Dashlane Review: Quick Expert Summary
Dashlane is my favorite password manager in 2021. It uses unbreakable end-to-end encryption to secure user data, has a wide range of high-security features, provides more useful extras than almost any other competitor, and offers more added value than similarly priced competitors.
All of Dashlane’s standard password management tools worked perfectly during my tests — I found it incredibly easy to import, generate, save, and share passwords, auto-fill logins and forms, set up two-factor authentication (2FA), and check whether or not my passwords were secure enough. And all of Dashlane’s additional tools worked exactly as promised — these are the extra features I like the most:
- Virtual private network (VPN) — provides unlimited secure web browsing and runs faster than many standalone VPNs (Dashlane is the only password manager that provides a bundled VPN).
- Automatic password changer — changes passwords for 300+ supported sites with just one click.
- Live dark web monitoring — scans the dark web in real time and provides instant alerts in case of a leaked email address.
Dashlane’s Premium plan is, in my opinion, the best password manager on the market — it’s 100% secure, easy to use, and very affordable. Dashlane’s Family plan is also one of the best family password managers around (it’s the same as Premium, but adds up to 6 users and a family management dashboard) — but Dashlane Free isn’t that good. If you need a decent free password manager, there are better options out there.
Dashlane is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try out its premium features risk-free and decide whether it’s the right password manager for you.
| Overall Rank | #1 out of 52 password managers |
| Encryption | 256-bit AES |
| Free Plan | 1 device, 50 logins |
| Pricing | Starting at /year |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days (+30-day free trial) |
| Operating Systems | Windows, Android, Mac, iOS |
Risk-Free for 30 Days — Download Dashlane Now
Dashlane Security Features
Dashlane uses 256-bit AES encryption to encrypt all of the data in a user’s password vault. This type of encryption has never been cracked, it’s used in banks and militaries around the world, and it’s even been approved by the NSA (the US’s National Security Agency).
Dashlane encrypts all of your data locally, meaning your passwords and other sensitive information aren’t stored on Dashlane’s servers — the information in your Dashlane vault never leaves your device. This is great because even if Dashlane got breached, your data won’t be compromised (but Dashlane has never been involved in a breach).
Dashlane also has a zero-knowledge protocol. This means that you’re the only person who can access your Dashlane vault. Not even Dashlane’s staff is able to access your data. This also means that Dashlane can’t help you recover your account if you lose your master password.
However, Dashlane does have one account recovery option — if you enable biometric logins on your Android or iOS device, you can reset your master password without losing any data. Top competitors like LastPass also offer a wide range of account recovery options, including biometric logins, SMS recovery, and a one-time recovery password. On the other hand, most password managers, including Sticky Password, Bitwarden, and Enpass, don’t offer account recovery, so it’s good that Dashlane does offer a way to regain access to your vault if you lose your master password.
Dashlane also has some additional security features, including:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Password security auditing.
- Secure password sharing.
- Virtual private network (VPN).
- Live dark web monitoring.
- Emergency access.
Most premium competitors, like LastPass, 1Password, and Keeper, offer 2FA, password security auditing, and secure password sharing, but Dashlane is one of the rare password managers to offer real-time dark web monitoring and emergency access. Dashlane is also the only password manager on the market to offer a VPN — which is easy to use, secure, and as fast as some standalone VPNs.
Overall, Dashlane has all of the features you need to keep your passwords secure, plus several unique tools that make it my favorite password manager in 2021.
Password Vault
Dashlane is currently in the process of transitioning to a fully web-based password manager. While it still offers a desktop app for Windows and Mac, the desktop app will no longer be updated when the transition is complete. Note that you can still use the desktop app indefinitely, but it won’t be updated. For the time being, users need to use both the web app and the desktop app to access all of the provided features.
While this may seem a bit complicated, the good news is that Dashlane’s web app is almost the same as the desktop app. In both the web and desktop app, users can store passwords, secure notes (like legal documents, Wi-Fi passwords, or software licenses), personal information (like addresses and phone numbers), and payment information (credit/debit cards and bank accounts).
