Which password manager is better?

A password manager is the best way to protect all your online accounts and services with strong, unique passwords. This prevents password reuse and weak passwords, both of which increase the risk of brute-force attacks. There are many different password managers to pick from and deciding can be hard. In this guide, we battled NordPass vs LastPass to find the best service.

A password manager significantly improves your password security. A secure password should be at least 15 characters long and include random characters, numbers, and symbols. This makes a secure password almost impossible to commit to memory. Now imagine doing that for 20 different accounts!

In this password manager comparison, we’ve analyzed security, features, autofill, multi-factor authentication (MFA), customer support, and pricing. You can use the results of our meticulous tests to choose the best password manager for your needs.

Keep reading to learn how best to optimize your password security.

What is a password manager?

A password manager is a tool that allows you to generate, store, and access a database of encrypted passwords. The benefit of a password manager is that you can set extremely secure passwords for each account. The password manager will then autofill those passwords on your behalf whenever you need to log in.

When you use a password manager, you no longer need to remember dozens of passwords. Instead, you only need to remember one strong password, which is the key to your vault. Remembering one robust password to access dozens of unique passwords makes life much easier and massively improves your protection against hackers.

What is NordPass?

NordPass is a password manager created by Nord Security, the makers of NordVPN and NordLocker. Launched in 2019, NordPass is available as a standalone service or bundled with NordVPN in a security suite. The latter makes NordPass exceptional value for money – because it prices the premium password manager around $1 monthly.

The main benefits of NordPass are its XChaCha20 encryption, a zero-knowledge architecture, and cross-platform password manager compatibility.

The NordPass free version includes many essential features, allowing you to start using a password manager at no cost. NordPass premium, on the other hand, offers additional features such as data breach monitoring and a password strength checker. These extras are helpful if you want to get the best possible security for your accounts.

What is LastPass?

LastPass is a well-known, standalone password manager launched in 2008. Initially developed by LogMeIn, it was acquired by GoTo (formerly LogMeIn Inc.) in 2015. This makes LastPass one of the longest-running password managers available today.

Although LastPass has been a leader in the password manager market for many years, it is fair to say that it has been plagued by controversy. The service has suffered various data breaches since 2011 – including the most recent data breach in 2022. This raises many questions about its ability to secure user passwords.

As with NordPass, the LastPass free version offers users a limited version of the password manager. The free version limits users to a single device type but is effective if you only need to access passwords from one device.

LastPass premium features include two-factor authentication (2FA), secure password storage, and password sharing. LastPass offers a well-rounded feature set, but its history of breaches raises concerns about long-term security, often leading to criticism and concerns from privacy and security advocates.

Features comparison: NordPass vs LastPass

In this section, we will discuss each password manager’s features. Comparing each provider’s unique features, side by side, allows you to pick based on its password management capabilities. We’ll cover these later in the guide if you are more concerned with cost, ease of use – or any other criteria. Want more information on how we test? Read our complete password manager testing methodology.

1. Password storage and security

NordPass secures your passwords with XChaCha20 encryption, a modern cryptographic protocol that outperforms LastPass’s AES-256 encryption in speed and security. XChaCha20 is designed to resist modern hacking techniques, which ensures your passwords are safe against emerging cyber threats.

Another key advantage of NordPass is its independently audited zero-knowledge architecture. This means only you can access your stored passwords—NordPass itself cannot decrypt them. This means that even if hackers were to breach the company’s servers, they can’t access your data. It also means you never have to worry about the potential for malicious company insiders to access your passwords.

What is the risk of account recovery?

LastPass also uses strong encryption (AES-256). However, it has suffered multiple security breaches in recent years. A significant concern is account recovery, a feature that allows users to regain access to their vault if they forget their master password.

While convenient, this creates several risks you don’t have to worry about when using NordPass (or another zero-knowledge password vault). Risks include accidental data leaks, insider threats, and vulnerabilities in LastPass’s server-side recovery metadata, which attackers could exploit.

NordPass, on the other hand, has eliminated this risk. The trade-off? You don’t get any recovery options other than your 24-digit master code. Remember that when you create your account, you must navigate to Settings > Security > Reset Recovery Code to get the recovery code. The service does not force you to copy it to a safe place, so we advise you to do this immediately!

