Free Alternatives to 1Password

Do you know the old expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, sometimes IT companies ignore this wisdom, and in their efforts to improve something they actually make it worse. Unfortunately, the latest example of this appears to be 1Password.

As you probably know, 1Password is one of the most popular password management software tools on the market. And until now, there were many good reasons for its popularity — especially the local storage password vault capacity, which allowed users to store encrypted website credentials on their local machine.

However, 1Password recently announced that their latest Windows version is heading to the cloud (SaaS), and that means the local storage vault will be a thing of the past. While some users won’t care that much, others will definitely have problems with being forced to store their credentials in a cloud repository that is owned and controlled by a third party. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that there are some great FREE alternatives to 1Password that will allow you to continue storing credentials on your local machine. Here are a few options worth exploring, in alphabetical order:

Dashlane

Dashlane authenticates your machine, which means you only have to input your master password when you wish to decrypt data locally on your computer.

KeePass

KeePass is an open source password manager. You can put all credentials in one local database, which is then locked with a master key or a key file. The databases are secured using AES256 bit encryption.

Roboform

Roboform securely stores all of your credentials, and all you need to unlock them is your master password. There is also a bookmark-style login feature that automatically logs you into preferred websites.

Sticky Password

Sticky Password lets you sync devices over Wi-Fi or local connection, and avoid encrypted data from leaving your network. There are some good features like autofill, form filling, super secured data, two-factor authentication, and more.

Compare Different Solutions

To save you time and help you see which tool is best for your needs (free and paid), check out our comparison of several popular password management solutions.

Note: We’ve heard through the grapevine that 1Password might be reverting back to local storage, but in the meantime you have the above-mentioned alternatives.

As always, please let us know your thoughts by using the comment feature of the blog. You can also visit our forums to get help and submit feature requests, you can find them here.