Best Password Managers for iPhones in 2024
Our cybersecurity experts put the top password managers to the test on our iPhones to see which ones work best on iOS.
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Last Updated on Nov 08, 2024
- Low prices for premium plans starting at $1.39 per month
- Third-party audited security processes
- Uses the most advanced encryption protocol on the market
- Importing passwords from an iPhone is quick and easy
- Simple user interface with most actions available from the home screen
- Family plan supports up to 10 user accounts
- All third-party security audits are published and available to the public
- iPhone app gets regular updates
- Available month-to-month plans starting at $3.99
If you’re like us, you have too many passwords to count. So, when cybersecurity experts like us recommend using a different password for each account, it feels like an impossible feat. And when that advice gets paired with never writing your passwords down, how are we expected to remember them all?
That’s where password managers come in. Nowadays, there are tons of password managers ready for you to download directly from the app store. Even your iPhone has the built-in Password app. But how do you know which password managers you can trust with your passwords? Well, we tested dozens of them out ourselves and combed through each one’s security protocols to find out. We also figured out how good their iPhone apps are since we used them on our own phones. Let’s dig in.
Comparison of the Best Password Managers for iPhones
| System |
NordPass
|
Dashlane
|
1Password
|
Passwords
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
| Ratings | 9.5/10 | 8.9/10 | 9.2/10 | 8.5/10 |
| App Store rating | 4.7 stars | 4.6 stars | 3.5 stars | N/A |
| Cross-platform compatibility | iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, Linux | iOS, macOS, Windows, Android | iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, Linux | iOS, macOS |
| Free version | Lifetime | Lifetime | 14-day free trial | Lifetime |
| Pricing | Premium plans start at $1.39 per month | Premium plans start at $4.99 per month | Premium plans start at $2.99 per month | No premium plans |
| Read Review | NordPass Review | Dashlane Review | 1Password Review |
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1. NordPass - Best Price-to-Feature Ratio
Product Specs
App Store rating 4.7 Stars Supported platforms iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, Linux Encryption standard XChaCha20 Cross-device login Yes Data breach scans Yes Passwordless login Yes Lifetime free plan Yes, for one user Pricing Premium plans start at $1.29 per month 
Why Choose NordPass?
We activated passkeys and other premium NordPass features on the desktop app. When you want a password manager that works on almost any device, NordPass should be your go-to. It’s affordable, with premium plans starting at $1.39 per month. It has high-quality apps for iPhones and desktops alike.
It comes with premium features like persistent login, which made our experience using NordPass better than most password managers out there. To top it all off, it uses the strongest security protocol on the market in the form of XChaCha20. That’s why we trusted it with all our login information — even for our most important accounts, like our online banking credentials.
What We Like
- Lifetime free plan for one user
- Affordable premium plans starting at $1.39 per month
- Uses the strongest security protocol on the market, XChaCha20
- Quality cross-device login
What We Don’t Like
- No option to export all passwords into NordPass on iPhones
- Premium plans don’t have a monthly option
- Max of six user accounts with the Family plan
- Lack of an autosave feature for passwords on iOS
iPhone App Quality
We’ll be honest, it took us a while to get all of our accounts into NordPass. To import passwords on iOS, we had to manually add each account. With their desktop app, we could export all of our passwords saved in our browser then import them directly into NordPass. That’s how their Android app works, too, so we couldn’t figure out why they made it so difficult on iOS. When we made a new account, we couldn’t autosave the password to our iPhone’s NordPass app either. We had to manually add it.
>> Related: The Best Password Managers for Android
Pro Tip: Since NordPass updates your passwords across platforms, you can import all of your passwords from your desktop much easier than you can on your iPhone. This speeds up the process of getting all your passwords into NordPass.
After that initial headache, the app worked flawlessly. And honestly, adding all of our accounts only took a few hours. After that, we could seamlessly log in to any of our accounts without ever typing in a password again, thanks to its passwordless capabilities. That’s a small price to pay for one of the most secure password managers on the market if you ask us. Other users agree with us as well, considering it has a 4.7-star rating on the App Store.
Pricing
We know we already said it, but NordPass really is a great deal. With a starting price of $1.39 per month for the premium plan and a lifetime free option, there aren’t a lot of password managers that can compete with NordPass’ pricing. What makes that more special is that NordPass offers premium features similar to those of pricier password managers. See our comparison of NordPass and LastPass, for example.
