Best Password Manager for iPhone 2021

Best Password Managers for iOS

The devil’s in the details. Password manager pricing plans alone can be free or paid, personal or for business, for individuals or for families, simple or premium, and might be purchased on a monthly, yearly, or even lifetime basis.

All those persnickety differences between password mangers add up, and that’s in addition to the different strengths and weaknesses each service brings to the table, from ease of setup to the strength of the support team available.

Based on our thorough testing of features and ease of use, these are the top password managers for iPhone users:

LastPass Review

The complete market-leading package: Secure, flexible, well-priced

The LastPass password manager does what it says on the tin: it offers a secure password keeper that's easy to understand and use. It offers a broad range of essential features, and solid support and help options. For purists who need the job done right, it's definitely the top choice.

Entering a master password gets you into the LastPass vault, which holds all your online account passwords. When you arrive at a website you have an account on, LastPass can either auto-enter the details or just make them available to you.

A password generator tool is also available to ensure that you're using strong passwords. The process for generating these password changes requires you to manually go into your password vault and click the “Auto-Change Password” button manually for each password you'd like changed.

One big downside is that lost connections, though very rare, might result in LastPass losing your new, changed password, essentially locking you out of an account. This really is an once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence, but we flagged it as a frustration in our testing.

Pricing is good, however. There's a great free option, plus individuals can buy a year's premium subscription for $36, and families can get up to six accounts for just $48 per year.

LastPass for iPhone Features

LastPass offers a stellar iOS app with the functionality to autofill your passwords and usernames across any app or mobile browser you visit, provided you know your LastPast master password. As of iOS 12, the app will autofill your personal information in-app, rather than requiring a trip to the app's encrypted vault, although that is available should you need to visit it.

The app includes automatic device sync, so new passwords entered in mobile will be available across all your devices, and it supports a fingerprint login.

Users can share passwords with others easily, so you can get your friend the WiFi password when needed. It also comes with a built-in password generator and multi-factor authentication, with secure AES 256-bit encryption.

LastPass App Store Rating

LastPass currently has a 4.5 star rating in the Apple App Store, with a total of 38,9oo ratings, making it number 101 in the Productivity category. That's about as good as it gets for an online rating, with the large number of users shaking out to nine happy customers out of every ten.

Check out our full LastPass review for more information.

1Password Review

The best password manager we've tested

1Password offers the best service, support and pricing around. The service comes as a desktop program, a mobile app, and a browser extension. To use a stored password, just navigate to the site you need to log into, click the 1Password icon or extension, and you'll be directed into your online account.

On top of passwords, 1Password lets you encrypt everything from passport and driver’s license information to your social security number or software licenses and more.

You can store it all in multiple identities and multiple vaults, ensuring all your work passwords are separate from your personal ones, with tags and favoriting available to further sort out your data.

On top of all that, the service's interface is easy to figure out and looks great to boot. The design adds an extra touch that puts it above the more utilitarian layouts at work in the Dashlane and LastPass apps — something any Apple fan should appreciate, and a reason why this is the best password manager for iPhone. Besides, ease of use is the whole point of a password manager.

1Password comes with a 30-day free trial, but no ongoing free version, unlike other top options. The starting rates of $36 per year apply to individual accounts, with a family-oriented option (allowing up to five users) available for $60 per year. Business options come in several tiers, costing either $20 per ten users per month or $7.99 per user per month, and including bonuses such as 1GB document storage per user, unlimited shared storage, and admin settings.

1Password for iPhone Features

The 1Password app lets users sign into websites and apps with a few taps of the finger, as well as letting them view and update their vault of passwords.

Personal information can include usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and addresses — everything the 1Password service offers on desktop devices. Categories for information storage include logins, credit cards, addresses, notes, bank accounts, driver’s licenses, and passports, among others, and just like the main service, users will get multiple vaults available to keep your work information separate from personal data. Custom fields can hold miscellaneous info like the answers to security questions.

Like LastPass, 1Password's iOS app uses end-to-end encryption, with encryption keys that never leave your device for extra security, and the app can be unlocked with Face ID biometrics. One useful perk: You can receive alerts if a website that you have an account with has been compromised, so you can change your password immediately. Team and family accounts are supported in iOS as well, and information can be migrated between accounts.

1Password App Store Rating

The iOS 1Password app has a 4.4 star rating from 25,100 raters. At the time of writing, it's number 102 in the Productivity category on the App Store, putting it just barely below the LastPass app at 101. That has to sting. However, the 1Password iOS app is also a 2021 Apple Design Award Finalist, which is quite the feather in its cap.

Check out our full 1Password review for more information.

Dashlane Review

An outstanding password manager app

Dashlane offers a fast and easy setup process, a strong overall performance, and more features than you’re even likely to need.

Granted, the value it offers might not be quite enough to offset the price hike Dashlane represents compared to the competition, but on the other hand, you can’t put a price on your online security.

As with most password managers, you’ll access your database of passwords through a master password. You’ll also need to add a few personal details – name, date of birth, and phone number – which Dashlane uses to auto-fill online sign-up forms.

Once signed in, clicking the Dashlane icon will allow you into any online account that Dashlane has your password to. Features like unlimited password sharing and emergency contacts make it easy for a newbie to stay safe online: If you love your iPhone, but don’t have a lot of online expertise, Dashlane can hold your hand.