However, IDs (like driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards, etc.) are currently only available in the desktop app. That said, this feature should soon be added to the web vault, too. The desktop app also has a section for saving digital copies of receipts, but there’s no information on Dashlane’s site whether this option will be available in the web app.
While all of Dashlane’s entries are pretty detailed (for example, users can even add the color of their credit/debit cards), I’d still like to see Dashlane add custom fields for each entry. Bitwarden lets users add as many custom fields to each entry as they like, and LastPass enables users to create fully customized entries.
One of the things I like the most about Dashlane’s password vault is the password changer feature — it logs into supported sites and changes your password for those sites in just one click. Dashlane’s password changer works on over 300 websites, including Reddit, Vimeo, IMDB, FlightAware, easyJet, and Discogs.
Plus, Dashlane’s password changer can change passwords for multiple sites at once — it’s the only password manager that can do this. LastPass has an instant password changer, but it only allows you to change passwords one-by-one, and it works on around 70 sites. And Norton’s internet security suite also has a password changer in its password manager application, but Dashlane’s is still better.
While not many super popular sites currently support Dashlane’s password changer, this feature is still very useful — and it’ll only get better as Dashlane continues to add more sites. The password changer is only available on the desktop app, but it’ll soon be added to the web app.
Overall, Dashlane’s password vault is easy-to-use, well-organized, and it lets users save everything from passwords to ID cards and secure notes. I’d like to see Dashlane include customization options to its entries, and it would also be nice to be able to create separate folders for organizing passwords. On the other hand, Dashlane’s entries are already pretty detailed, and Dashlane does let you organize your passwords based on categories. Dashlane is also one of the rare password managers to offer an automatic password changer, which works on 300+ sites and can change multiple passwords at once.
Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
Dashlane offers a good range of two-factor authentication (2FA) options. When you enable 2FA, you’ll be required to provide a second form of authentication each time you log into your Dashlane account, or each time you log into your Dashlane vault from a new device.
No matter which option you choose, you have access to the following 2FA options:
- Authenticator app — Google Authenticator, Duo Mobile, Authy, etc.
- U2F security key — USB authentication device like YubiKey or FIDO.
Enabling and disabling 2FA is currently only available on the desktop app, but this feature will soon be introduced on the web app, too. However, once Dashlane completes its move to a fully web-based app, 2FA with a USB security key will no longer be supported. I’m a bit disappointed that Dashlane is planning on discontinuing this feature — LastPass is also primarily a web-based password manager, and it still offers the option to complete 2FA with YubiKey. (Read more about Dashlane vs. LastPass here).
Dashlane also provides backup codes for 2FA — these codes allow you to enter your password vault even if you lose the device with the 2FA authenticator app. You get these codes as soon as you enable 2FA, or Dashlane can send them to you if you previously set up a backup phone number.
Dashlane also provides biometric logins — this option is available on both Android and iOS (Touch ID as well as Face ID on iOS devices that support it), as well as on Windows (fingerprint scanner) and Mac (Touch ID on devices with the Touch Bar). Using biometric logins is a more convenient way of securing your Dashlane account than using an authenticator app, and it’s just as secure. However, keep in mind that biometric logins on Windows and Mac will be discontinued soon.
Dashlane has a TOTP generator, as well. Using Dashlane’s TOTP generator, you can generate a one-time password for any 2FA-compatible online account. Dashlane’s TOTP generator works like any 2FA generator, but there are a couple of advantages to using Dashlane instead of Google Authenticator or Authy — Dashlane’s TOTP generator syncs all of your one-time passwords across all of your devices, and when you share logins with someone, Dashlane also shares the one-time password associated with that login.
Overall, Dashlane offers an excellent range of 2FA options — including compatibility with all popular authenticator apps, biometric logins, and U2F security keys (but this option will only be available until Dashlane completes its transition). I also really like that Dashlane offers backup codes, and I’m also a fan of Dashlane’s TOTP generator, which provides an additional layer of security to 2FA-compatible accounts.
Password Generator
Dashlane’s password generator is simple to use, works well, and lets you create passwords that include numbers, letters, symbols, and similar characters (for example, Z and 2). The password generator can be accessed via the desktop and mobile apps, the browser extension, and it also automatically shows up when you’re creating a new account.
