Introduction

A free password manager sounds like an easy win: no cost, no more reused passwords, one place for every login. The catch is that “free” means very different things from one app to the next — some work on every device you own, others on one device or one device type, and quietly sign you out of the other.

This guide compares the free plans still genuinely free in November 2026, on the limits that change daily life: devices, password caps, sharing, passkeys, recovery, and export. Prices change without notice, so check the vendor’s pricing page first. Starting from scratch? Read How to Create Strong Passwords and Store Them Safely.

How This Comparison Was Checked

This is a public-feature audit, not a hands-on test: limits below were checked against vendor pricing pages as reported in October and November 2026. Free plans change — Dashlane ended its free plan in September 2025, yet older roundups still list it as free. Five questions sit behind every entry: can I use it on my phone and computer at the same time, free? Is there a password cap? Can I share? Does it store passkeys? What if I forget my master password, or want to leave?

Free Plans at a Glance

Manager	Passwords	Devices	Sharing	Passkeys
Bitwarden Free	Unlimited	Unlimited	With one other user	Yes
Proton Pass Free	Unlimited	Unlimited	2 vaults, up to 2 people	Yes
NordPass Free	Unlimited	1 active device	No	Yes
LastPass Free	Unlimited	1 device type (computers or mobile)	One item, one person at a time	Yes
Keeper Free	Up to 10 records	One mobile device, no sync	No	Yes, within the 10-record cap
Apple Passwords	Unlimited on Apple devices	Apple devices; Windows via extension	Shared Groups	Yes
Google Password Manager	Unlimited	Devices on your Google Account	Google family group only	Yes

Not in the free table: Dashlane, whose free plan ended on September 16, 2025, and 1Password, which has no free tier, only a 14-day trial.

Bitwarden Free: The Least Limited Free Plan

Bitwarden Free is the free plan others are measured against: unlimited passwords and devices, passkey management, a password generator, two-step login, encrypted export, and Bitwarden Send, all at no cost and with no time limit, plus sharing through a free two-person organization.

Not free: the built-in authenticator for two-factor codes, file attachments, vault health reports, and emergency access. Those sit in Premium, listed at $19.80 a year as of late October 2026, so free users need a separate authenticator app.

One honest limitation: zero-knowledge encryption means the company cannot reset your master password. Forget it with no emergency access or encrypted backup, and you can lose the vault. Write it down somewhere safe and offline, and turn on two-step login — How to Enable Two-Factor Authentication walks through the setup.

Proton Pass Free: Best for Privacy and Email Aliases

Proton Pass Free matches Bitwarden on the essentials: unlimited logins, notes, and credit cards on unlimited devices, with passkeys on every platform. Its extra is 10 hide-my-email aliases — throwaway addresses that forward to your real inbox.

The limits: two vaults, shareable with up to two people, and a paid built-in authenticator, so free users need a separate authenticator app. Dark web monitoring, attachments, and emergency access are in Pass Plus, listed at $35.88 a year.

Proton Pass documents export as an encrypted ZIP, an unencrypted ZIP, or a CSV, with no plan restriction stated, although export is not available from the mobile apps. Recovery follows the same zero-knowledge rule: Proton cannot reset your master password, and the recovery phrase from signup is the way back in.

NordPass Free: Unlimited Passwords, One Device at a Time

NordPass Free is generous on storage and strict on devices: unlimited passwords, passkeys, secure notes, and credit cards, with autosave, autofill, and a password generator, and no time limit or card required. The catch is that you can only be signed in on one device at a time — open it on your phone, and your laptop session ends.

That makes it a complete manager for someone who genuinely lives on one device, and a frustrating one for anyone who moves between a phone and a computer during a normal day. Sharing, Password Health, breach scanning, email masking, and emergency access are all paid features.

LastPass Free: Unlimited Passwords, One Device Type

LastPass Free gives you unlimited passwords, autofill, a password generator, one-to-one sharing, and basic dark web monitoring at no cost — but free accounts sync across one device type at a time, computers or mobile devices, not both. That is enough if you only ever use one type of device; otherwise Premium, listed at $36 a year, is the way past it.

LastPass deserves one extra note: in 2022, an attacker took backups of customer vaults, and the website addresses saved in vaults were not encrypted. The vault contents themselves were encrypted, but the incident is part of the record.

