LastPass review

In our study of the leading password management tools, we found LastPass the best value password manager.

And we’re not alone. 43,000 businesses are currently using LastPass, and Labs42 Research’s independent survey last year found it the “number one most preferred password manager”.

We were really impressed by LastPass – it’s user-friendly, robust and the freemium model makes it accessible to everyone. You’ll also save so much time with the browser add-on, which auto-fills your passwords, so you don’t have to worry about signing into LastPass every time you want to visit a site.

It’s easy to get started on LastPass, and it runs well on Windows, Mac or Linux computers. Plus you can enjoy first-rate online security with the well-designed LastPass App on your smartphone or tablet.

In this LastPass review, we’ll answer all your questions about LastPass (from the pros and cons to real customer testimonials) to help you decide for yourself if LastPass is what you’re looking for.

If you’d like to try out LastPass, you might like to know you can, commitment-free, with their 14-day free trial.

In this review we cover:

LastPass pros and cons

The good
✔ Ultra-affordable
✔ Handy browser plug-in
✔ Spots weak passwords
✔ Works on most devices

The less good
✘ The odd (very rare) connection blip
✘ Password changing can feel tedious

Main pros: Easy to use and affordable

LastPass is one of the cheapest password managers around, and it could hardly be more user-friendly.

You can forget trying to remember all your online passwords. You just need one now: your LastPass master password. All your LastPass data is encrypted, so no one (no even LastPass themselves) can get in. But with your one master password, you can get hold of whatever data you need.

It’s easy to organise all your stored details into folders for simpler access, and you can save time filling forms online with the autofill option.

Main cons: It’s very rare, but can be fiddly

LastPass gives plenty of bang for very little buck, but it has a couple of limitations.

LastPass has some excellent, ramped up security, but it also means you may need to re-enter your master password when you visit a login page. That said, you can easily change this to an autofill login default, and some people may even like this extra security padding as an option.

And if you ever want a password overhaul, you may find password managers like Dashlane slightly less hassle. With LastPass, you’d need to change each password one by one, rather than automatically updating several.

Of course, this is hardly something you’ll come across too often – as you can see, we’re really nitpicking trying to find cons for LastPass.

LastPass vs Dashlane

Pick LastPass if you like top value for money

LastPass and Dashlane are two of the very best password managers around – they’re both easy to use, robust and secure. But if budget is a big deal for you, the winner has to be LastPass: it costs around half of Dashlane.

That said, Dashlane has better support if ever you lose your way (including a live chat function) and its intuitive dashboard can help save you time.

Either way, we think you’ll be very happy, whichever platform you end up choosing.

LastPass pricing

Freemium pricing takes care of everyone

LastPass makes its platform extra accessible using a freemium model. All basic password management features are absolutely free, but more advanced functions like Emergency Access and One-to-Many sharing will require LastPass Premium.

LastPass Free

If you’re happy just storing all your passwords and secure notes on a single device, the Free option will be fine for you.

That said, the reality for many of us is that it’s hard to choose between our smartphone and our laptop – we’re just as likely to need easy password access on either.

If that sounds more like it, LastPass Premium will be more up your street.

LastPass Premium: £1.50 a month

You can get full access for a modest fee of around £1.50 ($2) a month – that’s just under half of what Dashlane costs. And like most password managers, LastPass is billed annually at around £18 ($24). We just say “around”, since we’re converting from dollars to make it easier.

LastPass Enterprise: £22 per user

If you’re a small business owner wanting to roll password management out to your whole team (or family), LastPass Enterprise was made for you.

You can add up to 50 people to your LastPass account, and pay £1.80 per user per month (or £22 ($29) per year).

Password managers are a must for businesses who want to share login details simply and securely. These are the two most popular subscription plans for small business owners:

LastPass user ratings

Startups rating
★★★★★ (4.7)

Customer feedback

★★★★★ Excellent rating on the Chrome Web Store (28,169 reviews)

Super secure:
“I’ve used a few different password managers over the years and Lastpass is easily the best. It allows me to use complex passwords on all the sites I use, so it keeps my information much more secure.”
– Rory Peterson

Major time saver:
“I don’t know what I would do without Lastpass now. It makes my life so much easier, and the fill form option is great, it saves so much time.”
– Barrie

Speedy support:
“It took not more than 2 hours until my problems was solved. Very good customer support.”
– Rudi Sieberlich

Great value:
“I think LastPass’ value and price is the best for any commercial password management program on the market.”
– Stew S

LastPass features: The top 5

LastPass makes managing passwords secure and easy

LastPass have really though of everything when it comes to helping you stay on top of all your secure data online. Here are the five top features that most impressed us (and will make your life a whole lot easier):

1) Flexible Data Storage

You don’t just need to stick to storing passwords on LastPass. Here are just some of the different data you might like to tuck safely away there for whenever you need it:

1. Passwords
2. Payment details
3. Licence codes
4. Secure notes

2) Password Autofill

Once you’ve visited a site and saved your login details with a single click on LastPass, next time you’re there LastPass can autofill all those tedious boxes. Or you can set it up just to prompt you for your one master password (say, if you share your computer and would like just a bit more privacy).

3) LastPass Browser Add-On

The browser extension keeps LastPass ticking over in the background, so it will seamlessly pop up on your screen whenever you need it. This means it’s there to help you in so many ways online:

1. Giving you easy access to your logins whenever you visit a site
2. Saving any new passwords you create online (without you doing this manually)
3. Flagging unsafe passwords and auto-generating unbreakable ones
4. Spotting with the option of updating any duplicate passwords
5. Offering tips to help you create safe passwords every time

4) LastPass Password Generator

Generating extra secure passwords is one of the major benefits of using password managers, and it’s good online safety advice to change your passwords regularly.

Without LastPass, this would be a big ask for any of us, but from the LastPass Vault, it only takes a couple of clicks. You just open the record and tap the Auto-Change Password link, and LastPass will make sure it’s updated on the site, ready and waiting for you next time you visit.

5) Emergency Access

With all that essential information stored on LastPass, some people feel comfortable knowing there’s an extra back-up if ever you need it.

That’s where the Emergency Access tool comes in. If you like, you can nominate a trusted contact to get into your account if for whatever reason you can’t log in anymore. You just tell LastPass their email and pick a wait time (say, 48 hours) – that’s the time you have to reject their request for access, just as a precaution.

LastPass review: Final verdict

The most affordable password manager

Quite frankly, LastPass is an incredible password management tool. It’s easy to use (whatever device you’re on), secure and comes at a hard-to-beat price too.

Dashlane just pips it to the post on intuitive design (with automatic password changes), but for under half the price, LastPass definitely offers the best value for money, and everything you need to keep all your passwords securely locked and there for when you need them.

If you’d like to give LastPass, you can get started right away, completely for free.