Best Business Password Managers : From Enterprises to Teams and SMBs

Posted on by Summa Lai

By Darcy French 

Protect your business with password management software

The best business password management software make it simpler and easier to manage employee passwords in a secure way.

This is important, as the increasing number of passwords and online protections against fraud and malware attack means a password management solution is becoming a must-have for businesses. 

The risks of cybercrime and other forms of data loss are rapidly growing, with small- and medium-sized companies increasingly the target of such attacks. Also, passwords are hard to track, and trying to devise an in-house solution takes time away from more critical tasks. 

Fortunately, there are many highly secure, innovative, and affordable solutions available. We’ll therefore feature the best business password management software currently available.

  • Also check out our list of the best password managers for consumers.

Dashlane Business is currently offering a free 30-day trial of its business password manager. The service provides companies with everything they need to onboard new employees, manage permissions and monitor security issues all from one place. It also includes advanced features such as SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) and the company’s security architecture has never been hacked. If you decide to sign up, for an exclusive 20% discount, use the code: TechRadar20Off

1. Dashlane

Best password management overall

REASONS TO BUY

+Sleek interface+Powerful central dashboard+Free personal accounts for staff+Single Sign-On

REASONS TO AVOID

-Expensive

Dashlane is one of the biggest names in password management, and the company has two plans aimed at businesses: Team and Business. Both plans benefit from what Dashlane describes as its ‘best in class security architecture’ with AES 256-bit encryption plus two-factor authentication.

The lower-tier Team plan gives businesses the ability to deal with everything from a central admin console, managing permissions, policies, remote wiping accounts and more. Dashlane also provides a free premium personal account for users, and a system of Smart Spaces whereby employees can have a personal space and business space. Admins can keep an eye on password security with the latter, but can’t peek into the former, maintaining the staff member’s privacy with their personal account.

Dashlane’s upper-tier Business plan (which is still in preview, note) provides premium family accounts for users, and adds SAML-based single sign-on for easy and convenient logins across multiple different accounts.

Naturally, both plans are also fully suited for mass deployment in an enterprise setting, Dashlane promises.

Dashlane comes equipped with a commendably user-friendly interface, which is always good – and in our eyes it looks sleeker than main rival LastPass. Perhaps the main downside here is that it’s not the cheapest password management system out there by any means, demanding slightly more of an outlay than LastPass.

On the upside, there is a 30-day free trial available right now so you can get a good idea of exactly what the service will do for your business (and you can benefit from our exclusive 20% discount if you use the code TechRadar20Off when signing up).

2. NordPass

Best password manager for general business use

REASONS TO BUY

+Affordable+Biometric authorization+OCR scanning+End-to-end XChaCha20 encryption

REASONS TO AVOID

-Lack of administrator control

NordPass is another strong contender when considering all the best business password management software out there. It is highly secure, easy to use, widely supported, and more affordable than some other providers. 

Some of the features we like most about NordPass include biometric authorization and optical character recognition (OCR) scanning. These features save you time and make using NordPass a seamless experience. Password sharing is another business-oriented feature that makes the platform ideal for organizations.

We also like the platform’s zero-knowledge security architecture, which uses the end-to-end XChaCha20 encryption algorithm to ensure data is never compromised. 

NordPass is a good value proposition, and a compelling option for a password management solution. However, we would like to see features such as WiFi sharing and greater administrator analytics and controls. 

3. LastPass

Best password management for enterprise

REASONS TO BUY

+Several business-oriented products available+Best-in-class admin controls+End-to-end encryption of all data

REASONS TO AVOID

-Expensive

LastPass is one of the market leaders when it comes to password management, and justifiably so. Thanks to several business-specific features, a top-quality security framework, and an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, LastPass is an excellent choice for business password management. 

In addition to industry-standard features such as password generation, emergency access, one-touch login, and automatic syncing, LastPass includes enterprise-specific features such as password sharing and advanced administrator controls. The inclusion of single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication technologies make LastPass ideal for medium and large organizations. 

The platform’s security policies are also top-notch, with end-to-end encryption and TLS protocols ensuring your data remains secure. 

If you are considering LastPass for your business, there are several products catering to different organizational needs. For a comprehensive, all-in-one solution, the Identity plan combines password management and multi-factor authentication. 

4. Keeper Business Password Manager

Impressively secure password management system for businesses

REASONS TO BUY

+Easy-to-use interface+Tight security+Admins can implement all sorts of policies

REASONS TO AVOID

-Add-ons add cost

Keeper is a top-notch password management solution for businesses with subscription plans to suit every company, from smaller outfits up to enterprise plans (the latter of which add beefy extras such as Single Sign-On authentication).

The Business Password Manager plans give each staff member a private vault to manage their passwords, and the ability to share encrypted folders across users or teams.

Admins can manage user groups, enforce password security or data security policies across the organization, as well as perform security audits (with robust reporting tools at their disposal). Elements such as role-based access can also be configured, really giving admins the ability to fine-tune the system.