On the desktop app, the password generator creates 12-character long passwords by default, but Dashlane has extended the length of default passwords to 16 in the browser extension and the mobile app. Using both the app and the browser extension, users can generate passwords up to 40 characters long (4 characters is the lower limit).
Dashlane’s default password length is similar to competing password managers. For example, LastPass creates 12-character passwords by default, Bitwarden’s default password length is 14, but Sticky Password and Password Boss automatically generate 20-character long passwords. However, most competing brands can create passwords that are longer than Dashlane’s upper limit of 40 characters. LastPass and Sticky Password have an upper limit of 99 characters, whereas Bitwarden lets you create passwords up to 128 characters long.
Also, Dashlane only lets you create a random string of numbers, letters, and symbols, whereas Bitwarden and Enpass also have options to generate passphrases (like “stone-battery-kite- staple”).
That said, one thing I really like about Dashlane’s password generator is that you can see a list of all of your previously generated passwords. This is convenient if you’ve used a generated password to create an account but have auto-save turned off by default — so you can manually copy and save the generated password to your Dashlane vault. Password history isn’t something a lot of competitors offer, so it’s really cool that Dashlane does have this feature in its browser extension.
Overall, Dashlane’s password manager is pretty basic, but it gets the job done. I’d like to see Dashlane include more advanced options for creating passwords, including the option to generate passwords that are ‘easy to read’ or ‘easy to say’. But even without these options, Dashlane’s password manager does create very secure passwords.
Password Sharing
Dashlane makes it very easy to share passwords and secure notes with others. To share an item with someone, all you have to do is enter their email address and choose whether to give them limited or full rights:
- Limited rights — the recipient can only use the shared password (they can’t even see it).
- Full rights — the recipient has the same rights as you do, which means they can view, use, edit, share, and revoke access to the passwords.
Keep in mind that you can revoke the recipient’s access to any shared passwords at any time.
Dashlane Free allows you to share up to 5 accounts, whereas there are no limitations for Essentials, Premium and Family users. This is pretty generous considering that a lot of password managers limit the number of people you can share passwords with on their premium plans (Bitwarden Premium users can only share passwords with 1 other user, whereas Bitwarden Family users can share passwords with up to 6 users). And some password managers like RememBear and Panda Dome Passwords don’t even offer password sharing!
The only thing I don’t like about Dashlane’s password sharing feature is that Family users don’t have the option to create shared vaults, like they can with LastPass and 1Password. But this really isn’t a big deal, as manually sharing multiple logins doesn’t take longer than a few seconds.
Overall, Dashlane has some of the best password sharing features I’ve ever tested. Sharing one or more passwords or secure notes with one or more recipients is super easy, and users can also choose whether the recipient can only use the items or have full rights. I also like that users can change their minds at any time and revoke access to an item in just a couple of clicks.
Password Health Checker
Dashlane’s Password Health is a password auditing tool that constantly scans all of your saved accounts for compromised, reused, and weak passwords — and it also assigns you an overall password health score.
Dashlane’s Password Health isn’t a unique tool — lots of competitors have similar features, including LastPass, 1Password, Keeper, and Password Boss — but Dashlane’s password security auditing tool works really well, plus it even allows you to exclude some of your passwords from the overall password health score.
During my tests, Dashlane flagged all of my dummy accounts with repeated passwords, and this also significantly affected my “Password Health Score”.
Dashlane then prompted me to change these passwords — I had to manually visit each site and replace the passwords one by one. Unfortunately, Dashlane’s automatic password changer can’t help you here — but maybe this will change once the password changer is implemented into the web app.
Dashlane’s Password Health feature is a very useful tool that makes sure all of your passwords are as secure as possible — this tool isn’t unique, but it works well, it’s intuitive, and it lets you quickly identify any weak, duplicate, or compromised passwords.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Dashlane is the only password manager on the market to provide a VPN. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your real IP address, securing your online browsing, preventing anyone from tracking your internet activity, and allowing you to unblock geo-restricted content.
