LastPass free vs premium: Is it worth the upgrade?

LastPass is one of the most famous and popular password managers on the internet. It works well, a lot of people use it, and it is generally trustworthy. It’s also relatively accessible and easy to use with a number of useful tools. LastPass has both a free and a premium version of the app, but this has changed significantly, especially in the last few years. The good news is that the number of free features is currently at an all-time high. Let’s take a look at LastPass Free vs Premium and see if you actually need Premium or not.

See how LastPass holds up against the competition:

What does LastPass do?

There are a number of features that work in both the free and premium versions of LastPass. The big job of the app is to save your credentials for all the websites you visit so that you can log in more easily. You only have to remember a single password – – those for LastPass. LastPass, in turn, stores all of your other passwords. At a time when there are more than dozen of accounts, such a tool is very useful.

The apps and browser extensions work the same for almost every platform. You log into the service, add your various accounts and LastPass offers to automatically fill in the login details when you reach a certain website. Android, iOS, and PC all have slightly different methods of dealing with this, but none of them are difficult. You should be able to get used to it after just a few registrations.

Finally, LastPass offers encryption for both free and premium accounts. It is encrypted and decrypted using AES-256-bit encryption with PBKDF2 SHA-256 along with salted hashing. Everything takes place at the device level. The encryption keys are never sent to LastPass servers, and the company has no access to your personal information at all. This is great news for both free and premium users.

What’s with LastPass Free?

LastPass Free has changed shape many times over the years. We actually think the current iteration is among the best. The service offers a generous number of features for a free account and it should be more than most people actually need. Here is the official listing straight from LastPass if you want to visit the official website.

Basic functions

• Access to all supported devices
• An encrypted safe for storing passwords, form filler elements (address, email, etc.) and a note function for hidden notes
• Save and fill in the site credentials
• Automatic completion of website registrations on all available platforms
• Unlimited password storage
• Support for things like Wi-Fi passwords, credit cards, bank accounts, membership cards, driver’s licenses, and other sensitive information

Advanced features

• A password generator that creates long, random passwords that are much harder for hackers to guess
• Two-factor authentication including support for LastPass Authenticator (Google Play link)
• Password checking capabilities on mobile devices and PCs. Find out if you’re reusing a password more than once and how strong your passwords are. Simply use the Security Dashboard on the PC or the Security Challenge function on the mobile phone.

Extras

• A built-in web browser
• You can share passwords one-on-one with other LastPass members. This is good when you share accounts with other people or children.

There are quite a few things you can do with a free account. The ability to sync your account between devices for free is great as this feature is usually a premium feature for many services. In addition, the Security Challenge helps you identify weak points in your password habits and even gives you tips on how to fix them.

What extras do you get with LastPass Premium?

LastPass Premium is not a bait-and-switch tactic. Many existing free features are simply upgraded to provide more functionality. Here is the list from the LastPass website if you want to check it out there.

Basic functions

• The basic functions of LastPass Premium are identical.

Advanced features

• More storage space (up to 1 GB) for safe notes and other things
• Emergency access support that allows you to give access to a family member in the event of an emergency. They would sign in to get your information and the app would make them wait an hour for you to revoke access in case they mistakenly do so.

Additional functions

• LastPass offers premium customer support for paying customers.
• One-to-many password sharing. It works the same as the one-on-one password sharing for the free version, except you can share it with a lot more people.
• Unlocks some minor features in different versions of LastPass. For example, some types of biometrics in the Windows app require the premium version of LastPass.

That’s really it. LastPass Premium really only unlocks a few additional things. It doesn’t seem to have any major functions behind a paywall.

What does LastPass Premium cost?

There are several payment levels depending on where and in what context you log in. For example, business accounts pay differently than individual accounts. Either way, this is where you can find all the payment details we could find.

Individual accounts

• $ 36 per year (single account) – – A single award account costs $ 36 per year (plus tax). Some ads might show $ 3 per month. The average of $ 36 a year is around that, but LastPass is billed annually so you have to pay the $ 36 upfront.
• $ 48 per year (family account) – – Family accounts have up to six premium licenses for you and your family members to make sharing passwords easier. There are no additional features compared to the single premium account, other than the increased number of users.

Business accounts

• Business accounts range from $ 3 per user per month to $ 8 per user per month, depending on your needs and team size. We recommend visiting the LastPass pricing page and contacting the company if planning this route.

Should I upgrade?

To be completely honest, no. LastPass is tiered so that you will be prompted to upgrade if you exceed the limits of the free account anyway. Therefore, it is very important to stick with LastPass Free until you absolutely need to go Premium. We are willing to bet that most people never see the prompt and therefore never need to go premium.

Still, there are some advantages for premium users. The added level of support from the company may please some people, especially when they use their accounts for important things like work. Additionally, the additional biometric options may be useful for people who have invested in laptops or desktops with fingerprint readers. We’re not saying Premium is a rip off or not worth having. It’s just a simple matter of logistics. LastPass gives you a ton of things for free, and you don’t have to go premium unless you absolutely have to.

Are you looking for alternatives? Try these:

LastPass is surprisingly free to use, and that makes it an easy recommendation for just about anyone. It’s also a big name in the field so it is often among the first to introduce new features when they come out. For example, it was one of the first to use Android’s native auto-fill feature when it launched in Android 8.0 Oreo. As long as things continue to go well, we see no reason not to use either the free or premium version depending on your personal needs.