Keeper Free: A Trial in All but Name

Keeper Free is the most limited plan here: up to 10 passwords or passkeys on one mobile device, with no sync, no sharing, no browser extension, and no web vault. Accounts drop to this tier after the 30-day Keeper Unlimited trial ends. Ten records is not enough for a real digital life; the paid plan, listed at $42.99 a year, is the real product.

Apple Passwords and Google Password Manager: The Built-In Options

If every device you own is Apple, Apple Passwords is already there and free. Built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and later, it stores passwords, passkeys, verification codes, and Wi-Fi passwords, syncs through iCloud Keychain, and supports Shared Groups.

Google Password Manager is the equivalent for Chrome and Android users: saved passwords and passkeys sync to your Google Account, manageable at passwords.google.com, with Password Checkup. Sharing is limited to your Google family group. Both store passkeys, but both are tied to one company’s devices and account — switching between iPhone and Android makes moving logins more work than moving between standalone managers.

Recovery and Export: Check Before You Need Them

Recovery. Bitwarden, Proton Pass, and the other zero-knowledge managers here cannot reset your master password. Some offer emergency access on paid plans, letting a trusted contact request vault access after a waiting period. On a free plan, your recovery plan is you: a written-down master password, a saved recovery code or phrase, and two-step login with its backup codes stored separately.

Export. Before importing hundreds of logins, confirm you can export them again. Bitwarden documents JSON, CSV, and encrypted JSON exports; Proton Pass documents encrypted ZIP, unencrypted ZIP, and CSV exports from desktop and web clients. A plain-text export contains your passwords in readable form, so delete it right after importing it elsewhere.

A Decision Tree: Which Free Manager Fits You?

Work through these questions in order, and stop at the first fit:

• Apple devices only? Start with Apple Passwords. Already installed, free, and handles passkeys and family sharing.
• Live in Chrome and Android? Start with Google Password Manager. Already there, free, and passkey-ready.
• Use a mix of devices? Choose Bitwarden Free: unlimited devices and passwords, sharing with one other person, passkeys included.
• Want to keep your real email private? Choose Proton Pass Free: unlimited devices and logins, plus 10 hide-my-email aliases.
• Genuinely use only one device? NordPass Free is fine — but the day you add a second device, you will need to pay or switch.
• Only need a handful of logins on one phone? Keeper Free holds 10 records, but Bitwarden Free holds unlimited records on the same phone.

There is no single winner, because the right answer depends on your devices.

What to Check Before Switching

Export from your old manager first, and keep a copy until the new vault is verified. Import, then open a dozen logins — email, bank, shopping, social — and confirm they are correct. Turn on two-step login on the manager account itself before importing anything.

Save your master password and recovery phrase or code somewhere offline. Set up passkeys for your most important accounts — email first, then banking — once your vault is settled; Passkeys vs Passwords explains how they work. After a week of daily use, delete the old vault and any plain-text export files. Stay alert for phishing: a manager will not fill your password on a fake lookalike site, which is a useful warning sign if you notice the missing autofill and stop. How to Spot a Phishing Email covers the red flags.

FAQ

Is a free password manager safe to use?

Yes, if it comes from an established manager with end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption — the company cannot read your vault. What “free” does not guarantee is convenience: device, sharing, and recovery limits are where free plans cut corners.

Which free password manager has no device limit?

Bitwarden Free and Proton Pass Free both work on unlimited devices with unlimited passwords, per their pricing pages in November 2026. NordPass Free allows only one active device at a time, LastPass Free only one device type, and Keeper Free only one mobile device.

Do free password managers support passkeys?

Yes. Every free plan in this guide can store passkeys. The difference is whether those passkeys sync to all your devices: on Bitwarden and Proton Pass they do, because the free plan syncs across unlimited devices.

What happens if I forget my master password?

With a zero-knowledge manager, the company cannot reset it. Your options are the recovery phrase or code you saved at setup, emergency access on a paid plan, or an encrypted backup export.

Is Dashlane still free?

No. Dashlane discontinued its free plan on September 16, 2025, and former free users had until September 16, 2026 to export or upgrade. New users get a 14-day trial instead.

Bottom Line

For most people, the best free password manager in November 2026 is Bitwarden Free: unlimited passwords and devices, passkey support, sharing with one other person, and a documented export path, all at no cost. Proton Pass Free is the best alternative if you want hide-my-email aliases and accept a two-vault cap and a paid authenticator. Apple Passwords and Google Password Manager are best if you live entirely inside one ecosystem. What matters more than the brand is the fit: count your devices before you count the features, confirm you can export your data, and save your recovery details somewhere safe.