Dashlane’s VPN is powered by Hotspot Shield, one of the more popular VPN providers in the world. Like Dashlane’s password manager, the VPN uses unbreakable 256-bit AES encryption. Dashlane also has a strict no-logs policy, meaning it doesn’t track or store any user activity (like the sites you visit or the files you download).
Another great thing about Dashlane’s VPN — you can use as much data as you want. This is a big deal. Most “bonus” VPNs included with other security products impose strict usage limits. For example, Kaspersky’s VPN restricts free users to 300 MB per day, and Panda’s VPN limits users to 150 MB per day on most plans.
Dashlane’s VPN unfortunately isn’t able to unblock streaming services — during my tests, all of the popular streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, etc.) detected that I was using a VPN. But Dashlane does support torrenting, and it provides fast speed for browsing and gaming.
Dashlane’s VPN has servers in 26 countries. I tested all of Dashlane’s servers, including the recommended one (fastest).
Here are my internet speeds without the VPN turned on and when connected to Dashlane’s fastest server:
My ping did slow down a bit, but my download and upload speeds were even a bit faster with the VPN turned on — these are pretty impressive results, comparable to the biggest names in the VPN industry, like NordVPN and Surfshark.
I also tested my internet speed when connected to more distant Dashlane servers:
My ping again increased, but my download and upload speeds only suffered a slight decrease, and I could still browse the internet and watch videos just as quickly as I could without a VPN.
The only thing I dislike about Dashlane’s VPN is that it doesn’t have a kill switch. A kill switch is one of the most important security features in a VPN, terminating your internet connection if your VPN connection gets compromised. All of the best VPNs on the market have a kill switch, so I’d really like to see Dashlane include one, as well.
Overall, Dashlane’s VPN is pretty good. It’s not as good as many standalone VPNs, which have better features and are unable to unblock streaming services, but Dashlane’s VPN is secure, fast, and supports torrenting.
Dark Web Monitoring
Dark web monitoring scans the dark web for your email address and other personal information and notifies you in case any of your data has been leaked in a data breach.
Dashlane’s dark web monitoring includes the following:
- 24/7 surveillance.
- Monitoring up to 5 email addresses.
- Instant data breach alerts.
Most password managers, including Sticky Password, Bitwarden, Enpass, RememBear, and RoboForm, don’t even have dark web monitoring. And most competitors that do provide dark web scanning, like 1Password and Password Boss, use Have I Been Pwned?’s free database.
Dashlane, on the other hand, uses its own data that is hosted on its own servers — Dashlane has over 12 billion records of data breaches, with almost a million new ones added on a daily basis. Plus, unlike competitors that only provide on-demand dark web scanning, Dashlane continuously monitors your email address and other associated data. And if Dashlane finds that your email has been involved in a data breach, it will send you an instant alert.
I tested Dashlane’s dark web monitoring by running a scan on one of my test emails.
Dashlane found that my test email had been leaked 5 times. It showed me the websites associated with the data breach, the date the breaches happened, and the type of data that was leaked. Because Dashlane discovered that my information was leaked, it encouraged me to change all of the passwords for the compromised websites. And that was it — the breaches were marked as resolved as soon as I changed the passwords.
Dashlane’s dark web monitoring is the best out of any other password manager — unlike most competitors, Dashlane provides real-time dark web scanning, notifying users of a leaked email address the moment the breach happens. Plus, it’s easy to use, covers up to 5 email addresses, and it offers an easy way to fix any compromised accounts.
Emergency Access
Emergency access allows you to select a trusted contact who can access some or all of your passwords and secure notes in case of an emergency. You just need to enter the email address of the person you want to be your emergency contact, and if they accept, they can gain access to your emergency items when the waiting period is over or when you approve their request.
You can set the waiting period from immediately to 60 days (and you can even prevent the emergency contact from accessing your emergency items until you respond to their request). When your emergency contact requests access to your vault, you’ll get a notification — and you can decide whether or not to give them access. But if you don’t respond before the end of the pre-set waiting period, your emergency contact will automatically gain access to the emergency items.