If you forget your master password, you can use the 24-digit key to regain access and reset your password. However, if you lose both your password and your 24-digit master key, you will lose access to your password vault forever.

If this happens, you must recover each of your accounts via your email account to set up new passwords. We understand that this might seem like a drawback. However, it is an important security feature because your data is entirely in your hands, without the threat of a backdoor that hackers could potentially exploit.

2. Browser extensions and device compatibility

Both LastPass and NordPass offer decent device compatibility. This makes either service suitable for average home users needing robust password management. Both services have custom apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera.

NordPass goes the extra mile by offering support for browsers like Brave, Vivaldi, and Tor. Admittedly, this makes it slightly more comprehensive.

It is also worth mentioning again that NordPass makes all features available across its various interface options. This is not true of LastPass, which has different mobile, desktop, and web app features.

Both services offer nifty dashboards where you can easily add, delete, and manage your password entries. We found both services to have excellent web and standalone apps, making it easy to control everything. Our only real quibble is that the LastPass dashboard looks a bit dated compared to NordPass.

3. Autofill and Auto-login features

One of the main benefits of a well-designed, modern password manager is that it will save and autofill your passwords inside of your browser as you go along. The good news is that NordPass and LastPass come with auto-save and password autofill.

NordPass provides reliable autofill functionality, but users have reported occasional issues where forms are filled incorrectly, such as inserting a phone number instead of a name. While this is a minor inconvenience, it’s worth considering if autofill is a top priority. It is also worth noting that we did not experience this particular issue when testing NordPass for this guide.

4. Password sharing and emergency access

NordPass and LastPass provide secure password-sharing options, but the functionality differs across the two services.

Password sharing

NordPass allows you to share individual passwords securely by storing them in a shared folder that can be sent to a recipient. However, shared folders are only available on NordPass’s business plans, limiting personal users from sharing individual passwords. It can be inconvenient to share multiple passwords, as it requires repeated manual sharing of each entry.

LastPass, by contrast, offers shared folders even for its consumer plans. This feature provides more granular control over password sharing. In addition, account administrators can hide passwords, restrict access per user, and manage permissions down to individual vault entries. This makes LastPass better suited for users with complex password-sharing needs.

That difference aside, most personal account users may not find this much of an issue. Typically, only a few accounts—like Netflix or other family-shared services—require shared access, meaning the additional features you get with LastPass might not always be necessary.

Emergency access and storage

When it comes to account recovery, LastPass offers greater flexibility with options like emergency contacts, biometrics, and email recovery. However, these recovery mechanisms require LastPass to manage some recovery metadata tied to your account. This introduces potential risks, such as the threat of data breaches and insider attacks.

NordPass, on the other hand, adheres to a strict zero-knowledge framework, placing full responsibility on the user to safeguard their master password and recovery code. This ensures unparalleled security and means that losing these credentials results in a permanent lockout, making secure storage critical.

In terms of storage, NordPass is significantly more generous. Both free and paid plans include unlimited password storage and 3 GB of space for auto-fill forms and secure notes. LastPass limits users to 50 MB of storage on its free plan and 1 GB with a premium subscription, making NordPass the better choice for users requiring more storage capacity.

5. Two-factor authentication (2FA) support

Both LastPass and NordPass offer various two-factor authentication (2FA) options that you can use to enhance the security of your vault.

2FA prevents anybody from accessing your vault with the master password by requiring a secondary verification method involving a physical device.

LastPass provides more 2FA options:

• Time-Based One-Time Passwords (TOTP) via Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and LastPass Authenticator.
• SMS and email verification for added recovery options.
• Biometric authentication (fingerprint and facial recognition) on supported devices.
• Hardware security keys like YubiKey and FIDO2/WebAuthn-compatible devices.
• Push notifications via the LastPass Authenticator app for one-tap approvals.
• Geo-location tracking uses your IP address and location history to detect suspicious login attempts (availability depends on your plan).

NordPass offers fewer methods but still gives you a choice of popular 2FA options:

• TOTP authentication (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, NordPass Authenticator).
• Biometric logins (fingerprint and facial recognition).
• Hardware security keys (YubiKey and FIDO2-compatible devices).

