A generated password is only as safe as where you keep it. Here's what we'd actually use.
Generating a strong, unique password for every account only works if you have somewhere to store them. A password manager remembers them so you never have to reuse or simplify one again. Below are the four we'd genuinely recommend, chosen for security architecture first — not for how much they pay us.
Some links below are affiliate links: if you subscribe through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Bitwarden has no affiliate link at all — we recommend it and earn nothing from it. Being on this page never changes our ranking.
Best overall — open-source, audited, from the team behind Proton Mail
Free plan available · paid plans from ~$1.99/mo billed yearly
Get Proton Pass →Best free / open-source — self-host it if you want full control
Free · Premium ~$10/year
We earn nothing from this recommendation — Bitwarden has no affiliate program. It's on this list because it's genuinely excellent.
Get Bitwarden →Best polish — the smoothest experience, strong for families and teams
From ~$2.99/mo billed yearly · business plans available
Closed source, unlike the others here — but with a clean audit history and no breaches to date.
Get 1Password →Best value at scale — from the team behind NordVPN
Free plan available · paid plans from ~$1.59/mo on a 2-year term
Worth knowing: Nord disclosed in 2019 that a server had been breached in 2018, and was criticized for the slow disclosure. Since then it has moved to diskless servers and repeats independent audits.
Get NordPass →We only shortlist password managers that are zero-knowledge (the company itself cannot read your vault), have a public security-audit history, and have been transparent when something went wrong. We ignored marketing spend and affiliate payout when ranking — Bitwarden pays us nothing and is still on this list.
Related terms: Password manager · Master password · Two-factor authentication (2FA) · Key stretching
For most people, yes. Bitwarden's and Proton Pass's free plans cover unlimited passwords on unlimited devices — paid tiers mainly add extras like 2FA code storage, file attachments or priority support.
Less risky than reusing passwords across sites, which is what most people do without a manager. A zero-knowledge manager encrypts your vault locally before it ever reaches their servers — even the company can't read it. Pair it with a strong master password and 2FA.
1Password and NordPass both have polished family/business plans with shared vaults and an admin console. Proton Pass and Bitwarden support sharing too, at a lower price.
Yes — this generator creates the password, a manager remembers it. Without one, you'll end up reusing passwords or writing them down, which defeats the point of generating a strong one.