It’s important to keep in mind that Dashlane won’t let your emergency contact access payment info, personal info, or IDs. Password Boss and LastPass both have emergency access features that give the emergency contact access to the entire vault — I like that LastPass lets you share all of the items in your vault, including your banking info, but LastPass doesn’t let you choose which items you don’t want to share, whereas Dashlane does. That said, I’d still really like to see Dashlane enable users the ability to share other items with their emergency contacts.
Another drawback of Dashlane’s emergency access feature is that it’s not available on mobile — emergency access requests can only be responded to from the desktop app. This doesn’t make a lot of sense because users aren’t able to deny an access request if they’re simply away from their computer. That said, Dashlane does plan to incorporate mobile emergency access in the future.
Overall, I like Dashlane’s emergency access feature — but I think it needs some improvement. That said, Dashlane is one of the rare password managers to even include emergency access, and setting up and using this feature is very simple.
Dashlane Plans and Pricing
Dashlane has four plans, including:
All three of Dashlane’s paid plans are available as monthly or yearly subscriptions, and they all come with a risk-free money-back guarantee for 30 days.
Dashlane also has two business plans that can accommodate the needs of both small and big businesses (Dashlane ranked #1 as the best business password manager in 2021), and both of the business plans offer a free trial.
Dashlane Free — Limited, Not Great
Dashlane has a decent free plan, but it does have some frustrating limitations. It includes:
- Storage for up to 50 passwords.
- Use on 1 device.
- Password generator.
- Form and payment auto-fill.
- 2FA with authenticator apps.
- Password sharing (up to 5 accounts).
- Security alerts.
- Emergency contact access.
While Dashlane’s free plan does offer a wide range of features, most users have more than 50 passwords. Plus you can only use Dashlane Free on 1 device. LastPass and Bitwarden both have better free plans. LastPass Free lets you store an unlimited number of passwords on either mobile or desktop devices — but not both. But Bitwarden Free has unlimited password storage across an unlimited number of mobile and desktop devices.
Still, both LastPass and Bitwarden’s free plans have other limitations, so I recommend getting a premium password manager that provides unrestricted access to all features. Dashlane Free includes a 30-day free trial of Dashlane Premium, so you can give it a try to see if Dashlane is right for you.
Dashlane Essentials — Good Basic Plan
Dashlane’s entry-level paid plan includes all of the free features, plus:
- Unlimited password storage.
- Use on up to 2 devices.
- Unlimited password sharing.
- Secure notes.
- Automatic password changer.
Dashlane Essentials is a good basic plan with a wide range of useful features, including unlimited password sharing and the automatic password changer. It’s also cheaper than most competitors that offer a similar set of tools.
However, I’d like to see Dashlane Essentials include use on an unlimited number of devices.
That said, if you’re looking for an affordable and feature-rich password manager that you can use on 2 devices, Dashlane Essentials is a good deal.
Dashlane Premium — Best Value, All Features Included
Dashlane’s premium plan for individuals includes all of the features provided in the Essentials plan, plus:
- Multi-device sync.
- Advanced 2FA (using YubiKey).
- Dark web monitoring & alerts.
- VPN with unlimited bandwidth.
- 1 GB secure file storage.
Dashlane Premium offers more useful features than any other password manager. That said, Dashlane’s major rivals, LastPass and 1Password, are both slightly cheaper. They’re both great password managers, but Dashlane’s VPN and live dark web monitoring give it the edge over the rest.
You may already have some of these features that Dashlane provides elsewhere. For example, some of the best antivirus packages, such as Norton 360, provide dark web monitoring and a VPN. However, don’t let this put you off. Dashlane is still completely worth the price — even if you don’t need all of the features.
Dashlane Family — Excellent Family Plan
Dashlane’s family plan includes everything in Dashlane Premium, plus:
- Up to 5 additional licenses.
- Private accounts for each user.
- Family management dashboard.
I think 1Passwords’s family plan is slightly better — it lets you add an unlimited number of users for a small fee, and it includes shared vaults for easy password sharing among family members. But Dashlane Family is a better choice if you want all of the extra features the Dashlane has — a VPN, dark web monitoring, one-click password changer, etc.
