How to choose a business password manager: packs, shared folders and add-ons

Business password managers look alike on their home pages. The differences show up on the cheapest business plan: how many seats you must buy, whether you can share a whole folder, and which security features cost extra. Here is what our business password manager ranking weighs, what the 9 companies charge, and the traps we found on their own pages, read on Oct 1, 2026.

What we weigh, and why

We score each company on its entry plan: the cheapest business plan that allows five users. Personal and family plans don't count. The formulas are in how we score business password managers.

• Cost for five users, 35%. The monthly price for five people at the regular price, counting annual prepay. $10 or less scores full marks, $60 or more scores nothing.
• What the entry plan includes, 25%. Five things, 2 points each: shared vaults, an admin console, single sign-on (SSO), activity logs and breach monitoring.
• Free plan, 15%. A free plan scores 10, a free trial 6.
• Support, 15%. Phone and chat, or 24/7 chat, score highest; one live channel scores 6; email or a help centre alone scores 3.
• Published security audit, 10%. An independent audit or certification named on the company's own pages.

The price range

For five users billed yearly, the entry plans cost $4.50 to $40 a month. Zoho Vault Standard is US$0.90 a user ($4.50). Proton Pass Essentials is $1.99 a user ($9.95). Keeper Business Starter is $2 a user with a five-user minimum ($10). RoboForm Business is $39.95 per user a year (about $16.65 a month for five). NordPass Teams is $19.90 a month for a 10-user pack. Bitwarden Teams is $4 a user ($20), LastPass Teams $4.25 ($21.25), 1Password Teams Starter Pack a flat $24.95 for 10 members, and Dashlane Password Management $8 a user ($40).

The traps we found

Packs and minimums. Two entry plans are sold by the ten. NordPass Teams is "10 users pack only", and 1Password's Teams Starter Pack "includes 10 members" at one price. Keeper Business Starter covers "5–10 users", so a team of 11 must move up. Proton Pass Essentials needs at least 3 users and stops at 30. LastPass Teams stops at 50.

Single items or whole folders. Sharing one password at a time gets old fast. Zoho Vault's help centre says "Share folders (Available only in Professional and Enterprise Editions)". NordPass lists "Credential sharing by folder" as a Business addition. Keeper's pricing page contradicts itself on shared team folders for Business Starter: the table ticks them, the Business card lists them as an addition. We use the worse reading for the buyer, so they need Business.

SSO. Only three entry plans include it: RoboForm Business ("Single sign-on (SSO) integration"), Dashlane Password Management, and NordPass Teams, which offers "SSO login with Google Workspace" only. LastPass Business, the plan above Teams, limits SSO to 3 apps.

Breach alerts. Keeper's BreachWatch is an add-on at $24 per user a year. Zoho Vault puts "Breached password alerts" on Professional, and NordPass puts "Data breach monitoring" on Business. Dashlane's own pages disagree, and we read its credential risk alerts as part of the separate Credential Protection package. 1Password's Starter Pack flags breached passwords in Watchtower, but team-wide breach alerts are Business only.

Activity logs. 1Password says "The audit log is only available in 1Password Business." Proton Pass usage logs start at Pass Professional, and Keeper's event-level reporting is an add-on at $12 per user a year.

Refunds and renewals. Every plan renews on its own. RoboForm's license agreement says "RoboForm For Business licenses are not refundable", although another clause offers a 30-day refund; we use the worse reading. LastPass says "A refund is not provided", and you contact support to stop auto-renewal. Keeper and Dashlane want written notice at least 30 days before renewal. NordPass refunds within 14 days of the first purchase, Bitwarden if the subscription is less than 30 days old, and Zoho within the first 45 days. Proton Pass's pages disagree between a full and a prorated refund within 30 days; we use prorated.

Support. Bitwarden Teams lists "Priority 24/7 email support", and 1Password's Starter Pack has email, forum and social media, with phone on Business only. NordPass "does not offer customer support over the phone" but has live chat. Proton Pass offers phone support only "For teams of at least 6 users". RoboForm, Keeper and Dashlane list both chat and phone. Zoho Vault Standard lists email, phone and remote assistance, and LastPass Teams a 24/7 callback.

Deals and badges. NordPass's pricing page opens on its 2-year tab, and its NPFALL26 code (until Oct 31, 2026) takes up to 10% off the first 1-year or 2-year Business or Enterprise term only, for first-time NordPass Business buyers of at least 5 subscriptions. Proton Pass's yearly "60% OFF" badge is measured against its own monthly price, with no end date.

A free plan. Zoho Vault has a free plan that, its FAQ says, "can be used by any individual, including business users", but Free has no password sharing. The other eight offer trials.

A checklist before you buy

1. Count your users today and next year, then price that number, not the per-user headline. Check for packs and minimums.
2. Check that the entry plan shares folders or vaults, not only single items.
3. If staff sign in through Google Workspace, Microsoft or Okta, confirm SSO is on the plan you'd buy.
4. Look for breach alerts and activity logs on that plan, not on the next one or as an add-on.
5. Read the refund and renewal terms, including any notice period.
6. Check the support channels on your plan, and whether phone needs a bigger team or plan.
7. Check how to export your data if you leave.

Where to go next

The business password manager ranking scores all 9 on these criteria. If you keep clients' logins, see the list for agencies. Our method shows how each score is worked out.