We could even securely store and autofill credit card information with NordPass. Anyway, here’s a breakdown of NordPass’ pricing. We went with a Premium plan with annual billing, but the Family plan offers even more value if you have people to share your account with.
Features Free Premium Family User accounts 1 1 6 Unlimited passwords Yes Yes Yes Autosave and autofill Yes, but no autosave on iOS Yes, but no autosave on iOS Yes, but no autosave on iOS Passwordless login Yes Yes Yes Multi-factor authentication Yes Yes Yes Persistent login No Yes Yes Password strength assessment No Yes Yes Email masking No Yes Yes 1-year price with 3 free months Free $28.35 ($1.89 per month) with a renewal price of $44.85 $44.28 ($3.69 per month) with a renewal price of $66.96 2-year price with 3 free months Free $37.53 ($1.39 per month) with a renewal price of $80.73 $66.96 ($2.79 per month) with a renewal price of $143.76 FYI: The premium plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so don’t be afraid to go for the two-year plan to maximize your savings. Then, if you don’t use the premium features, you can request a refund and downgrade to the free plan.
Security Protocols
Most password managers, such as Dashlane, use the AES-128 or AES-256 encryption standard. That’s plenty secure for us and most other users. But, NordPass goes above and beyond here.
Instead of the AES protocol, they use XChaCha20. In layman’s terms, it’s the most advanced encryption protocol currently available. Considering AES encryption is military grade, XChaCha20 is probably what James Bond would use.1
If that’s not enough for you, NordPass takes things even further by subjecting themselves to a third-party audit assessing the security of their application. That said, the audit did not assess the security of the iPhone app. It only looked at the desktop app and browser extensions.
FYI: In VPNs, we look for VPNs with a “no-logs” policy, as that is the standard for secure VPNs. In password managers, we look for options that have a “zero-knowledge architecture” — that is, the company can’t see the passwords stored with them even if they wanted to. NordPass has a zero-knowledge architecture, just like NordVPN has a no-logs policy.
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2. Dashlane - Best Ease of Use
Product Specs
App Store rating 4.6 stars Supported platforms iOS, macOS, Windows, Android Encryption standard AES-256 Cross-device login No Data breach scans Yes Passwordless login Yes Lifetime free plan Yes Pricing Premium plans start at $4.99 per month 
Why Choose Dashlane?
Instead of cutting-edge features and the most advanced security protocol available like NordPass, Dashlane prioritizes ease of use. They don’t let you log in on one device and then stay logged in on other devices, but the process for importing passwords is straightforward, unlike NordPass. That lack of features prevents the app from getting cluttered with options and buttons. There’s still a passwordless login option though, so that was a nice convenience feature.
Dashlane’s password health checked for our weak, reused, and leaked passwords. What We Like
- You can directly import all passwords from iCloud Keychain
- Pricing is the same for new users and renewals
- Easy interface with a helpful password strength indicator
- Passwords autosave when making new accounts on iOS
What We Don’t Like
- Free plan limits storage to 25 passwords
- No cross-device login
- Not compatible with Linux
- Expensive premium plans that start at $4.99 per month
iPhone App Quality
Unlike NordPass, when we installed Dashlane on our iPhone, we directly imported all of our passwords stored in our iCloud Keychain directly to the Dashlane app. That made the onboarding process a lot quicker.
Did You Know? You can save your passwords to your iPhone by enabling iCloud Keychain. You’ll need to go into your settings, click your name, and then go into your iCloud settings. There, you’ll see a “Password and Keychain” menu where you can turn on iCloud Keychain.
After we got the app set up, using it was really easy. We stayed on the “Home” screen at least 90 percent of the time. It’s where we did everything aside from generating new passwords. Just like NordPass, there wasn’t an option to autosave passwords, so we needed to manually add any new accounts we created.
One thing we liked about NordPass over Dashlane was the multidevice login that let us switch between our iPhone and laptop without re-logging in to our account. With Dashlane, we needed to log in each time we switched devices.
