When it comes to password management, Dashlane and LastPass are the two head honchos.
And the competition is fierce.
But which one is better?
Let’s take a closer look at them both and find out.
Core features and similarities:
Here’s what Dashlane and LastPass have in common:
- Both U.S based.
- Include dark web scanning.
- Well-reviewed apps (for iPhone and Android).
- Both allow you to have 1 master password.
- Both let you manually enter passwords or import through a browser.
- Each service includes a password strength report.
- You get 1gb of storage with each service.
- Password storage is unlimited with a paid plan.
Security:
Both companies use the industry-standard AES 256 bit encryption (a secure cypher than would take the most powerful supercomputer several billions of years to crack):
However, Dashlane is often praised for being (slightly) more secure.
This is due to the fact that Dashlane does not store your master password anywhere.
While this is great for security, it does mean that your master password can not be recovered if you forget it!
Dashlane has never had a serious security breach.
In fact, Dashlane’s system has even been studied by the smart folks at M.I.T, who gave Dashlane’s encryption methods their seal of approval.
LastPass is also extremely secure, but they have experienced 2 significant breaches.
The first one was way back in 2011 and a second occurred more recently in 2015.
It’s important to note that these attacks were unsuccessful. Hackers were only able to access users passwords in their highly encrypted forms.
However, LastPass is an easier target for hackers because of the fact that they store the (admittedly very well protected) passwords on their servers.
Furthermore, LastPass users have also been targeted by Phishing scammers in 2018.
Key Features:
As you would expect, there are a lot of shared or very similar features offered by both parties.
These include things like password vaults, strength reports and dark web monitoring.
Some of these core features are outlined in the similarities section above.
Here is a more comprehensive list of the features offered by Dashlane and LastPass.
Of course, the features you’ll get will depend on the package you opt for:
Dashlane:
- Allows you to sync passwords across multiple devices.
- Has a very limited free plan that allows you to store up to 50 passwords on a single device.
- Lots of User-friendly apps that are compatible with a variety of platforms.
- Secure password generation tool.
- Automatic password fill-in function which makes logging in quicker and easier.
- Option to store other sensitive data like credit card information or identity documents.
- Password changer tool that allows you to change your password across multiple popular sites (provided they are supported) at the same time.
- Business plans offered (unlike, Lastpass, Dashline does not currently have a family plan).
- Standard 2-factor authentication (email sent when you log in from a new device) as well as options such as Google Authenticator and Yubikey with upgraded packages.
- FIDO U2F support which means that you can use the cheapest version of Yubikey.
- Easy and safe password sharing between clients.
- VPN (a virtual private network) included for secure browsing. Though it may not be one of the best VPN options out there.
- Dashlane offers a Credit Monitoring service to its Premium plus subscribers.
LastPass:
- Allows you to sync passwords across multiple devices.
- Has a very generous free plan with unlimited password storage across multiple devices.
- Lots of User-friendly apps that are compatible with a variety of platforms.
- Family plans offered as well as business plans.
- Easy and safe password sharing between family members or clients.
- File and folder sharing capabilities.
- Secure password generation tool.
- Automatic password fill-in function which makes logging in quicker and easier.
- Like Dashlane, you have the option to store other sensitive data like credit card information or identity documents, but with LastPass, you can also store more unusual items like SSH keys as well as database logins.
- In your vault, you can change your password across multiple popular sites (provided they are supported) at the same time.
- Multiple 2-factor authentication options including apps like Google Authenticator and Duo as well as hardware options such as Yubikey.
- No FIDO support which means you can not use the basic version of Yubikey.
Pricing:
Pricing is one area where LastPass certainly come out on top.
Their free plan is extremely generous and should be more than enough to satisfy the average user.
With the free plan offered by LastPass, you’ll be able to store as many passwords as you like across multiple devices. This privilege is something you have to pay for with Dashlane.
LastPass’s paid plans are organized into 2 categories, personal and business.
Paid personal plans start at $3 per month (though billing is annual).
The $3 plan lets you have 1 user, and the (limited) ability to file share.
For an extra dollar a month you can get a family package with up to 6 users.
The family package includes 6 premium licenses, unlimited folder sharing and a family manager dashboard:
There are 4 business plans to choose from, which are priced from $3 to $8 per user:
Although Dashlane does technically have a free plan, unfortunately, it’s not really a viable option for the majority of users because of its tight limitations.
You can only store up to 50 passwords on the free plan, and you are also limited to access via a single device which is a real shame.
You do get access to the password changer, as well as the autofill function for both forms and passwords, but if you want unlimited storage, dark web monitoring, a VPN, secure file storage and remote access, you’ll have to pay for Dashline Premium which costs $3.33 per month:
Dashlane also offers a Premium Plus plan aimed at business users. This package promises to protect business users from data breaches and identity theft.
As well as everything that’s included in the premium plan, with Dashline’s Premium Plus option, you’ll get real-time credit monitoring and up to a million dollars worth of identity theft insurance.
Final thoughts.
The service you choose will depend largely on what your priorities are, what your budget is and on what features you want access to.
Both Dashlane and LastPass are leaders in their field.
They use the same industry-standard encryption methods which have been proven to be highly effective against fraud.
Both have great reputations, and a track record of providing an excellent service, so whichever one you decide to go with, you really can’t go wrong.
