Passwords are like keys to your organization’s digital infrastructure. If they get into the hands of the wrong people or can be easily guessed, then you are almost guaranteed to experience a costly data breach—just like nearly half of organizations surveyed by SecureLink and Ponemon Institute have.
But adhering to password policy best practices can be difficult due to the sheer number of password-protected digital tools organizations rely on these days. The good news is that the best password managers for business in 2022 make it easy to create, store, and use strong, unique passwords, and there are many great options from which you can choose.
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Why You Need a Password Manager for Desktop and Mobile
The best password managers provide multiple useful features that can help you adhere to password policy best practices for your business:
- Secure password storage: Password managers store passwords in an encrypted vault, protected by a single master password. In practice, this means that you need to remember only one password and can rely on your password manager to remember the rest.
- Password generation: Reusing the same password over and over again is a cybersecurity sin, and password managers help avoid it by generating strong, unique passwords with a single click.
- Password sharing: Being able to securely share saved passwords while maintaining oversight over who has access to them can enhance employee collaboration without increasing the risk of a data breach.
- Dark web monitoring: It’s useful to know when stolen login information is shared on the dark web because you can then act before cybercriminals do by changing your password.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) support: In addition to the master password, most password managers support additional authentication methods, such as mobile authenticator apps.
With these and other features, you can greatly improve your password security and, as a result, reduce the risk of a data breach.
1. Bitwarden
Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS
Business pricing: starts at $3 per month per user
Bitwarden is an open-source password manager that emphasizes transparency as a necessary prerequisite for security. Its source code is constantly reviewed by its global community, which is motivated by a generous bug bounty program. Bitwarden has also completed a comprehensive security audit by the security experts at Cure53, giving its users one more reason to trust it with sensitive data.
Business customers can choose from two different plans. The Teams Organization plan costs $3 per month per user, and it includes all core features plus unlimited password sharing, API access, event and audit logs, and more. The Enterprise Organization plan costs $5 per month per user, and it adds multiple enterprise-oriented features, such as single sign-on (SSO) integration and admin password reset.
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| + Open source + Affordable + Advanced features + Generous free plan | – Basic but functional desktop apps |
2. Keeper
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Business pricing: starts at $3.75 per month per user
Keeper is a business-oriented password manager that uses a proprietary zero-knowledge security architecture to keep all data stored on its servers as secure as possible. Its intuitive admin console makes it easy to assign employees different roles and enforce various password security policies, such as the use of multi-factor authentication.
Thanks to its robust event monitoring capabilities, Keeper helps achieve and maintain compliance with NIST, PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, DPA, FINRA, GDPR, SOX, and other standards. The Keeper Business plan starts at $3.75 per month per user, and it includes a host of useful features, with only a few notable omissions, such as SSO integration and advanced MFA, which are included in the Keeper Enterprise plan.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| + A host of business-oriented features + Polished design + Optional paid add-ons + Compliance reports | – Add-ons can get expensive – No free version to test the software |
3. LastPass
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux
Business pricing: starts at $4.00 per month per user
Since its release in 2008, LastPass has become one of the most popular password managers available, but the free plan that’s responsible for much of its popularity is now a shadow of itself and will soon be usable on only desktop or mobile devices—not both at the same time. That’s not a concern for most business customers, however, who can choose between two plans: Teams (for teams of 50 employees or fewer) and Business (unlimited number of users).
What’s great about LastPass is that even the more affordable Teams plan ($4.00 per month per user) includes data breach monitoring, password sharing, and two-factor authentication (2FA). The more expensive Business plan ($6.00 per month per user) adds three SSO apps with MFA protection. Those extra security layers may come in handy because LastPass has a history of security incidents, the last of which happened in 2021.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| + Popular and widely supported + Straightforward to use + Optional paid add-ons | – History of security incidents – Limited free version |
4. 1Password
Platforms: macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux
Business pricing: starts at $7.99 per month per user
1Password presents itself as a user-friendly password manager that even less tech-savvy employees can figure out without much effort. Because of its polished design and capable native app, 1Password is often recommended to Mac users, but it works great on other platforms as well, which is one reason why more than 100,000 businesses trust it to secure data.
Organizations with less than 10 members can purchase the Teams Starter Pack plan for just $19.95 per month. Larger organizations can start with the Business plan ($7.99 per month per user) and upgrade to the Enterprise plan if needed. Both the Business and the Enterprise plan include 5 GB of document storage per person and 20 guest accounts for limited sharing.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| + Easy to use + Affordable plan for very small organizations + Polished native apps | – Expensive – Geared toward home users |
5. Dashlane
Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome OS
Business pricing: starts at $5.00 per month per user
Launched 10 years ago, Dashlane stands out from other password managers because it comes with multiple extra features that increase its overall value and at least somewhat justify its higher price. One such feature is Dashlane’s unlimited VPN service, which helps users protect data in transit when connected to a potentially unsafe network.
Unfortunately, Dashlane has recently been receiving negative reviews because of how buggy its apps and web browser extensions have become. Hopefully, the developers will quickly address these issues to justify the password manager’s higher price.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| + Intuitive user interface across all platforms + Built-in VPN service | – Costly premium plans – Limited web app – Buggy apps and extensions |
Conclusion – Best Online Password Manager For You
Given that 80 percent of data breaches are the result of poor or reused passwords, investing in one of the best password managers listed in this article is among the most cost-effective ways to reduce the risk of experiencing a c1ostly data breach.
It doesn’t even really matter that much which password manager you choose—what matters is how well you use it.
Schedule a meeting with us if you would like to make a password manager a part of your digital toolbox and educate your employees on how to use it effectively.