LastPass, which claims to be the world’s most popular password manager, now offers the choice of free usage on either mobile or desktop platforms. Previously, desktop use was free while use on a mobile device required a $12 annual subscription.
You can now use it for free on either platform – but still need to pay to get both mobile and desktop usage. LastPass told us that, seven years in, it was time to change its freemium pricing model …
When LastPass was founded in 2008, the personal PC dominated the market, so we gave desktop and laptop access for free. The iPhone had been on the market for barely a year. Now with the increase of mobile workers, we want to make it possible for people to get started on LastPass via tablet or smartphone first.
While Keychain provides cross-device password syncing between OS X and iOS versions of Safari, LastPass offers a greater range of form-fill options and also works across browsers. A Premium subscription is still needed to use Touch ID to login to websites.
A password manager allows you to have strong, unique passwords for each website you use, without even having to know what they are. If you’re not yet using one, check out our how-to guide.
LastPass for iPhone/iPad is a free download from iTunes, with the Mac app a free download from the Mac App Store.
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So, you can use LastPass for free now, and it syncs auto. across Web, desktop, and mobile. But when you want to sign in on websites, with your iPhone 5S/6/Plus/iPad Air 2, with your Touch ID, you have to pay?
So, can you use LastPass for free when u use just a normal sign-in password? (without touch id?)
It’s free on *either* mobile or desktop, so you need to pay for both – or to use Touch ID on mobile.
Oh, yes, sure. thx
Or….jailbreak and install ITouchSecure. No monthly subscription. Perfect integration into apps with password logins and mobile safari auto-fill credentials.
Am I the only one that sees the irony of jail breaking your device, thus circumventing some of the built in protections, to install a free password vault?
Just use 1Password! Sure you have to pay for the app, but there is none of this subscription junk. You buy, it’s yours, and it’s just about as good as this kind of app can get. They even have an Apple Watch app.
Agreed. Dropbox, iCloud and wifi sync
I agree, Password1 is a great product. Using Lastpass, you have to look over your shoulder for the next hack to occur.
If you are not using Multifactor Auth, you are vulnerable with any password manager. If you sync 1Password with Dropbox you are at risk for plenty of vulnerabilities as well.
The true cost for 1Password is significantly higher in the long run. I don’t really mind paying $12 per year when I don’t have to mess with licensing and upgrades every 18 months. There are plenty of other benefits (listed below)
$290 = 10 Years of 1Password for Win, Mac & iOS = $80 up front + $210 upgrades ($35×6)
$210 = 10 Years of 1Password for Mac & iOS = $60 up front + $150 upgrades ($25×6)
$120 = 10 Years of LastPass on Unlimited Devices
1Password has a much prettier interface, however there are several things LastPass does much better:
LastPass does not require Dropbox/iCloud installed, you can share entire folders of saved sites/notes, shared items automatically sync across permissioned accounts on update, you have no license keys to mess with, you always have the most “up to date” client, you get free credit monitoring, they provide notices to you if any of your accounts become compromised, you have the option to login at a website (no desktop app required), and you get 15+ options for multifactor authentication. The last two are really useful since you can use a public machine without local admin privileges to lookup something right in your browser. I have tried switching to 1Password several times, and I don’t really get the 1Password loyalty. Yes you “own” a license, but you have to perpetually upgrade to stay compatible anyway and you could always choose to use a free version of LastPass. 1Password limits you to 20 sites on their “free version”.
1Password upgrades are not on a set schedule (in my experience) I’ve been a user for a couple of years now and have only bought one license on Mac and one on iOS. In both cases they were on sale for 50% off (which is a sale they have VERY frequently). Even if your versioning numbers were 100% accurate, I don’t consider paying more over 10 years (10 years man!) to be a real problem considering what you get.
I am very pleased that there is no web interface for 1Password. The fact that my vault only exists on my devices means that you have to have physical access to my machines to get ahold of a copy. Nothing is unhackable, but it makes it a lot harder when you have to have someone’s physical device to get a copy of an encrypted vault before you can even start to attempt a hack.
1Password also notifies you when a hack has occurred at a site for which you have stored credentials. At the end of the day you get what you pay for, and I would much rather own a copy of a fantastic product then have to pay a subscription fee. Not to mention that you don’t HAVE to upgrade either. That is always your choice and if you are happy with the version you have, you can use it until the end of time.
An attacker does not need physical access to your machine to compromise 1Password, they just need a keylogger and a copy of your encrypted database. This can be easily obtained remotely, and even easier if you use an Android device. LastPass allows you to use physical hardware keys like YubiKeys to protect your database. Even if I gave you an encrypted copy of my passwords along with my LastPass username and Password, you still could not access my data. There are also some very handy things you can to with a web based service like restrict account access to certain IP addresses. I prefer to operate under the assumption that any machine I use could be compromised. 1Password does not pass that security requirement.
Seems like you aren’t current on 1Password feature set. It’s understandable why you have made your assumptions.