6. Offline access and data backup

Both LastPass and NordPass provide the option to store and access passwords locally to ensure you can access your passwords even when you do not have an internet connection.

LastPass stores an encrypted local copy of your vault on your device. This gives you access to a local copy of your passwords through the browser extension, desktop app, or mobile app. The vault remains fully encrypted and can only be accessed by entering your master password.  Bear in mind that 2FA is not required to access the offline password vault, so it is critical that you do not leave your master password attached to your computer on a post-stick note.

While offline, you can view, copy, and use your saved passwords, but any modifications, such as adding new entries or updating the passwords in the vault will require an internet connection to ensure that your passwords can sync.

NordPass also provides offline access by locally caching an encrypted version of your vault. It is available through desktop and mobile apps but not the browser extension. Like LastPass, NordPass keeps the vault fully encrypted and requires your master password to unlock it. 2FA is not needed for offline access.

While offline, NordPass users can view and copy passwords, but autofill, editing, and adding new entries become unavailable until you connect to the internet.

Overall feature comparison summary

Features winner? NordPass

Overall, we prefer NordPass for its stronger encryption and consistent feature set across platforms. Both services offer solid password management, but autofill, 2FA, and offline access give NordPass a slight edge.

User interface and ease of use

Password managers are designed to make your life easier. To check this, we put each password manager through their paces to see whether they are suitable for beginners.

LastPass – Ease of use

LastPass is generally easy to set up; importing passwords or accessing your vault across multiple devices is a breeze. However, some users report issues when importing CSV files into the web app—a necessary step if you’re migrating passwords from another manager. If you haven’t used a password manager before, you can add each password as you go along.

These issues usually stem from improperly formatted files or passwords with special characters. Still, they can be frustrating if you’re unfamiliar with how to fix these underlying issues in the CSV to enable importing. Thankfully, LastPass has a troubleshooting guide for importing (and live chat support on hand to give you pointers), so you should be able to figure it out without too much hassle.

The password manager includes features like autofill and a password health check, making it straightforward to manage credentials in your browser. That said, the interface feels dated compared to NordPass – which has a sleeker, modern design.

It’s also worth noting that the Android version has some limitations. While it supports biometric login (not available on the desktop or web app), it doesn’t include access to the security dashboard or password health monitoring. This means mobile users must switch to the desktop or web version to manage advanced features, which could inconvenience those who rely on their phones to manage their vault.

NordPass – Ease of use

NordPass provides a modern, intuitive interface that is beginner-friendly.

Sign-up and setup take just a few minutes, which is great. However, it’s worth noting that the zero-knowledge framework means you’ll need to go through an additional verification step when accessing your vault on a new device or browser. This is a worthwhile trade-off to enhance security.

Once you’re set-up, NordPass offers seamless usability across all devices. you can import existing passwords from numerous browsers and competing password managers. This makes it easy to migrate:

It is also worth noting that you’ll have access to every feature on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, or the web. This cross-platform uniformity is a significant advantage over LastPass.

In terms of drawbacks, the vault search function is a weak point. Keystrokes can lag as the app updates in real time, which can cause letters to drop. Typing more slowly solves the problem, but it’s not an ideal solution because searching for passwords ought to be effortless.

Equivalent domains require manual management

One significant drawback of NordPass is its lack of equivalent domain support, a feature that we feel should be standard in any modern password manager. Competing services like LastPass, Bitwarden, and 1Password let users group multiple domains under the same login (for example, amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, and amazon.ca). This eliminates creating separate entries for each subdomain, saving time and reducing clutter.

Unfortunately, NordPass users must manually set up a unique password for every domain. This may not affect everyone, but it can be an issue for frequent travelers or anyone who regularly accesses equivalent domain logins using a VPN.

That said, NordPass has an automatic password generator, simplifying the creation of strong, unique passwords for each domain. This means you can set a unique password for each equivalent domain without needing to remember those passwords; it’s not much of an issue once you have set them up in the vault.

Ease of use winner: NordPass

Overall, we prefer NordPass due to its ease of setup and coherent features across platforms. Both services have unique attributes and quirks, and while they are both easy to use, LastPass feels more dated.

NordPass vs LastPass: Which is more secure?

