Did you know that around 81% of all data breaches involve weak, reused, or stolen passwords? 53% of people use their memory to manage passwords and 51% of people use the same password for both personal and professional accounts.
With more and more personal and sensitive information being stored online password security is a concern that we should start taking seriously. But with so many accounts to manage, it can be a real challenge to keep track all passwords.
That’s where password managers come in, and two of the most popular options are KeePass and LastPass. In this article, we’ll be diving into the nitty-gritty of KeePass vs LastPass to help you find the best fit for your password management needs.
What are password managers?
Password managers are software applications designed to store credentials like user IDs and passwords. They are like vaults which contain an encrypted database of all your passwords. It is opened by a master password. Once you provide the master password, you get access to all the passwords stored inside the vault. Hence, you need to commit only one password to your memory and everything else is accessible using that one password.
Why are password managers important?
- We have way too many accounts to remember all the passwords.
- Our general tendency is to either use the forgot password link to login everywhere or to reuse passwords.
- Password managers can generate strong passwords when you open a new account.
- Some password managers show alert messages when you open a potential phishing site.
- You can access password across devices and operating systems.
Now that you have the general idea of password managers, we can discuss some options that you can try. We’ll specifically talk about LastPass vs KeePass – which is safer.
Both KeePass and LastPass are quite popular password managers. But LastPass recently suffered a cyber attack and it was not their first time, so you can say that LastPass is starting the race of LastPass vs. KeePass from quite few paces behind.
What is LastPass?
LastPass is a password management tool developed by GoTo and parented by Francisco Partners. The company was founded in 2008. It currently offers a subscription-based password manager which costs $0-6 per user. However, it also has a freemium model with limited functionalities.
Wha is KeePass?
The basic principles of KeePass are similar to LastPass. It is a password manager that locks your passwords in an encrypted database which opens with a master password. However, it is a completely free and open source application.
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KeePass vs LastPass feature wise comparison
In this section we’ll talk about various aspects of both KeePass and LastPass to help you figure out what would work better for your needs.
KeePass vs LastPass – User-friendliness
KeePass is widely preferred by the techsavvy for its customizability, and numerous extensions. However, its interface is not the simplest and it demands a bit of technical acumen on your part. So, unless you are typically tech savvy, KeePass can be challenging.
LastPass is built for ease of use. There is more focus on user experience owing to its paid nature. It has an intuitive interface and the built-in plugins make it very easy to integrate with a wide range of applications.
Device support
KeePass currently has two editions – 1.x which is exclusively for Windows operating system and 2.x which can be used on a range of operating systems including Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
You can use KeePass on Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, and Safari using extensions. It has plugins to facilitate usage on Android and iOS.
LastPass is supported on all major operating systems. It is accessible through browser extensions. It has mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
Security
This is probably the most important part of password management and this is where KeePass is a clear winner if you try to find out, KeePass vs LastPass – which is safer?
Both LastPass and KeePass use the gold standard of encryption that is AES 256-bit. On top of that they are both secured by multifactor authentication or MFA. That means users have to cross more than one step of authentication to log into their vaults.
Neither KeePass nor LastPass store your master codes online to avoid security risk. If you forget your password you cannot access your KeePass vault. LastPass, however, offers you a bunch of ways to retrieve your vault including Face ID.
LastPass suffered a hack this very year. There is no update that it has recovered from the attack or is safe to use again. Attackers used an employee account to inject malware and gain access to the corporate vault. If I were you, I’d steer clear of LastPass at least for a few months.
If you are an existing LastPass user, consider changing your passwords and shifting to a different password manager. And please, do not use the same password everywhere. It will save you from a lot of trouble.
Customer support
As far as customer support goes, LastPass is arguably better. KeePass doesn’t really have a dedicated customer support wing as it is an open-source application. Nevertheless, you can access a set-up tutorial and a bunch of useful FAQs on their website. Other than that there is a community of users where you can get some help.
LastPass offers email ticket support to the paid customers and assigns a customer success expert to the business plan members. As a freemium user, you can access the community helpcenter which features a community discussion board. The fact that LastPass doesn’t have a direct phone support is kind of a bummer though, considering it is a paid application.
Bottomline
There are a lot of options today when it comes to password managers and you can choose any of them to store your passwords. You will be safe if you maintain certain general security rules like setting up strong alphanumeric passwords, not repeating them, enabling 2factor or multifactor authentication on all your applications and choosing applications that offer the same.