Pricing
Pricewise, Dashlane is on the more expensive side of things compared to NordPass. The free plan only stores up to 25 passwords, instead of the unlimited from NordPass, and the premium plans cost more. But it still has a lifetime free plan, something we can’t say for 1Password. And we appreciate that Dashlane doesn’t have separate prices for new subscribers and renewals.
>> Read More: Dashlane vs. 1Password
Our expert going through Dashlane’s setup process. We do wish there were options to either pay month-by-month or pay for a two-year plan at a lower monthly rate. As it stands, you can only get a Dashlane subscription on a yearly basis.
Here’s an overview of Dashlane’s pricing:
Features Free Premium Friends & Family User accounts 1 1 10 Number of passwords Up to 25 Unlimited Unlimited Devices supported 1 Unlimited Unlimited Password generator Yes Yes Yes Passwordless login Yes Yes Yes Multi-factor authentication Yes Yes Yes Data-breach monitoring No Yes Yes Phishing alerts No Yes Yes Live support No Yes Yes Annual pricing Free $59.88 ($4.99 per month) $89.88 ($7.49 per month) Pro Tip: The best way to get the most value out of Dashlane is by splitting a Friends & Family plan with, well, your friends and family. If you can find 10 people to split it with, you can bring the monthly price down to under $1. And don’t worry, because being on the same plan doesn’t mean you will be able to see each other’s passwords. Each user will get their own encrypted vault.
Security Protocols
We said that Dashlane doesn’t use the most cutting-edge encryption protocol on the market to protect your passwords, but that doesn’t mean it uses one that’s not secure. It uses AES-256. To put it into easier-to-understand terms, we consider AES-256 to be the gold standard, while XChaCha20 is the platinum standard.
Like NordPass, Dashlane also uses a zero-knowledge principle for their overall security design. That means nobody can access the information you store with Dashlane except for you. But, unlike NordPass, they have not subjected themselves to a third-party audit. Instead, they audit their own processes, which is a step in the right direction. We feel more comfortable trusting third-party audits, though.
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3. 1Password - Best for Short-Term Use
Product Specs
App store rating 3.5 stars Supported platforms iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, Linux Encryption standard AES-256 Cross-device login No Data breach scans Yes Passwordless login Yes Lifetime free plan No, only a 14-day free trial Pricing Premium plans start at $2.99 per month 
Why Choose 1Password?
While we recommend always using a password manager, some people only want them for specific circumstances like traveling. Others might get a password manager through school during the academic year and only need one over the summer. Regardless of your reason for not wanting one year-round, 1Password has you covered.
We first set up 1Password on a MacBook, but it synced with our iPhone immediately. Most password managers we tested required an annual subscription at a minimum. 1Password is the exception, with month-to-month plans. And surprisingly, they’re not too expensive — they start at $3.99 per month. That’s less than the average monthly rate of an annual Dashlane plan.
What We Like
- iOS app is regularly updated
- Month-to-month plans are available
- Emergency security key provided during sign-up
- Security is regularly audited by third parties with published results
What We Don’t Like
- No lifetime free plan
- Constant iOS updates can make it hard to keep up with the changes
- Easier to import passwords on desktop than iOS
- Passwords need to be manually saved on iPhones
iPhone App Quality
That 3.5 star rating of 1Password might make you nervous. It made us nervous when installing it on our iPhone. But that didn’t stop us and we’re glad it didn’t. When we opened up the app, we liked the look and feel of it. We could import our passwords just like we could with Dashlane. Passwords were also updated across all other devices we used 1Password on.
Did You Know? Apple tries to avoid fraudulent reviews but apps can get review-bombed for unfair reasons. One study found that one third of reviews on Apple’s App Store are fake.2 That can result in apps with low ratings despite being high-quality apps.
While it’s easy to import passwords into the 1Password iPhone app, we’d still recommend using a desktop to complete the process; it’s easier. So why the lower app rating? We did some digging. Turns out, 1Password works on their apps so frequently that their iOS app regularly gets large updates. That means the interface changes, which most of their users do not seem to like. With each update giving 1Password more capabilities, we think the effort of getting used to a new interface is worth it.
Pricing
When we found out that 1Password offers a month-to-month plan, we thought it would cost us an arm and a leg. To our surprise, it costs less per month than the monthly average of Dashlane’s personal annual plans. However, if you need 10 users, we’d still recommend Dashlane, since 1Password’s family plan only supports five users. That’s less than NordPass’ support for six accounts.
