The listed annual individual plans cost $1.65 to $3.99 per month. Bitwarden Premium costs $1.65 per month with annual billing. 1Password Individual’s regular annual-billing rate is $3.99 per month. New 1Password customers can pay $2.99 per month for the first year, but that’s an introductory price, not the ongoing cost.
Price is only one part of the deal. A free plan may cover your needs if its device access and sharing options work for you. A paid plan may be worth considering if you need specific recovery features or want to cover family members. Family plans differ in how many people they include and whether each person gets an independent account. Check renewal terms, too: an introductory rate can rise later, and cancellation may limit what you can do with saved passwords. Compare the full cost and plan limits before you choose. A low monthly equivalent isn’t much of a bargain if the plan lacks a feature your household needs or the renewal price catches you off guard.
Key Takeaways
- Among the listed annual individual plans, Bitwarden Premium is the lowest priced at $1.65 per month equivalent ($19.80 billed yearly), while 1Password Individual costs $2.99 per month for the first year and $3.99 per month at its regular annual-billing rate.
- Don’t pay just for a longer feature list: Proton Pass’s free tier includes unlimited logins and devices, so upgrade only when a paid plan fills a specific sharing, recovery, or household-coverage gap.
- Compare family plans against your actual household: Bitwarden Families costs $47.88 per year for up to six users, 1Password Families covers six and rises from $4.49 to $5.99 per month after the first year, and Dashlane Friends & Family covers 10 people.
- Recovery features aren’t interchangeable: Bitwarden Premium and Families let designated users request vault access in an emergency, while Proton warns that an account reset won’t restore encrypted data if you lose your password without preparing a recovery phrase.
- Before subscribing, check the renewal price and cancellation rules: new Dashlane Friends & Family subscribers with no previous subscription enter export-only mode after cancellation, where passwords can’t be viewed or copied.
What Does a Password Manager Cost?
Among the listed annual individual subscriptions with stated prices, password manager plans cost $1.65 to $3.99 per month. This range covers only the plans priced here, not every password manager service.
Bitwarden Premium costs $19.80 per year, or $1.65 per month when billed annually. The price is in U.S. dollars and excludes taxes. 1Password Individual costs $2.99 per month for new customers during the first year, then $3.99 per month at its regular annual-billing rate. The promotional price is an introductory offer, not the ongoing rate.
Check what “per month” means at checkout. Bitwarden’s $1.65 monthly equivalent is billed as a yearly subscription, and both 1Password rates are for annual billing. A low monthly equivalent can still require an annual commitment, so compare the amount due at signup with the regular renewal rate.
The price also reflects each plan’s limits and features. Free tiers can differ from paid plans in device access, sharing, monitoring, and recovery options. Proton Pass, for example, lists a free tier with unlimited logins and unlimited devices. A free plan may cover your needs, but check that its features and access match how you plan to use it.
Family coverage affects the value, too. Plans may cover different numbers of people, and the price matters less if a plan leaves someone out or limits how accounts are managed. Compare the included users and account setup with the total bill. Don’t judge a family plan by its monthly equivalent alone.
Recovery is another part of what you’re paying for, even when it doesn’t change the listed price. Bitwarden Premium includes Emergency Access, which lets designated Bitwarden users request access to a vault in an emergency. Proton warns that losing the account password without a prepared recovery phrase can mean losing access to encrypted data. An email or phone reset restores account access, but not the data.
Renewal rules can change the real cost after an introductory offer ends. 1Password’s lower Individual rate applies only to new customers’ first year. Dashlane says changed personal-plan prices apply automatically at renewal after affected customers receive notice. Before comparing prices, check how a plan renews, what happens after cancellation, and whether a promotional rate is temporary.
Is a Paid Password Manager Worth It?
A paid password manager is worth the cost when it solves a real gap in access, sharing, recovery, or another feature you need. If the free tier already covers your needs, paying more may add no value. The price alone doesn’t prove a paid plan is a better fit. Proton Pass lists a free tier with unlimited logins and unlimited devices, so using many devices or storing many logins doesn’t automatically mean you need a paid upgrade. That doesn’t tell you what every other service includes for free. Check the exact limits of the service you’re considering instead of assuming a paid plan is the only way to get a feature.
Think about what could go wrong with your setup. Do you need to share access with someone, or would you want another person to reach your vault in an emergency? Bitwarden Premium and Families include Emergency Access, which lets designated Bitwarden users request vault access in an emergency. That may matter if you want a named person to be able to request access, but it doesn’t mean every paid plan offers the same option.
Check recovery features separately. A paid feature is useful only if it addresses a recovery problem you actually face, and you should understand how it works before relying on it. The plan information here doesn’t establish every service’s free-tier recovery rules or show that paid recovery options are interchangeable. Don’t pay for a vague promise of “more protection.” Identify the specific recovery feature and the situation it’s meant to handle.