All this power is backed with an intuitive interface so it doesn’t feel like a chore to use the password manager, and Keeper provides tight security in the form of strong encryption and a strict zero-knowledge policy (with regular independent audits to back the latter up).

Rounding everything off is the fact that customer support is excellent, with quality chat support and some sterling video and help articles. Downsides include that the identity information you can specify for auto-form-filling duties is limited, and if you go for some of the add-ons – like BreachWatch – these can get quite expensive. Otherwise, pricing is reasonably competitive for the business plans.

5. Sticky Password

Affordable and secure business password management

REASONS TO BUY

+One-touch login+Affordable+Reliable and secure+Role-based permissions

Sticky Password is another worthy consideration for the best business password management software. We like its unique pricing model and innovative roles-based sharing.

As a baseline, the platform includes essential features such as one-touch login, password generation, password autofill, automatic syncing, and encrypted storage of credit cards and digital notes.

Password sharing is also included. However, the team behind Sticky Password has developed this feature even further to include role-based permissions. This innovative feature enables administrators to share with an employee only the passwords they require to fulfill their role. If an employee needs access to a specific credential, they can request access from the administrator. With this system in place, businesses are less exposed to security risks, as each password is only given to essential personnel.  

Sticky Password is one of the cheaper password management services currently available. 

6. RoboForm

Powerful password management solution for businesses

REASONS TO BUY

+Robust admin controls+Emergency Access+Discounts for large organizations

REASONS TO AVOID

-Expensive-Few innovative features

Although Roboform offers a robust and powerful password management solution for businesses, it loses some marks for its basic user interface and high cost. There are also few innovative features to speak of. 

Nonetheless, RoboForm is reliable, and the features it does have operate seamlessly to protect your business credentials. Password generation, sharing, and syncing are included, as is offline access and SSO technology. 

A business-specific feature we are pleased to see is emergency access. So if you or an employee ever lose access to your account, you can restore access and recover essential data. Advanced administrator controls also make RoboForm ideal for organizations.

The cost of RoboForm depends on the number of licenses you are purchasing, as well as the length of the subscription. Discounts of 15% and 25% are offered for three-year and five-year memberships, respectively. 

7. Password Boss

Competent password management service for business

REASONS TO BUY

+Easy-to-use apps+AES 256-bit end-to-end encryption

REASONS TO AVOID

-Ambiguous Dark Web scan

Password Boss is a reliable and secure performer. However, we don’t think it quite competes with the candidates we’ve already highlighted above in our list of the best business password management software. 

Although the platform comes with all the industry-standard features, there is one innovative feature to speak of: a Dark Web scan. Although the premise behind this feature is intriguing, we were unable to find information explaining the back-end technology. 

Either way, Password Boss is still a reliable password management service worth considering. The Advanced plan includes business-specific features such as user management, analytics, and audit logs. 

8. 1Password

Password management for your business and family

REASONS TO BUY

+Two-factor authentication+Dedicated business support+Multiple business plans+Administrator control

1Password is a password management solution that provides protection for individuals, families and businesses. While the company does offer a consumer version, organizations that sign up for 1Password Business also get access to free family accounts for all of their team members (much like Dashlane’s Business plan).

There are three plans available depending on the size of your organization. 1Password Business’ Teams plan is best suited to startups and small businesses while its Business plan will likely appeal to larger organizations. It’s worth noting that you will have to sign up for the Business plan or higher to claim the free family accounts for your team. There is also an Enterprise plan available but you will need to contact the company for a custom quote.

For the price, 1Password Business includes apps for most popular platforms, unlimited shared vaults and item storage, administrator controls, two-factor authentication for additional protection and more.

As well as providing all of the above, 1Password Business also protects you from breaches and other threats, such as keyloggers and phishing attempts, and will only work in verified browsers.

“How to choose a strong password”

Craig Lurey, CTO and Co-founder of Keeper Security, provided with his views on how to create a solid password below.

“Unique passwords are an essential component of enterprise security. It’s imperative for today’s workforce to keep in mind the heightened risks that result from weak passwords, which can operate as a skeleton key to every access point within an organization’s network. There are a few rules of thumb to note when creating a password that cannot be overlooked.

Most importantly, do not recycle passwords. This is a common habit that serves hackers well. When one account is hacked, a cybercriminal has the login information attached to every account you own. Instead, find ways to ensure variety across your passwords. Rather than pulling from personal information like your birthday, your name, or the names of family members — use a long list of random words chained together, making sure to incorporate numbers, alternating cases and symbols.

However, remembering and properly storing passwords can be very difficult. A password management platform closes the authentication and encryption gaps across the entire enterprise, on every single device. Password managers automatically generate unique, high-strength, random passwords for all your sites and apps and stores them in a personal, encrypted digital vault that can be accessed on any device with any operating system. Top password manager solutions are also able to integrate with SSO solutions to ensure a comprehensive solution for the enterprise, across any cloud and native application.

Ref: https://www.techradar.com/best/business-password-management-software