Dashlane Ease of Use and Setup
Dashlane is really easy to use, but there’s been some confusion with its move to a web-only application. On Dashlane’s website, when you click Get Dashlane, you’re taken to your internet browser’s web store and asked to install Dashlane’s web extension. But when you install the browser extension and access the web app, you can’t access all of Dashlane’s features, so you need to download the desktop app, as well!
However, unless you already know which features Dashlane has — and that some features are missing from the web app — you won’t be aware that you should also download the desktop app. Dashlane doesn’t inform you that you should download the desktop app, and there’s no longer a way to get the desktop app from the official site. To find the download link for the desktop app, you should click on My Account in the bottom left corner of the web app, click More features in the sidebar, and then click Download.
Dashlane’s browser extension is available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, and it can also be used on Chromium-based browsers like Brave and Opera. The extension lets you view all of your saved items, generate new passwords, save new passwords, and auto-fill logins and forms. Dashlane’s auto-save, auto-fill, and auto-log functions worked extremely well in all of my tests. Dashlane instantly filled out all of my logins, logged me into sites where I had accounts, and it didn’t miss any fields in payment forms. It’s also good to know that you can turn off auto-save or disable auto-fill for specific websites.
From Dashlane’s web extension, you can also open the web app. In the web app, you can import your existing passwords from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, LastPass, or 1Password. To import passwords, you first need to download them as a .csv file and then import the file to Dashlane. Password importing with Dashlane is very easy, and it only took me 1 minute to complete the whole process.
Overall, Dashlane is very well-designed and it’s one of the most intuitive password managers I’ve ever used. Because Dashlane is currently transitioning to a fully web-based app, things can get a bit confusing, but once you learn where everything is, Dashlane is really simple. Plus, once the transition is over, I expect that Dashlane will be even simpler.
Dashlane Mobile App
Dashlane’s mobile app is available for Android and iOS — it provides access to most of Dashlane’s features, it’s very easy to use, and it works exactly as promised.
As soon as you download the app, Dashlane asks you whether you want to use biometric logins to access your password vault and whether you want to use your biometrics as an account recovery option in case you lose your master password. Dashlane then provides a really useful tutorial on how to use the mobile app, and when you’re all set up, you can access your password vault as well as all of the other features.
In Dashlane’s mobile app, you can:
- View all of the data saved in your password vault.
- Generate passwords.
- Save and auto-fill passwords.
- Share passwords and secure notes.
- Check whether any of your passwords are weak, duplicate, or compromised.
- Get alerts if your email address is leaked on the dark web.
- Connect to the internet using a VPN.
- Back up your data to an encrypted file.
- Import passwords.
Dashlane’s mobile app is very intuitive — it’s even easier to use than the web or desktop app. During my tests on my Samsung Galaxy and iPhone X, I found it very simple to find and use all of the features, and the auto-fill function worked perfectly every time. Honestly, I couldn’t find any flaw with Dashlane’s mobile app — the only minor downside is that emergency access isn’t available on mobile, but I don’t think this is a big deal for most users. And like I mentioned, Dashlane plans on adding this in the future.
Dashlane provides one of the best — if not the best — mobile apps around. It’s very similar to the web/desktop app, it’s incredibly easy to use, and it works great.
Dashlane Customer Support
Dashlane provides the following types of customer support:
- Comprehensive knowledge base in English, Spanish, French, and German.
- Email support in English, French, and German.
- Live chat support (in English, French, and German) from Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm US (Eastern).
- Twitter support (@DashlaneSupport).
- Official Reddit support.
This is an excellent range of support options. Dashlane is one of just a few password managers that offers live chat support, along with Keeper, NordPass, and RoboForm.
Overall, I was very impressed with Dashlane’s support team. I received friendly and well-informed advice within less than a minute via the live chat option.
On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed with Dashlane’s email support. I sent Dashlane a ticket asking when some of the missing features would be added to the web app. I didn’t receive a response for over 24 hours, and when I did get a response, I got an automated message saying that Dashlane’s customer support was too busy to respond.
I responded to this message and waited for another 24 hours to actually get a helpful reply to my initial message.
Dashlane also offers an excellent knowledge base. Each topic has step-by-step instructions so you can troubleshoot most problems yourself. For example, I had difficulty installing the Firefox extension, but I quickly found a solution in the FAQs.
