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Nearly every website you visit, from dating apps to banking sites, insists you create a user account and think up a password. The problem? Human memory can't keep up with dozens upon dozens of passwords. Some people get the idea of using the simplest possible password, like "123456789" or "password." Others memorize one random password and use it for everything. Using either of those strategies is likely to make you a victim of identity theft. The smarter move is to use password manager software to remember complex passwords and unique passkeys for all the sites you need to log in to.

We've tested and analyzed dozens of password managers so you can pick the one that best fits your needs. Read on for the top password managers we've tested, followed by an in-depth explanation of how these services work and how we evaluate them.

The Best Password Protection

Password managers keep you safe, and they're also convenient. With a password manager, you don't have to remember a complex and unique password for each account. The password manager helps you generate new, random ones, stores them for you, and can even help you pass on your passwords to your loved ones after you die.

When you sign up for a password manager, one of the first things to do is create a master password for your account. Your master password is used to encrypt the contents of your password vault, so you should make it difficult for anyone else to guess it. However, it can't be so random you can't remember it. Your master password is likely unrecoverable if you do. Read our tips on creating secure, complicated passwords for guidance. One technique you might want to consider is to forgo simple passwords in favor of more complex passphrases.

Some password managers eliminate the need for a master password by offering a passwordless entry to your desktop or mobile vault. With passwordless technology, you can log in using a QR code with a third-party authenticator app, biometrics, a magic link, or a one-time password.

As an additional precaution, you should set up multi-factor authentication to secure your password manager account, be it via biometrics, SMS, or time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) stored in an authenticator app. The best password managers support authentication via U2F or OTP-based hardware security keys, most of which are about the size of an actual key and made to go on your key ring.

Before you commit to any password manager, you need to ensure it works on each device you use and doesn't prevent you from syncing your passwords across all your devices. Although support for Windows and macOS platforms is given, several password managers now offer native Linux apps, too. The best password managers have browser extensions for every popular browser that can operate independently of a desktop app.

How Does a Password Manager Work?

Most people use a password manager primarily to manage website credentials. In practice, when you log in to a secure site, the password manager offers to save your credentials. When you return to that site, it offers to fill in those credentials. If you've saved multiple logins for the same site, the password manager lists all those options. Most password managers also offer a browser toolbar menu of saved logins, so you can go straight to a saved site and log in automatically.

Some products detect when you change your password to an account and offer to update the existing password on file to the new one. Some record your credentials when you create a new account for a secure website.

Entering your passwords into a password manager is a good first step. Next, you must identify weak and duplicate passwords and replace them with tough ones. Password managers can flag these bad passwords and help you improve them. Some password managers even check whether you have set up multi-factor authentication for those services in your vault that support it and whether your personal information appears in any data breaches.

(Credit: Bitwarden/PCMag)

When you create a new secure account or update a weak password, don't strain your brain trying to develop a different password that is strong and unique. Let your password manager take care of it. Ensure your generated passwords are at least 20 characters long and include all the major character types: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

What Are Important Password Manager Features?

Most password managers can fill in personal data on web forms, such as first and last name, email address, phone number, bank cards, passport numbers, etc. Many password managers also can capture and fill in credentials for desktop applications.

Most password managers include a built-in mechanism for securely sharing passwords with other users, but some go further with advanced permissions. For instance, a few password managers allow you to share a login without making the password visible, revoke sharing, or make the recipient an owner of the item.

On a grimmer note, what happens to your secure accounts after you die? Many products include some provision for a digital legacy, a method to transfer your logins to a trusted individual in the event of your death or incapacity.

Some password management companies also offer versions of their products for businesses and teams. These products usually emphasize multi-factor authentication and offer single sign-on and advanced credential-sharing capabilities between team members. The best password managers let administrators see which employees use weak, reused, or compromised passwords for their work accounts.

Password Security Options

Logging in with your secure username and password to a website that doesn't use a secure HTTPS connection is a big no-no. Some password managers warn you about insecure login pages.

Running your secure connections through a virtual private network, or VPN, adds a layer of protection. Dashlane includes a simple built-in VPN. NordPass comes from the same company behind NordVPN.

Secure storage is an increasingly common feature among password managers, too. The storage allocation won’t replace the need for dedicated cloud storage and syncing service, but in many cases, it’s enough for storing important documents in an encrypted state.

Although a password manager needs to offer advanced features, it should remain easy to use and avoid needless complexity. Users who get annoyed or baffled by a password manager may abandon it and go back to using sticky notes to store and share passwords or, worse, apply the same password everywhere. Note: If you get fed up with your current tool, we have a guide for switching to a new password manager.

Password Managers vs. Passkeys

Passkeys are the new way to log in to websites, eliminating the need for an email address and password combination. I say new and not better because it's still too soon to tell whether passkeys are making a difference across the cybercrime landscape.

In theory, widespread passkey adoption should make it harder for criminals to steal your credentials and get into your accounts since passkeys can't be stolen by hacking into a company's system. Many of the password managers we've tested, including Bitwarden, allow you to store passkeys in their password manager vault.

But, as one expert told PCMag, passkeys are no substitute for healthy cybersecurity habits. "You have passkeys? That's fantastic. But if I can access your device, I can likely find a way around those passkeys," warned Trevor Hilligoss, vice president at SpyCloud, a cybersecurity company.

Hilligoss told us that criminals have already found ways to get around passkey usage by exploiting flaws inherent to the online authenticating process. Cookie hijacking and using specialized malware-as-service tools make it easy for a determined criminal to get into your accounts.

Still, some protection is better than none at all. 1Password offers an updated list of websites that support passkeys.

What Is the Best Password Manager for 2024?

Products on this list that do not earn an Editors' Choice award have their merits, and we reevaluate password managers throughout the year. Click here to learn what criteria we are looking for when we test password managers.

All the best password managers mentioned in this article cost money, though you can use some of them for free if you accept certain limitations. We've rounded up the best free password managers in a separate article.