1Password vs. LastPass: The Best Password Manager Tool for You

Password managers ease your password storage and management processes. This is especially helpful in an era where you can have many digital product accounts spanning multiple devices.

This article compares two of the most popular password managers – 1Password and LastPass. But before that, let’s understand what a password manager is and why we use it.

About Password Managers

Password managers are available whether you are interested in a paid or free version, although the latter may have some limitations. A great one will enhance your login experience and even notify you when your passwords have been compromised.

Above all, it should protect your online life in the digital space. Let’s view two of the best, 1Password and LastPass, each in detail.

Why Use Password Managers?

With the agile development in technology, many growing businesses share logins between users (usually to reduce costs). Software developers and security professionals created password management software to securely share unique, complex passwords.

Sharing passwords through insecure methods, for instance, when written down or stored in spreadsheets or emails, increases the risk of exposure to hackers.

To put this into perspective, the data breach in 2019 in the US cost companies $8.19 million, which could have all been avoided by using password managers. Using a password manager means you no longer have to remember passwords as the software stores them. Additionally, you can use the tools to create new ones, help you fill out login forms, and in other cases, use them for legacy purposes.

Besides password management, you can store critical data like credit card numbers, notes, and ID card numbers. You’ll also enhance your security using a password manager. Most password managers for remote teams have security likened to the one-powering banks.

What is 1Password?

Launched in 2005, 1Password has grown up to 500-plus global professionals. Powered by the belief that everyone should access online safety, the developmental team is building accessible apps using the latest technology encompassed by privacy and security.

At the time of writing, over 100,000 businesses entrust their safety to 1Password. Combining industry-leading security techniques and high-quality software design measures, 1Password empowers you with user-friendly password handling.

Accessible in all operating systems, including Mac, Linux, Windows, and the command line, 1Password is ideal for enterprises. Whether you are on an individual or business plan, 1Password supports mobile applications for Android and iOS, which sync with the desktop version, letting you access your passwords on mobile.

The robust functionality and granular moderation offered by 1Password suit businesses, teams, and enterprises. You may benefit from the family plan if you have a small business. With the business version, you’re entitled to 5GB storage, unlimited password history, activity logging, role-based access, and some level of priority from customer support.

What is LastPass?

LastPass is a security and easy-to-use identity management tool that embraces innovation in the cloud security domain. The LastPass family comprises 800-plus globally employed professionals, 100,000 business accounts, and over 33 million users.

LastPass Business’ design simplifies employee password management and actionable supervision for admins. Availed as a browser extension, LastPass provides a password vault that facilitates accessibility to your applications. LastPass was acknowledged in 2021 as the “password management solution of the year” in the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards Program.

Unlike other password tools, LastPass is cloud-based, meaning you don’t have to worry about installing applications. LastPass is available on Mac, Linux, and Windows, with an extension for popular browsers like Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. These extensions enhance your user experience, but they’re optional.

LastPass comes in multiple versions. You can access the Free, Premium, and Family versions if you’re on small-scale needs, multi-factor authentication (MFA), Teams, and Enterprise for business needs. You can also opt for an identity tier that combines MFA and Enterprise versions.

1Password vs. LastPass

With either of the tools, you can get started in under a few minutes and start a streamlined flow of your password management with improved digital privacy.

Security

Every password manager should have protection measures to secure your password vault. Often, some security mechanisms include two-factor authentications (2FA), zero-knowledge architecture, and end-to-end encryption.

1Password

1Password’s data encryption ensures that no one but you can read your data, including the product developers. Your data is secured through several mechanisms. First, end-to-end encryption secures your data as it transits to AgileBit and back, forbidding attackers from learning anything through interceptions. Next, there’s 256-bit AES encryption that makes it impossible to decrypt your data when submitted to 1Password. Using secure random numbers, all encryption keys are generated cryptographically.

Moreover, your data is protected using a 128-bit secret key when combined with your password as a reinforcement. The software derives keys using PBKDF2 standards to overflow on security, making it tough to guess your password repeatedly; it’d take ages to crack it. Your 1Password account passcode is stored separately from your data, making the overall software secure.

LastPass

LastPass application has been built following the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) to address security. The core components of this approach are manual code reviews, threat modeling, static code analysis, dynamic analysis, and system hardening.

For manual code reviews, developers check the code base for vulnerabilities that may have slipped from automated vulnerability tests. Threat modeling involves developers identifying potential attacks and threat trajectories and using this knowledge to incorporate countermeasures when building software.

With static code analysis, special tools scan software for vulnerabilities and insecure code patterns. The dynamic analysis then follows, where developers monitor the software at runtime. In software hardening, developers configure components to have a minimal attack surface. And lastly, there’s a Bug Bounty Program that encourages external security researchers to find and report vulnerabilities actively. If you identify a security issue, you’re rewarded.

As you can see, both applications have outlined security protocols. But it’s worth mentioning that LastPass had security incidences, including a smurfing attack in 2021 and a data breach in 2022. While user passwords were not leaked, attackers acquired some customer information. 1Password has not had any breaches on its record.

