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After this week’s controversial decision by 1Password to raise its subscription prices by an extra dollar a month — its first price increase in a decade — the tech community has been losing its mind. Many critics on X are calling the 33% hike unjustified, frequently citing Apple’s free Passwords app as a primary reason to jump ship. While I do think Passwords is a fine option for most people, there are still many ways 1Password continues to have a leg up.
In 2024, with the release of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, Apple unveiled its decision to basically rip iCloud Keychain out of Settings and build it up as a standalone app called Passwords to make credential management more convenient for its users. At the time, many (including myself) were skeptical that it had what it took to compete with paid password managers – or if that was even Apple’s goal (spoiler, it wasn’t).
But even if Apple didn’t intend to compete then, 1Password’s latest move has certainly forced the comparison.
1Password is feature-rich
Apple stuck to the basics with its Passwords app. And that’s OK! But if you’re more of a power user like me, you’ll find the app lacks crucial features, like the ability to generate passwords of custom length with special characters and custom fields. Seriously, the Passwords app can’t do this, at least not yet.
1Password also lets you view your password history, store documents, and even Passports, Social Security numbers, software licenses, and more. It can also store credit card details and bank account numbers, two more categories Apple Passwords simply doesn’t cover. Apple’s Wallet app theoretically fills the credit card gap, but in practice, it only surfaces the last four digits for most cards, which isn’t very useful when you actually need that info in a hurry. And for bank account and routing numbers, there’s really no Apple-native equivalent at all.
Further, 1Password feats a security feature called Travel Mode, which lets you temporarily wipe specific vaults from your devices before traveling across borders where border agents could confiscate your device or ask you to unlock your iPhone for whatever reason. In a case like this, sensitive documents and personal passwords won’t be there. The data will still exist in the cloud and can be added back locally when safe. Pretty niche, but pretty neat!
Other than that, data security is about tie for me. Both Apple and 1Password take a local-first approach to security. Apple stores keys in the Secure Enclave on your device, while 1Password uses a 34-character Secret Key that never leaves your devices. This means a server breach combined with a compromised master password still isn’t enough to decrypt your data. Both rely on 256-bit AES encryption and are genuinely very respectable.
The UI isn’t just the Reminders app
When you open Passwords for the first time, you’ll find the layout is basically the Reminders app–with two rows of categories: All, Passkeys, Codes, Wi-Fi, Security, and Deleted. For many, this overly simple layout is probably fine.
However, I find the experience of using 1Password vastly more enjoyable. It still offers a clean layout, but has the ability to organize items in vaults and categories within those vaults. The user interface is just vastly superior to having a long list of credentials on a single page.
Better cross-platform and browser support
This one’s pretty straightforward, but it matters more than people give it credit for. Apple Passwords is, at its core, an Apple product, so it works best within its own ecosystem. Windows users get a browser extension through iCloud for Windows, but it’s clunky at best and unreliable at worst.
1Password has polished native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android (yuck), plus well-maintained browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Brave. I’ve found the experience is very consistent when I switch to my Windows desktop.
In summary
While Apple’s free Passwords app is a solid option for most people, 1Password continues to justify its price tag for me, and I didn’t even touch on the new features announced this week. Between its richer feature set, like custom password generation, document storage, dedicated templates, credit card and bank account support, Travel Mode, and great local security, plus its superior cross-platform support, 1Password simply does things Apple Passwords can’t.
Apple stuck to the basics, and that’s fine, but for anyone who also lives outside the Apple ecosystem or just demands more from their password manager, the $47.88/year (billed $3.99 every month) is still hard to argue with.
Top comment by Nutmac
Ultimately, I think 1Password’s decision to pivot towards serving enterprise customers is a mistake. Many enterprises are transitioning to Single Sign-On solutions like Okta, which significantly reduces the need for a password manager.
Meanwhile, 1Password's substantial price hike on smaller businesses and consumers is made worse with deteriorating user experience. Perhaps it's a coincidence but since adopting the Electron codebase, 1Password just isn't working as smoothly as it used to.
As an Apple ecosystem user, I find that Apple’s Passwords and an indie app Uplock fulfill all my needs previously served by 1Password.
I understand why many people are pointing to Bitwarden or self-hosted alternatives as cheaper options, but price shouldn’t be the only factor when it comes to something you’re trusting with your most sensitive data. All I’ll say here is that if there’s one area I wouldn’t penny pinch, it’s my password manager.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments — I specifically kept this comparison focused on Apple Passwords, but I’m curious where everyone else lands.
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