass is the best password manager for the DIYer willing to put in the time to set it up and trade the convenience of cloud-based systems like LastPass for total control and customization of their password system. It is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to keep their data stored on a third-party server.

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  • Hands-on managing: Since there is no official mobile apps there will be some work to do, there is no one easy click setup or installation wizard with the KeePass system.
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  • Missing features: KeePass doesn’t support the security alerts and automatic password changing features of some of the other Password Managers.

KeePass is completely free, although donations are much appreciated to help support the development of the project.


1Password - Password Management

1Password is the best-looking software of them all. It has a Windows app as well as iOS and Android.

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  • Integrated browser extensions: You will need the 1Password desktop app installed, but you can easily integrate it into your browser with different extensions. You can smoothly sync your account across multiple devices.
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  • Advanced Encryption: 1Password will keep your data safe with a strong AES-256 encryption, which protects your sensitive information at all times.
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  • Password audits: 1Password performs an audit of your existing passwords  highlighting weak or duplicate passwords, and then helps you create more secure ones.
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  • 1Password Watchtower: 1Password will send you around-the-clock security alerts for the services and sites that you use.

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  • Operating systems: If you are not using Windows, Mac, iOS or Android, you will be disappointed by their lack of support for the other operating systems.
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  • Two-Factor authentication: We are still surprised by the fact that 1Password does not support the two-factor authentication method, as it is quite a drawback compared to other password managers.

1Password is surely the best-looking password manager out there with a polished browser integration. They are constantly releasing updates and new features, which is always a plus.

1Password offers the 1Password Family package which is a subscription that includes all the apps, free upgrades, web access and sharing for up to 5 people in the same household for $5 per month.

The desktop app single license, meaning having the Mac and Windows licenses, will set you back $69.99 one-time purchased. The iOS app is a $9.99 premium upgrade and the Android app is a $7.99 premium upgrade.

All that said, there is no subscription model for 1Password. So while a desktop and mobile license will set you back around $80, it would still be cheaper than a LastPass or Dashlane license over time.


Dashlane - Password Manager

Dashlane is a beautifully designed and very helpful password manager that is available on multiple devices.

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  • Costly: Dashlane can be expensive if you wish to use features like syncing and web access to passwords.
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  • Email Support: Dashlane could improve their email support, as it is not the fastest or most efficient support at the moment.

Dashlane is packed with multiple features and is incredibly easy to use. It's beautiful and simple interface is perfect for anyone who isn't too computer-friendly.

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  • Automatic login: Dashlane will proceed with the automatic login of all your accounts. Even on complex logins with two steps or three fields, like bank accounts. No clicks or keystrokes are required.
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  • Security Dashboard: Dashlane easily identify dangerously weak or reused passwords that are stored in your password vault, and quickly see what accounts hackers may have compromised with a handy security score screen. Dashlane will alert you if a security breach is recorded.
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  • Emergency Contact: Dashlane allows you to set an emergency contact for your important accounts in case of an urgent and critical matter. This can be utilized at work or for a personal account. Set your emergency contact to one of your coworkers or loved ones so they can temporarily access your account.
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  • Great interface: Dashlane has a very sleek and nice interface that is far more polished then some of its competitors.

Dashlane Free works on one device, Mac or PC. You can share up to 5 logins with other users, although you have no access to your Dashlane passwords online. Dashlane Premium costs $39.99/year and allows unlimited login shares with other users. It works on multiple devices so they will continuously be syncing.


Password State - Password Manager

Passwordstate is a web-based solution for secure passwords management, for both individuals and teams.

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  • Application Programming Interface (API): Passwordstate combines the API into your own applications, putting an end to hard-coded passwords. You may write your own scripts or code to retrieve, update and add passwords to the system, and maintain standard auditing and real-time notifications through-out the process.
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  • Mobile Client Support: Passwordstate mobile client supports iOS, Android, Windows 8 Phone and Blackberry mobile platforms.
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  • Role-Based Access Control: Passwordstate is built on the concept of role-based access. This incorporates access to password information, administering the Passwordstate application.
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  • Real-Time Notifications: Passwordstate has 54 different built-in email notifications. These can be customized or disabled by the Security Administrators of Passwordstate, and each user can specify which email notifications they would like to receive.

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  • Everything has to be done via the web UI: Passwordstate is configured for SSL upfront, but browsers are one of the most visible pieces of software we use everyday. Putting all of our passwords there may not be the most secure idea.
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  • Passwordstate Server password: Make sure never to forger your Passwordstate Server password, seeing that if you ever lose it, all your passwords will be unavailable to you with no other way to retrieve them.

Password state makes everything pretty easy to get to, and with their free license for up to 5 users, it could be a good choice for small companies. Their Enterprise and Global licenses would also please larger companies with all the advantages they offer.

Passwordstate is free for up to 5 users. To have full access including the additional support and upgrades, it will come up to $49/license/user (the price lowers as you add more users).

The Enterprise license is $5,640, and if you wish to have a Global license with all the perks, it will come up to $14,940. They also offer a High Availability Module, which runs as read-only on a failsafe server for $1,707.


Here is a table for a quick overview of some advanced options supported by the different password manager applications.

Password Manager Compare Table


A little side note, Remote Desktop Manager actually integrates all of the above-mentioned password manager solutions for the exception of Dashlane. Our development team is currently working on it and Dashlane will shortly be integrated!

After taking your time in choosing and doing some careful comparison-shopping, all there is left to do, is to pick out the right password manager for you! In the end, what is important once you have chosen one is to stick with that one only as it is the best way to ensure that you are always selecting long, strong, and unique passwords to keep all your data safe.

Have fun shopping!

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