Collaboration

Whether your business is large or small, you want the flexibility of collaboration. In this case, your concern is how employees or teams share and access secrets while remaining in sync. Of course, you’d instead work with tools that eliminate manual workstyle like Excel files which are quickly cluttered yet, still need to be more secure.

1Password

1Password’s fraternization is tactical, using manageable shared vaults. This method allows you to share credentials at the family, team, and even guest levels. Once you have created a vault, it updates all your devices. It means you can edit the vault on either of the devices.

To share a vault with family members, you’ll need to upgrade to 1Password Families. New members will have to accept an invitation before they can access it. Once confirmed, members can instantly access and edit vault items.

When managing access, anyone permitted to log into the vault can view, print, copy, and edit vault items. If you allow a user to become a co-manager of the vault, they can alter its unique properties like name, description, and even vault deletion. Managerial permission is standalone from the viewing and editing permissions.

If you are working with a team or a business, you can use shared vaults or groups to deliver access credentials to all members. By using shared vaults, you can separate the data stored by your company and passcodes for your members. 1Password provides flexibility in creating, organizing, and labeling vaults conveniently for your business workflow.

When working with outsiders, you can use guest accounts to share information with people outside your company. These people include contractors, partners, and consultants. If you’re on the Team’s package, you get five guest accounts and ten for the Business flavor. You can also use collections to create custom vault groups.

LastPass

LastPass tackles collaboration by allowing synchronization that keeps everyone in your team updated with the latest changes, sharing many login credentials as you want, and an oversight where admins can see which accounts are shared; you can revoke passwords when needed.

Using LastPass’s shared folders, you can share credentials securely. If your folder has many people, you can manage folder privilege by tweaking each person’s permissions and content accessory. You can also remove or add new persons into the system and quickly sync changes to shared logins.

Additionally, you have complete control over shared access with oversight and management options to track shared accounts. Customized permissions let you share accounts and adhere to accountability without sharing passwords. Based on a policy-driven approach, you can set predefined rules. The rules are customizable; for instance, all shared passwords must be strong and unique to lock outsiders out.

Administrators are also privileged to maintain control and track individual user activity. This, in turn, allows you to generate report and audit logs tied to time stamps, changes, details of the user accessing the site, and their location.

You can also automate the designation and maintenance of your preset user groups using existing Active Directory Groups (ADGs). When you update the ACGs, the changes are instantly implemented on users’ accounts, including deletion. Moreover, LastPass’ Business for Enterprise integrates with existing technologies across your organization.

Authentication

All digital products need a way to validate that someone is who they claim to be. Authentication systems provide access control by ratifying that your credentials match those in the database or authentication server. As a result, this secures systems, processes, and your enterprise information. A good password manager provides security, but a great one will go the extra mile to protect you from cybercrime through advanced techniques like two-factor authentication (2FA).

1Password

1Password’s validation model follows a procedural approach that begins with two-factor authentication, saving your QR code, and using a one-time password.

But before using 1Password for your authentication, you’ll need to set up 2FA for the website you’re using it on. When integrated with a site, 1Password also auto-fills your username, password, and one-time passcode.

LastPass

LastPass enhances security by implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA iterates on security through mobile push notifications and biometrics validations to secure you from breaches. And when administering MFA for a remote workforce, LastPass avails authentication in a friendly way that improves compliance regulations on access points through password vaults, single sign-in on cloud apps, workstation MFAs, identity providers, and LDAP/RADIUS On-premises Apps.

With LastPass MFA, you can manage all authentication factors from a single admin dashboard, perform user validation using adaptive features based on scenarios, biometric authentication (fingerprint and face), contextual authentication (verify user identity behind the scene using phone location and IP addresses), passwordless login, and simple deployments.

Here’s a summary of the comparison of features of 1Password and LastPass.

Users’ Reviews from Reddit

The Reddit community is full of chats about which of these two tools is the best. We’ve captured the most blazing for you to check out.

➡️ A user is whimsical about 1Password being easy to work with.

➡️ While this review begins with a bias that 1Password is basic, the conversation evolves in the comments. You’ll be thrilled with the insights you can gather about 1Password and LastPass.

➡️ This thread covers 1Password and LastPass but will expose you to different password managers and a thing to know about each.

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve seen how 1Password and LastPass enhance your security, whether on a personal or business level, the battle boils down to picking the right tool for your operations. Ultimately, you want to make a logical choice for your use cases. And it’s all based on your evaluation.

If you’d like simplicity, 1Password is the best option. If you’re seeking precision in authentication and identity management, LastPass would be a good option as it has many options under its multi-factor authentication.

When collaborating with outsiders, LastPass could suit your needs through guest accounts. On the other hand, if you’re seeking to generate log reports about your collaboration activity, LastPass is a great choice; you’ll benefit from administrator rights for activity oversight.

With your newly acquired insights on security, collaboration, and authentication, you can now pick the right tool that suits your needs.

Next, check out the best personal password managers for better online safety.