Is paying for a password manager worth it?
Apple and Google include free password managers. What Bitwarden and 1Password charge, what the money adds, and who should pay, from the vendors’ own pages.
If you use the same password in more than one place, one leak can open all of them. A password manager fixes that by remembering a different strong password for every account. The question is whether you need to pay for one, when your phone already has one built in.
We compared the free and paid options using each company’s own pages, with prices checked on 29 October 2026. It isn’t a hands-on review.
What the government says
ASD’s Australian Cyber Security Centre is clear on the basics. Its personal cyber security handbook says to use a different password for every account, at least 15 characters long. It adds that “a password manager makes it easy”. Protect the manager itself with a strong, unique master password and multi-factor authentication.
Where a site offers a passkey, the ACSC prefers it. A passkey lets you sign in without typing a password at all; our passkeys explainer covers how they work. All the managers here store passkeys too.
The free ones you already have
Apple Passwords is built into iPhone, iPad and Mac. It keeps passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords and verification codes in one place. It creates strong passwords and warns you about weak, reused and leaked ones.
You can share a group of passwords with family or colleagues, but everyone needs an Apple device. On a Windows PC, iCloud for Windows gives you an iCloud Passwords app and an extension for Chrome, Edge or Firefox, with some setup conditions. Apple doesn’t offer Passwords for Android.
Google Password Manager is free in your Google Account, on Android and in Chrome. It creates strong, unique passwords, saves passkeys and tells you when a password has been compromised. Sharing is limited: you can only share a password with members of your Google family group.
Microsoft has stepped back. Its Authenticator FAQ says password autofill in the Authenticator app was discontinued in mid-August 2025. Saved passwords now live in Microsoft Password Manager in Edge.
For one person who lives entirely on Apple, or entirely on Google, the free option does the core job.
What the paid ones cost
Neither of the two best-known paid managers shows prices in Australian dollars, so what you pay depends on the exchange rate. These are the prices on their own pages, in US dollars:
| Plan | Regular price | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Bitwarden Free | Free | One person, any device |
| Bitwarden Premium | US$19.80 a year | One person |
| Bitwarden Families | US$47.88 a year | Up to 6 people |
| Bitwarden Teams | US$4 per user a month, billed yearly | A business |
| 1Password Individual | US$3.99 a month, billed yearly | One person |
| 1Password Families | US$5.99 a month, billed yearly | Up to 5 people |
| 1Password Business | US$8.99 per user a month, billed yearly | A business |
Bitwarden’s pricing page says “Taxes not included”. 1Password has no free plan but offers a 14-day trial with no credit card. When we checked, it also showed a lower first-year price (US$2.99 and US$4.49 a month) for new customers who buy directly on its website with yearly billing.
Bitwarden’s free plan is the outlier. It covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices, stores passkeys and lets you share with one other person.
What the money buys
Every device, not just one brand. This is the main reason to pay. 1Password lists apps for Mac, iPhone, Windows, Android and Linux, plus extensions for the major browsers. A household with an iPhone, an Android phone and a Windows laptop can use one vault across all of them.
Sharing with anyone. 1Password says you can share an item “with anyone, even those without 1Password”. Bitwarden Families allows unlimited sharing between its six members. The free options keep sharing inside Apple devices or a Google family group.
A plan for the worst day. Bitwarden Premium adds emergency access, so someone you trust can reach your vault if you can’t. 1Password Families lets you recover a member who is locked out.
Extras. Bitwarden Premium adds a built-in authenticator for verification codes, vault health reports and 5 GB of encrypted file storage. 1Password includes 1 GB per user and its Watchtower alerts. Apple and Google already warn about leaked passwords for free, so this is a smaller gap than it once was.
Business controls. Bitwarden’s business plans add central management, event logs and directory sync. 1Password Business adds single sign-on with Okta, Microsoft Entra ID and others, custom policies and reports. Bitwarden Enterprise and 1Password Business both include a free Families plan for every user.
For a business, the ACSC’s small-business guide for Apple users is direct: “ASD recommends the use of a standalone password manager.”
The verdict
Yes, if your household or team mixes iPhones and Android phones. Apple’s and Google’s free managers each stay inside their own world, and that’s where they start to pinch.
Yes, if you run a business with staff. Being able to give and remove access centrally, and see who opened what, is worth a few dollars per person a month. The ACSC’s small-business guide recommends a standalone password manager.
Yes, if you want someone you trust to reach your passwords in an emergency. Bitwarden’s paid plans include emergency access. Apple’s Legacy Contact doesn’t cover saved passwords and passkeys.
Try free first if you’re one person on one ecosystem. Apple Passwords or Google Password Manager does the main job at no cost. Bitwarden’s free plan works across everything if you want to switch later.
No, if you’d only pay for leaked-password alerts. Apple and Google already include them.
The worst option is no manager at all. Any of these beats reusing one password everywhere.
Checklist
- List the devices you use. Note whether they’re all Apple, all Android or a mix. A mix of iPhone and Android is the strongest case for a paid manager.
- Turn on your built-in manager today. Use Apple Passwords on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or Google Password Manager on Android and Chrome, for free.
- Run the password check. Open the security or checkup section in your manager and change any password it flags as weak, reused or leaked.
- Make your master password at least 15 characters. The ACSC recommends 15 characters or more, and multi-factor authentication on the manager itself.
- Use passkeys where offered. Save them in your manager instead of creating a new password.
- Try a paid plan before paying. 1Password has a 14-day trial with no credit card. Bitwarden offers free trials of Families, Teams and Enterprise, plus a permanent free plan.
- For a business, choose a business plan. Bitwarden Teams and 1Password Business let you add and remove staff access centrally.
- Set up emergency access. If you choose Bitwarden Premium or Families, nominate someone who can reach your vault if you can’t.
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