Here’s an overview of 1Password’s pricing:
Features Individual Families Unlimited passwords Yes Yes User accounts 1 5 Passwordless login Yes Yes Multi-factor authentication Yes Yes Data-breach monitoring Yes Yes Password generator Yes Yes Autosave passwords No No Monthly price $3.99 $6.95 Annual price $35.88 ($2.99 per month) $59.88 ($4.99 per month) Security Protocols
For security, 1Password is smack dab in the middle of NordPass and Dashlane. They use AES-256 for encryption (like Dashlane) and they subject themselves to third-party audits (like NordPass). We like how they publish the results of their third-party audits, too.3 That lets cybersecurity experts like us review the findings of the auditor to verify their results. And after going through their published audits, we couldn’t find any causes for concern.
1Password sent us this printable Emergency Kit — the only way we could access our account if we were locked out. We do like the addition of security keys. In case you get locked out of your vault for whatever reason — a forgotten master password, hacking, etc. — you only have one way to recover it, and that’s the security key. 1Password gave us our unique security key upon signing up, which we printed on a piece of paper, laminated, and kept in a fireproof safe. There’s no “forgot password” option for the master password, but that’s what makes 1Password so secure.
>> Learn More: NordPass vs. 1Password
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4. Passwords - Best Built-In Password Manager
Product Specs
App Store rating N/A Supported platforms iOS, macOS Encryption standard AES-256 Cross-device login No Data-breach scans No Passwordless login Yes Lifetime free plan Yes Pricing No premium plans Why Choose Passwords?
The Passwords app automatically synced our saved passwords. If you’re looking for a free password manager — and one that works seamlessly with your iPhone — look no further than Apple’s built-in Passwords app. It only works on Apple devices, but that’s great if you’re loyal to Apple. You’ll be able to access your passwords on all your Apple devices, from your MacBook to your iPad. But if you’re like us and have iPhones but use Windows computers, Passwords isn’t the most ideal choice. That’s why it’s only fourth on this list despite it being a decent password manager.
>> Related: The Best Password Managers for Mac
What We Like
- Built in to iOS 18
- Full capabilities are available for free
- Syncs across devices
- Limited capabilities on Windows computers
What We Don’t Like
- Full support only available on Apple devices
- No built-in password generator
- Security is contingent on the strength of your iCloud password
- Newly released so all vulnerabilities may not have been identified
iPhone App Quality
To get the Passwords app, you’ll need to update your phone to the latest operating system. It’s a new capability of iOS 18, which was released on September 16, 2024. That means we can only give you our first impressions of the app: So far, so good.
Pro Tip: One of the drawbacks of Apple Passwords is that it doesn’t include a built-in password generator. That means you need to come up with secure passwords on your own. To help you with this, we made a random password generator you can use for free.
It’s been easy to use on our iPhone and integrate into our current workflows. Whenever we made a new account on our Apple devices, it was automatically saved to the Passwords app, since we had iCloud Keychain turned on in our settings. This made using the app more convenient than most iPhone apps. But it doesn’t work on our Windows laptop, so that’s a dealbreaker for us.
Pricing
The only cost associated with using Passwords is the premium price of Apple products. It comes built in to the iOS 18 update for free. It’s certainly one of the best free password managers for loyal Apple users. Again, though, it has no cross-platform capabilities outside of Apple, so see our list of the best free password managers for other possible options.
Security Protocols
The Passwords app also marked weak and compromised passwords. One thing we know about Apple is that they make their products secure. It’s almost impossible to hack an iPhone. The Passwords app is no exception. Just like all of the data in your iPhone gets encrypted using AES-256 when you lock your device, the Passwords app uses that same standard. It’s what Dashlane and 1Password use, too.
That being said, the overall security of the Passwords app is contingent on how strong your iCloud password is. Your stored passwords aren’t the only things on the line either; your photos, files, contacts, and any other data stored in iCloud are as well. You have to make sure you use a strong iCloud password. And while you’re at it, turn on two-factor authentication.
>> Check Your Password: How Secure Is My Password? | Password Strength Checker
Are Password Managers Safe to Use on iPhones?
