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LastPass is a veteran of the password management industry. It is reliable and easy to use. But LastPass’s free plan doesn’t support syncing between devices. If you are looking for a free alternative to LastPass, Bitwarden might be the best option. Here’s why.
Compared to LastPass, Bitwarden is the new kid on the block. While LastPass is flashy, Bitwarden is understated and utilitarian. That said, Bitwarden does a lot of things, from its feature-packed free plan, to its reasonably priced Premium and Home plans, while still providing best-in-class security.
Bitwarden’s free plan offers multi-device support
As of March 16, 2021, LastPass has changed how its free plan works. LastPass Free plan users will no longer have access to cross-device sync support. This means that the passwords will only be available on one device and will not be synchronized between your computer and your mobile clients. To access the cross-sync feature, users will need to upgrade to the LastPass Premium plan at $ 3 / month.
On the other hand, Bitwarden offers support for synchronization between devices and unlimited storage of passwords in the free plan. In fact, it contains almost everything a user needs including strong password generation, secure storage of cards, notes, etc.
Bitwarden is natively available on all platforms
LastPass is a web-first service, and it shows up when you visit its download page. You’ll find extensions for all popular web browsers, but you won’t see a native desktop app (only Android, iPhone, and iPad).
From a security perspective, you should keep your usernames and passwords away from your browser (which could be used by other members of your family). With Bitwarden, you have access to native apps for Windows 10, Mac, and Linux. The Mac app even supports Touch ID. There is also a command line client for advanced users.
Bitwarden has super-fast auto-connect feature
LastPass is designed to be easy to use. You’ll see this when you browse the web client (which has large images and big buttons) and when you try to auto-fill passwords using browser extensions. When available, LastPass will present saved credentials right next to the password fields. It’s super handy for beginners.
Bitwarden, on the other hand, takes a more utilitarian approach. It is designed for businesses and power users. If you want to log into a website with saved passwords, you will need to click on the Bitwarden extension and then select the login from the drop-down list.
But, at the time of writing this article, Bitwarden also has an advanced feature that automatically fills in the saved login data the second you load the login page. This is an experimental feature that you can enable from Settings> Options> Enable autofill when page loads.
Once activated, this little feature leaves behind LastPass’s autofill feature.
Bitwarden is open-source
LastPass and Bitwarden follow industry standard encryption protocols using AES-256 encryption on their servers and during data transfer (which protects you from man-in-the-middle attacks).
The two services do not carry key identifiers. This means that if you lose your master password, there is no way to access your safe. On the other hand, it also means that there is no way for LastPass or Bitwarden to access your data (even if the service is hacked, as LastPass did in 2015).
But Bitwarden has a huge advantage here because the product itself is open-source. This benefits users in two ways. First, it means that third-party security companies can audit the code and make sure Bitwarden is not vulnerable to a hack or an attack. Bitwarden received a clean health check from security firm Cure53 in 2018.
Second, Bitwarden’s open source code helps third parties and communities build additional tools and clients. It also means that if Bitwarden ever goes down, community members can build apps or tools that can still use the Bitwarden database.
Bitwarden’s Premium plan is quite cheap
For most users, Bitwarden’s free plan is sufficient. But if you like to use two-factor authentication from your password manager app (instead of using a stand-alone utility like Google Authenticator), you can generate two-factor authentication codes directly from it. of Bitwarden using his $ 10 / year plan.
RELATED: How to enable two-factor authentication for your Google account with Google Authenticator
Bitwarden Premium also gives you access to 1 GB of encrypted storage space. You can add more storage by paying $ 4 / month for each additional gigabyte.
This is in stark contrast to LastPass Premium, which costs $ 36 / year. It’s the same story whether you are considering family or business projects. Bitwarden’s family account costs $ 40 / year with access to six user profiles. LastPass charges $ 48 / year for their family account.
On the business side, Bitwarden offers a free account for two users, and additional users can be added for $ 3 / month for each new user. LastPass charges $ 4 / month for each user and does not offer a free plan for businesses.
Switching to Bitwarden is pretty straightforward
For most users looking for a free alternative to LastPass, Bitwarden makes the most sense. It offers the same functionality at a cheaper price. Plus, switching from LastPass to Bitwarden couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is export a CSV file from LastPass and import it into Bitwarden.
Are you done with LastPass? Make sure to delete your LastPass account.
RELATED: How to delete your LastPass account
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