Dashlane doesn’t offer phone support, but I don’t know of any password manager that does. There’s also no support forum. Quite a few password managers offer a support forum — including 1Password and Bitwarden — and I’ve found that they can be a pretty helpful resource when needed, so it’d be nice to see Dashlane implement this in the future.
That said, Dashlane does have an official Reddit support page with developers commenting on threads and answering questions. Reddit works similar to a forum, so you can get official community support if needed.
Overall, Dashlane’s customer support is good. There are tons of support channels available, and even though you may have to wait a bit longer to get a reply using the email support feature, Dashlane also has an excellent live chat option, an in-depth knowledge base, and even an official Reddit page. All of this makes it a great choice if you’re not experienced using password managers.
Is Dashlane the Best Password Manager in 2021?
Dashlane is very secure, it has more features than most competitors (it even provides a VPN), and it’s easy to use — even though the transition to a web app may be a bit confusing for some users.
Dashlane excels at standard password management features — its auto-save and auto-fill functions worked perfectly during my tests, its password security auditing tool helped me strengthen my weak and duplicate passwords, and its password sharing feature allowed me to easily and securely share passwords and secure notes.
Dashlane also has a couple of really useful extras that most competitors don’t offer — including an automatic password changer (LastPass also has this feature, but it’s not as good as Dashlane’s), a really good VPN with unlimited bandwidth, and live dark web monitoring that provides instant alerts in case of a compromised email.
I’d recommend Dashlane to just about anyone, with a couple of reservations. If you want something slightly cheaper, consider LastPass. And 1Password might be a better option if you need a family plan (but Dashlane’s family plan is still really good and includes up to 6 users).
But overall, Dashlane is the best password manager available — it works perfectly, it’s packed with useful bonus features, and it provides more value than any other competing password manager. Dashlane is backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Dashlane — Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Dashlane secure?
- Is there a free version of Dashlane?
- Is Dashlane web-based?
- Are my passwords stored on Dashlane’s servers?
Is Dashlane secure?
Dashlane is one of the most secure password managers out there. It uses end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption, it has a zero-knowledge policy, it offers two-factor authentication (2FA), and it has security extras like password health auditing, live dark web monitoring, secure password sharing, emergency access, and lots more.
Dashlane is also the only password manager to include a virtual private network (VPN) which encrypts your traffic and ensures your internet traffic is private. Dashlane’s VPN also uses 256-bit AES encryption and has a no-logs policy, but it unfortunately doesn’t have a kill switch (which terminates your internet connection if the VPN gets disconnected).
Is there a free version of Dashlane?
There is a free version of the Dashlane app. However, its feature set is limited compared to Dashlane Premium.
Dashlane Free is fairly decent in terms of the features it offers — it includes the password generator, personalized security alerts, and sharing passwords with up to 5 accounts. However, Dashlane Free is limited to one device, and you’ll only be able to store 50 passwords. You also won’t have access to the VPN or live dark web monitoring.
But if you want to spend some money to keep all of your passwords secure, Dashlane Premium is the best password manager on the market, and it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Is Dashlane web-based?
Dashlane will soon become a fully web-based password manager — it’s currently in the process of moving its features from the desktop app to the web app. At the moment, users need to use both the web app and the desktop app to be able to access all of Dashlane’s features, but when this move is complete, users will only need to use the browser extension and the web app. Also, when Dashlane’s transition is done, existing users will be able to continue using the desktop app, but it will no longer be updated. Dashlane’s mobile app isn’t affected by this transition.
Are my passwords stored on Dashlane’s servers?
The data stored on Dashlane’s servers are all encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption. And the only way to encrypt that data is with your master password, which is stored locally on your device.
Dashlane’s employees cannot access your data or master password, even in an emergency — such as losing your device or forgetting your master password. But Dashlane offers one account recovery option — you can regain access to your vault in case of a lost master password if you enable biometric logins on your mobile device (the master password reset option must also be enabled). Dashlane also offers emergency access, so you can set up an emergency contact who can retrieve your data if they need to.