Sharing and household coverage can affect the value, too. If you manage logins alone, a family-sharing feature may not help. If someone else needs access, check whether the plan supports the arrangement you want and covers everyone who needs it. Monitoring may be another reason to consider a paid tier, but first confirm that the feature is included and addresses a risk you care about. A feature listed on a plan page isn’t useful if you won’t use it.
Before upgrading, write down the exact feature or coverage gap the paid plan would solve. Then confirm that the plan includes it, the free tier doesn’t already meet the need, and the ongoing price works for you. If you can’t name the gap, keep comparing instead of paying for a longer feature list. A paid plan earns its place by solving a specific problem, not simply because it costs money.
How Do Individual Plans Compare?
Among individual plans with confirmed prices, Bitwarden Premium costs $19.80 per year, or $1.65 per month billed annually. 1Password Individual starts at $2.99 per month for new customers, then moves to its regular annual-billing rate of $3.99 per month. No Dashlane personal-plan price is listed here.
| Plan | Confirmed price | Pricing terms |
|---|---|---|
| Bitwarden Premium | $19.80 per year, equivalent to $1.65 per month | Billed annually; prices are in U.S. dollars and exclude taxes. |
| 1Password Individual | $2.99 per month for new customers in the first year; then $3.99 per month | The first-year rate is introductory. The regular rate is for annual billing. |
| Dashlane personal plans | No confirmed current price listed | Dashlane no longer sells several former personal plans or monthly subscriptions. |
The 1Password offer has a clear cutoff: new customers pay the lower rate during the first year, then the regular annual-billing rate applies. 1Password also offers a 14-day free trial for Individual and Families plans. The trial is separate from the introductory price, so compare the subscription rates rather than treating the trial as a price.
Bitwarden’s $1.65 figure is a monthly equivalent, not a monthly payment option. The listed Premium price is $19.80 per year, excluding taxes. Compare that annual amount with another plan’s yearly charge.
Dashlane says it no longer sells its Free, Premium Plus, Premium Plus Family, Essentials, or Advanced personal plans. It also no longer offers monthly subscriptions for any plan. Since no current Dashlane personal-plan price is provided, listing a price here would misrepresent what you can currently buy.
What Do Family Plans Include?
Family plans cover a set number of people, but they differ in price, account setup, and extras. 1Password covers six people, Bitwarden covers six users, Proton Pass provides six Pass Plus accounts, and Dashlane covers ten people.
1Password Families costs $4.49 per month for new customers during the first year, then $5.99 per month at its regular annual-billing rate. The plan covers the account holder and up to five invited family members. That’s a six-person limit, but the lower price is temporary. Compare the regular rate when weighing the cost.
Bitwarden Families costs $47.88 per year, or $3.99 per month billed annually, for up to six users. The stated price is in U.S. dollars and excludes taxes. Its allowance matches 1Password’s total number of people, but the prices use different formats: Bitwarden lists a yearly charge and monthly equivalent, while 1Password lists monthly rates for annual billing.
Proton Pass Family provides six Pass Plus accounts and a family admin panel. Compare those accounts with the member and invitation limits of other plans. The available price information doesn’t state the cost of Proton Pass Family, so the account count alone can’t show whether it’s the lower-cost option.
Dashlane Friends & Family covers the manager and nine invited members. It includes independent accounts and unlimited devices, which may matter if each person needs an account of their own or uses multiple devices. The VPN is available only to the Friends & Family plan manager, not every member.
Ten covered people may sound like an obvious win, but a larger allowance isn’t automatically the best fit. If your household has fewer members, extra seats may not help. If everyone needs an independent account, check that the plan supports that setup. If you’re comparing plans because family members need a specific recovery option, don’t assume the number of accounts includes it. Account access and recovery are separate features.
Compare the details that affect how your household will use a plan: who gets an account, whether people are invited or receive named accounts, what the admin panel allows, and which features are shared or limited to the manager. The number of people covered is only one part of the offer.
Which Limits and Recovery Rules Matter?
Compare only the device limits a plan actually states, then assess recovery rules separately. Losing access to an encrypted vault can matter more than saving on a subscription. A stated limit tells you what a plan promises; missing information doesn’t prove that a plan allows unlimited devices.
Proton Pass’s listed free tier includes unlimited devices, and Dashlane Friends & Family also includes unlimited devices. Those confirmed limits apply to those plans. They don’t establish device access for every plan from either company. The available details don’t state device limits for the other plans discussed here, so don’t treat an unstated limit as unlimited access or as a restriction.
Device access tells you how many devices you can use, but not what happens if you can’t unlock your account. With encrypted data, recovering your account and recovering your data can be different things. Proton says that if you lose your account password without preparing a recovery phrase, it can’t restore your encrypted data. Resetting access through a phone number or email gets you back into the account, but doesn’t restore that data.