Yes, password managers are safe to use on iPhones. It’s safer to use a password manager on an iPhone than most other devices due to the auditing that Apple conducts on the apps they allow on their App Store. That means any password manager you download from the App Store has the green light from Apple.
FYI: Don’t trust Apple’s green light fully. It’s more of a quick lookover than a thorough audit. There have been apps on the App Store that have suffered data breaches. So make sure to do your due diligence. You’re sharing your passwords with these apps and you want to make sure they can keep your passwords safe.
Do I Need a Password Manager on My iPhone?
We always recommend using a password manager. Using a different password on each account and remembering them all is close to impossible these days, but that’s one of the things you should be doing to keep your online data safe. Password managers let you use the most secure passwords possible on every account you have without worrying about forgetting an important password ever again.
Most password managers use adequate security measures. Always look for at least AES-256 encryption (the only one that’s better is XChaCha20). That means all of your data gets secured with military-grade encryption. We also recommend looking for one that uses a zero-knowledge security principle. This refers to the approach to security. Zero-knowledge means nobody can access your information except you — not even the company that stores your passwords.
How We Chose the Best Password Managers for iPhones
Some password managers mostly focus on business solutions. It makes sense. Businesses can pay more to store all of their employees’ passwords than individuals can. But they’re just as useful for you as they are for a business. So we’ve been testing consumer password managers over the past few months and while testing them, we always downloaded their iPhone app if it was available.
Our digital safety expert testing out password managers on an iPhone.
That firsthand experience gives us most of the picture for making our recommendations on the best password managers for iPhones. But it’s not the only thing we rely on. While using the app, we can’t tell which encryption standard they use or if their security processes have been audited.
That’s why we pair our firsthand experience with deep research into the technical aspects of the password managers we recommend. This allows us to give you the best of both worlds: Password managers that are easy to use and ultrasecure.
Did You Know: The built-in password managers from Google and Apple are the most popular ones in the U.S. according to our annual password manager report. But that doesn’t mean they’re the best. We found that they’re the most popular because they don’t require you to download any new programs.
>> More Options: The Best Password Managers for Safari
Which Password Manager Is Right for You?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer here. It really depends on what you need. But if we were to recommend one password manager, it’d be NordPass. They offer the most security with the most features at the lowest price. Plus, they have a lifetime free plan that supports unlimited passwords.
If you don’t mind spending a bit more for an easier-to-use solution, go with Dashlane. They don’t have quite as many features, but that seems to be a purposeful way to keep clutter off their iPhone app.
What these two password managers miss is a month-to-month plan. So if you don’t need one for a full year, 1Password fits the bill. It still offers strong security and its app is solid despite a low rating on the App Store.
Finally, if all of your devices are made by Apple, you can always just use their new built-in iPhone password manager that comes with iOS 18.
Regardless of which one you choose, we always recommend using one since it lets you use stronger passwords more conveniently. That’s one big, solid step toward digital security.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why should I use a password manager on my iPhone?
Password managers securely store all of your passwords and allow you to instantly input them whenever you log in to any of your connected accounts. This lets you use more secure passwords without causing you any inconvenience.
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Do iPhones come with a password manager?
They do now. iOS 18 came with a built-in password manager app called Passwords.
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Are password managers for iPhones secure?
While not every password manager lives up to our security standards, most of the ones available on the App Store do. That’s because Apple approves apps before they allow them on the App Store to avoid security vulnerabilities.
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Which iPhone password manager is the most secure?
Easily, the most secure password manager for iPhones is NordPass. Their security processes have been independently audited, they use a zero-knowledge principle for their security design, and the XChaCha20 encryption protocol they use is the most advanced one available.
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Is there a free iPhone password manager?
You can use NordPass or Dashlane for free on your iPhone. Dashlane only supports up to 25 passwords while NordPass supports an unlimited amount. You could also use the built-in Passwords app that comes with iOS 18.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2024). Cryptographic Standards and Guidelines.
csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-standards-and-guidelines/archived-crypto-projects/aes-developmentMartens, D., Maalej, W. (2019). Towards understanding and detecting fake reviews in app stores. Empir Software Eng 24, 3316–3355.
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10664-019-09706-91Password. (2024). Security audits of 1Password.
support.1password.com/security-assessments/