Battle of Password Managers: 1Password vs. LastPass
The dilemma that people will go through when they choose the new password manager. Over time I had numerous doubts about 1Password. I couldn’t get it through my mind, why would I pay for something that I can get for free, well at least partially free. LastPass was my choice for years. And I always had issues of not being able to access it on my mobile devices. Not without compromising my data. Than I pulled the trigger and bought premium, which allowed me to securely access my passwords on my iPhone. Than I realized I started paying for password manager. 12$/a year.
My belief about Lastpass was shaken, because my favorite podcasters never seemed to mention it. And I started to wonder, is LastPass underperforming in comparison to 1Password.
I had to check it. I was bound and determined to see all the pro’s and con’s of both platforms, before making my verdict.
Turns out, that the faith that I’ve put in Lastpass was justified. Guys from Security Now, explained why Lastpass is currently providing the top notch security, but they stated that 1Password is also a good choice. As I consider them them one of the top security experts on the web, their vote made me certain that I am doing the right thing! You can watch more about it here.
But than I started thinking about ownership of my content. Is LastPass’s solution going to keep it’s cloud hosting up in the sky forever? What happens to my passwords if they ran out of work and clients? What happens with my passwords in that case?
With 1Password I have a little bit more of faith. I know that I’ve paid for the app, and not for the service. And I can choose how I will sync my content, as opposed being forced to use a cloud solution. And if I am syncing 1Password database through Dropbox, that adds an additional layer of protection to my database.
So my verdict goes to…
It’s a narrow lead for 1Password. 1Password is taking a better spot, simply because it is offering superb user experience, followed up with security measures that I can “physically own”, so to speak. In terms of security, they are a narrow match.
Financially getting 1Password is up front investment of 50 something $. One time payment. While LastPass is 12$/year. I am pretty convinced that if you would use password manager on your mobile devices, you would use it for enough years to match and go over the investment you’ve made into 1Password.
So in my opinion both of these tools are similarly priced.
Design is an area where 1Password has a big time lead, especially on iOS. While LastPass is browser extension for the most of the time, 1Password is full fledged OS X (Windows) and iOS application. If you’re a fan of beautiful design, you will appreciate the user experience that comes with 1Password.
Is there something where LastPass is better than 1Password?
As a matter of fact there is a collaborative feature which works if another user is also a user of LastPass, so it’s use case is limited only to already existing LastPass users. In recent update 1Password tries to breach that gap, and they allowed password sharing straight from iOS application, and it’s going to be available in the next update of Mac application.
Bottom line is that these apps have a narrow gap in terms of their functionality, price and usability. But areas where 1Password excels are user experience and design, which make it a winner in these battle of password managers. These two areas are extremely important for people who aren’t proficient with computers and phones. If you gave 1Password and LastPass to your grandma, she would certainly find 1Password more intuitive and usable, than the alternative.
Product Links
1Password OS X (30 Days free trial included)
Your turn
Which password manager are you using? Why did you make that choice? Did you try both, or perhaps you’ve tried something else as well? Look forward reading your thoughts in the comments!