That distinction is easy to miss. A reset option can sound like a safety net, but it may restore only account access. Proton’s warning shows that the recovery phrase has a separate purpose: prepare it before you need it, and understand that losing the account password without one can leave the encrypted data unrecoverable. Don’t assume an email reset, phone reset, or another service’s recovery process works the same way.
Bitwarden Premium and Families include Emergency Access. This feature lets designated Bitwarden users request access to a vault in an emergency. It gives you a specific recovery-related option to compare, but it isn’t the same as Proton’s recovery phrase. “Request access” also doesn’t mean anyone can immediately bypass your account protections.
Keep the differences clear when you compare plans: a device allowance concerns where you can use the manager; Emergency Access lets a designated person request vault access; and a recovery phrase concerns access to encrypted data. One feature doesn’t automatically replace another. The plan details here don’t state device limits for Bitwarden or 1Password, so don’t infer them from their prices or other features.
There’s also a relevant rule for systems that ask you to sign in. NIST SP 800-63B-4, published in July 2025, says covered verifiers must allow password managers and autofill, and recommends allowing paste when autofill APIs are unavailable. The guidance focuses on authentication for U.S. government information systems, not a blanket consumer-law requirement. NIST SP 800-63B-4 provides useful context, but it doesn’t establish device limits or recovery promises for a particular password manager plan.
How Should You Judge Renewals and Cancellations?
Judge a password manager renewal by the amount due after a promotion, the billing frequency, the notice terms, and what access remains after cancellation. A low first-year rate can hide a higher ongoing cost or limit what you can do with saved passwords. Before subscribing, check each part of the deal separately:
- Compare the promotional rate with the regular renewal rate. 1Password’s promotional Individual rate is $2.99 per month for new customers’ first year, compared with $3.99 per month at the regular rate with annual billing. For Families, the promotional rate is $4.49 per month for new customers’ first year, compared with $5.99 per month at the regular annual-billing rate. Treat the promotion as a temporary discount, not the price you’ll keep paying.
- Confirm the billing frequency and amount due. A monthly price can be an equivalent for an annual subscription rather than a monthly payment. Check whether the plan charges monthly or bills annually, and make sure you know the amount due at signup and renewal.
- Read the price-change notice terms. Dashlane says its updated personal-plan prices began taking effect in mid-February 2026. Changed prices apply automatically at renewal after Dashlane notifies affected customers. Check the notice you receive and the price it says will apply. Don’t assume your existing price stays fixed.
- Check what cancellation means for account access. A new Dashlane Friends & Family subscriber with no previous subscription who cancels enters export-only mode. In that mode, passwords can’t be added, edited, copied, or viewed. This rule applies to the stated Dashlane subscriber situation. Don’t assume it applies to 1Password, Bitwarden, Proton Pass, or other services.
Cancellation terms can matter as much as the subscription price if you need to keep using your passwords while switching plans. For the specified Dashlane Friends & Family case, export-only mode prevents you from viewing or copying passwords, so check the consequences before ending the subscription. For other services, confirm their cancellation terms rather than guessing based on Dashlane’s policy. Before choosing a plan, check the renewal amount, billing frequency, notice terms, and post-cancellation access. This matters especially with a low first-year rate: compare 1Password’s promotional and regular annual-billing prices, and understand the stated Dashlane cancellation consequence before subscribing.
Choose the Plan That Fits Your Household
Before opening another pricing page, write down who needs an account and what each person must be able to do. If you’re a solo user, compare Bitwarden Premium, 1Password Individual, and Proton Pass’s free tier. For up to six people, compare Bitwarden Families, 1Password Families, and Proton Pass Family. If ten people need access, assess Dashlane Friends & Family, which covers the manager and nine invited members.
Next, check the plan details against your household’s must-haves. If members need separate accounts, confirm that the plan provides them. If someone needs a way to request vault access in an emergency, check Bitwarden’s Emergency Access terms. If you’re considering Proton Pass, make sure the account holder understands how to prepare and keep a recovery phrase.
For each finalist, record the amount due, billing interval, renewal price, and what cancellation allows. Pay close attention to 1Password’s first-year offer and Dashlane’s cancellation terms for new Friends & Family subscribers with no previous subscription. If you’re considering 1Password, use its free trial to see whether the household can manage the plan before subscribing. Keep the renewal price beside the plan name, and compare it with the features your household will actually use.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why do some people avoid Google Password Manager?
The available information doesn’t establish specific reasons people avoid Google Password Manager. To decide whether a password manager fits your needs, compare its device access, sharing and recovery options, and ongoing cost.
2. What password manager does AARP recommend?
The available information doesn’t identify a password manager recommended by AARP. Without a source confirming it, attributing a recommendation to AARP would be misleading.
3. Can you move saved passwords from one password manager to another?
The available information doesn’t confirm which services support password transfers or how to move passwords between them. Check both services’ current transfer options before switching, and review the cancellation rules. For some new Dashlane Friends & Family subscribers, cancelling can put the account in export-only mode, where passwords can’t be viewed or copied.