The debate over NordPass vs. LastPass heated up after LastPass suffered multiple security breaches, including the 2022 incident that exposed users’ encrypted password vaults. This raised serious concerns about password manager security, prompting many users to seek a safer alternative.

Unlike LastPass, NordPass has never experienced a security breach. It also uses XChaCha20 encryption, a more advanced and future-proof cryptographic system than LastPass’s AES-256 encryption. This makes NordPass the stronger choice for security-conscious users who want a zero-knowledge solution that ensures only they can access their stored credentials.

Beyond encryption, NordPass Premium has additional security-focused features, including dark web monitoring, secure file storage, and email masking—all designed to protect sensitive data from hackers and leaks.

If you’re considering switching from LastPass to NordPass, you should know key differences, such as password import/export, browser extension support, and usability across mobile apps. Fortunately, NordPass makes migration simple, allowing users to import their passwords with just a few clicks.

Security winner: NordPass

If security is your top priority, NordPass is the better option. It offers superior encryption, a strict zero-knowledge framework, and no risky account recovery features. Remember: if you lose your master password, there’s no way to recover your vault – so be sure to store the recovery code somewhere private and safe.

Pricing & subscription plans

If cost is your biggest deciding factor, NordPass is the more affordable option despite offering an almost identical feature set (and even better security).

NordPass also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to test the service across all your devices risk-free. If limited file-sharing, occasional autofill inefficiencies, or any other feature doesn’t meet your expectations, you can cancel your subscription and get a refund. LastPass, by contrast, offers no refunds, making NordPass the safer choice if you prefer to test before committing.

Free subscription options: LastPass vs. NordPass

If you’re not ready to invest in a premium password manager, you can opt for NordPass Free, which allows a single user to store and access passwords on one device. However, if you want to sync your vault across multiple devices, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

For those truly frugal, an unconventional workaround exists—you could create a separate NordPass account for each device and export/import passwords via CSV files between them. While this technically works, maintaining password consistency across accounts requires manual effort and extra steps.

LastPass Free also restricts users to one device type, meaning you must choose between desktop or mobile—you can’t use both without upgrading to a paid plan.

Which premium plan is more competitive?

NordPass wins on price. Its Premium plan starts at just $1.40 per month, giving you full access to your password vault across unlimited devices and browsers.

For that cost, you get autosave, autofill, secure storage, password health monitoring, a data breach scanner, file attachments, email masking, cutting-edge XChaCha20 encryption, dark web monitoring, and 3 GB of secure file storage.

Looking for an even better NordPass deal? You can get NordPass as an extra with NordVPN Plus:

The NordVPN Plus subscription plan provides a world-class VPN, ad blocking, tracker blocking, malware protection, and NordPass, all bundled into a single package for just $4.39 per month. This effectively reduces the cost of NordPass Premium to around $1 per month, making it an incredibly cost-effective choice for users looking for both online privacy and password management.

LastPass – A costly alternative

LastPass Premium offers similar features to NordPass but comes at a higher price—a factor that may deter some users, especially considering the multiple data breaches the company has suffered over the years. While account recovery may seem like an advantage, in reality, it creates security vulnerabilities, as it introduces a potential attack surface that zero-knowledge password managers like NordPass avoid entirely.

With pricing starting at $3 per month, LastPass is significantly more expensive than NordPass, particularly when compared to the NordPass + NordVPN bundle, which costs roughly $1 per month for the password manager while also providing an encrypted internet connection, protection on public wifi, prevention of ISP tracking, and access to geo-restricted content via location spoofing (perfect for accessing home services on vacation).

LastPass includes just 1 GB of secure storage, which pales in comparison to the 3 GB provided by NordPass Premium. This further cements NordPass as the better-value option, offering more storage, stronger encryption, and a better security track record at a lower cost.

Price winner: NordPass

NordPass isn’t just affordable – it’s the best deal on the market. Bundled with NordVPN, you get a full cybersecurity suite for the price of a standalone password manager. If you want top-tier security without breaking the bank, NordPass is the clear winner.

Final Verdict: Which password manager is better?

We compared these password managers across a wide variety of features and criteria. After carefully analyzing each platform, we believe that NordPass is the clear winner for personal users. With its superior encryption, better pricing, and consistent features across platforms, it delivers unbeatable security and value.

NordPass vs LastPass FAQs