Password managers are the vegetables of the internet. We know they're good for us, but most of us are happier snacking on the password equivalent of junk food. For seven years running that's been "123456" and "password"—the two most commonly used passwords on the web. The problem is, most of us don't know what makes a good password and aren't able to remember hundreds of them anyway.

With more of us now working from home, outside the office intranet, the number of passwords you need may have significantly increased. If you can memorize strong passwords for every website you visit and every app you use, by all means do it. Assuming you're using secure passwords—which is, first and foremost, shorthand for long passwords—this is the most secure, if slightly insane, way to store passwords. It might work for Memory Grand Master Ed Cooke, but most of us are not ready for such fantastic feats. We need to offload that work to password managers, which offer secure vaults that can stand in for our faulty, overworked memories.

A password manager offers convenience and, more importantly, helps you create better passwords, which makes your online existence less vulnerable to password-based attacks. Be sure to also have a look at our guide to VPN providers for some more ideas on how you can upgrade your security, and our guide to backing up your data to make sure you don't lose anything if the unexpected happens.

Updated August 2020: Several of our recommended services have released major updates, so we've retested and updated this guide.

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Why Not Use Your Browser?

Most web browsers offer at least a rudimentary password manager. (This is where your passwords are stored when Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox ask if you'd like to save a password.) This is better than reusing the same password everywhere, but browser-based password managers are limited.

The reason security experts recommend you use a dedicated password manager comes down to focus. Web browsers have other priorities that haven't left much time for improving their password manager. For instance, most of them won't generate strong passwords for you, leaving you right back at "123456." Dedicated password managers have a singular goal and have been adding helpful features for years now. Ideally, this leads to better security.

Best Overall

1Password