Safe, secure, and easy to use? Dashlane sounds like a dream. A dream that will cost you $60 a year for an individual account. Granted, that includes a free VPN, which is a deal if you also need one of those anonymity-preserving web filters, but it’s still far outside the norm of around $30-something a year. A free tier is available (for one device only, and without cloud-based backup) and a stripped-down Essentials plan comes sans-VPN for just $35.88 per year. There's also a Family plan, which costs $89.88 per year and includes six separate Premium accounts.

Dashlane for iPhone Features

The Dashlane iOS app includes all the core functions you'll need to store and access your passwords when needed. It syncs across separate systems to all other devices you use Dashlane for. It includes a password generator as well as a password changer button — an option that lets you update any account to a new password with a tap. You'll be able to share passwords easily as well.

Like LastPass, Dashlane's password and username information will be automatically populated when you open the app or website that it is connected with. Users can login with Face ID as well as Touch ID.

Users will be alerted to any relevant breaches and hacks, so they can adjust and change passwords when needed. A Dark Web Monitoring option reveals if users' information has been exposed online, and the free VPN is included in the app — a big perk that you won't find in other iOS password management apps.

Dashlane App Store Rating

The Dashlane app doesn't quite hold the high rating of LastPass or 1Password, with 3.3 stars out of a possible 5 on the strength of just 30 ratings. That said, it does hold awards including PC Mag's “Editors' Choice Award,” a Webby Award dubbing it the “People's Voice Best Mobile Services & Utilities App” and an Inc.com recommendation as the “Best for Passwords and Checkouts.”

Check out our full Dashlane review for more information.

Sticky Password Review

Sticky Password comes may not be our top-rated password manager, but it still delivers on the core functionality that any password manager needs. It's secure, it's easy, and it's inexpensive. For plenty of users, that's all they'll need.

The service lets you log into any online site with one click, saving you the time of typing or remembering your dozens of passwords.

In addition, a security dashboard checks your passwords' strength, letting you know if they should be updated, though you'll need to do that manually.

Sticky Password allows more flexible syncing options than most password managers. For instance, it lets users choose whether or not to auto-sync updates to the cloud or to Dropbox. There are some feature limitations, however. These include no support for saving attachments (which you'll get with LastPass), and no option for saving documents, a feature 1Password offers.

A free tier is available (supporting just one device) and a premium user license will run you $30 per year, undercutting 1Password and Dashlane. The rare lifetime license is also an option, costing a flat $200. And, since it's supported on 16 different browsers across four platforms, you'll be able to sync account information just as easily across your iPhone or Mac, your Chromebook, or any Windows browser, making it the flexible option for the Apple fan who's not an Apple fanatic.

Sticky Password for iPhone Features

The iOS app saves and autofills passwords, while also letting users generate new unique passwords when needed. You can use TouchID and FaceID as well as your PIN code to unlock the app, and it's all secured with AES-256 encryption and two-factor authentication. In other words, Sticky Password has a typical password management app.

You'll get offline access to your password vault, which is useful for situations when you need to access a password for an offline service, like the keypad code to a physical storage unit. The app also flags weak or previously used passwords in your existing accounts, as well as any passwords that were strong at one point but have gotten old enough to benefit from a replacement.

The app supports credit card numbers as well as secure memos, all of which syncs to your other devices on tablets and desktop in addition to mobile. You'll be able to share passwords with others, for when your buddy needs the new Netflix password, and a secure cloud backup is available if you chose to opt in.

Sticky Password App Store Rating

The App Store gives Sticky Password a 4.6 star rating, which is an average of the 867 customers who have rated it, and the application works on iOS 9.0 or later.

Check out our full Sticky Password review for more information.

Password Manager Apps vs iCloud Keychain

Apple has its very own password management system called iCloud Keychain. This comes built into all iOS or MacOS devices, and works within the Safari browser. So, with iCloud Keychain ready to go, why use a separate password manager app at all?

In fact, there are good reasons to consider LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane instead of sticking to Apple's iCloud Keychain:

• iCloud Keychain only works on Apple devices – you won't be able to use it on your work Windows PC, for example
• iCloud Keychain only works within Safari – if you prefer to use the Chrome browser on your MacBook, for example, then Keychain won't store your passwords for you
• If you stray from Apple one day, you can't take it with you – if you cross the divide and move to an Android phone in future, you won't be able to keep using iCloud Keychain to store your devices. You can, however, install something like the LastPass app on your new Android phone, keeping your stored logins.

Don't get us wrong, iCloud Keychain is still vastly preferable to trying to remember all your own logins (or worse, re-using the same one over and over). But a third-party password manager app is a more flexible and future-proof option.

Do You Need a Password Manager on an iPhone?

In short, yes. If you're an iPhone or iPad user, you'll find yourself logging in to sites and services all the time. That's why a password manager for iPhone or iPad users is essential – password managers can keep your accounts safe.

This isn't just about saving you the hassle of having to remember all your passwords (though that is a major benefit). It's about creating and using secure, unique logins. You need lengthy, complex passwords to keep your online accounts secure, but it's poor practice to repeat passwords and no one should need to remember all of them.

Tech trends come and go, but just one has been increasingly important as long as I've been reporting on the tech industry: online security. The biggest companies saw huge scandals in 2021, with 1,767 breaches exposing 18 billion records across the first six months of the year – and those are just the reported ones.

Your smartphone isn't going to make headlines if it's hacked, but keeping it secure is probably a lot more important to you personally. And with the worst passwords of all time holding strong –  “123456” and “password” cracked the top five most used passwords as of the last count – we all need to start taking better care of our account information. Yes, even those of us with iPhones or iPads.