NordPass Review 2024 – Is it really the Best Password Manager? (October 2024)

A password should be long and a mix of letters and other characters. It shouldn’t be a dictionary word or info tied to you. Ask any cybersecurity person about what makes a strong password and you’ll likely get that answer. But really, doing that for EVERY online account you have isn’t easy. I felt that way too. Until I used a password manager. 

A password manager really simplifies the process of creating good passwords and keeping them safe. I should know. I’ve been using one since I started traveling and working as a content creator. Now if you’re new to this, you don’t have to sift through the many services out there. I’ve done that already and am ready to share with you my top password managers. Does NordPass make the cut? Find out in this comprehensive NordPass review.

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To tell the honest truth, I wasn't really sure whether I wanted a password manager. But I heard good things about NordPass. So I set out to do a full NordPass review and see whether it was worth it.

After using NordPass, I found NordPass to be a game-changer for managing all my passwords. It completely removed the burdensome task of remembering multiple login details. Instead, you just need to recall one master password. Better yet, you can use biometric authentication like FaceID to login to the NordPass app if your device supports it. I found log-ins the easiest with NordPass.

NordPass no longer offers a monthly subscription. But they do offer a 30-day premium trial for free. It allows you to use premium features that aren't in the free version for 30 days. If you don't think they're worth the cost, just continue with NordPass Free. I still wish Nordpass users were given the option to get a monthly subscription. But if you just want to test it, the 30-day premium trial may suffice.

One of the best things I really like about NordPass is their top-notch live chat. Bear in mind that not all password managers offer this service. Some of the password managers that I also recommend, like 1Password and Bitwarden for instance, don't offer it. So having a live chat backed by an excellent customer support team is really a big plus. If you have a problem, there’s a good chance they can resolve it or give an acceptable answer right away. 

Notable features

1. Data Breach Scanner: This tool checks if your credentials have been exposed in any known data leaks. It keeps you a step ahead of hackers.
2. Biometric Login: No need to remember your master password. You can use your face or fingerprint to access your account. Simple and secure.
3. Password Health Report: This feature grades the strength of your passwords. It helps you to maintain good security.
4. Secure Sharing: Allows you to share passwords with others in a secure manner.

Full NordPass Review

Welcome to the full NordPass review. This is where I go into the intricate details of this awesome password manager. From its robust security controls to its intuitive user interface, I’ll be sure to highlight all the features that make NordPass stand out. Time to gear up for our in-depth review. Let's get right to it!

Quick NordPass Review
Rating	4.9
Overall rank	1 out of 7
Starting Price	$1.49/month when billed annually
Money-Back Guarantee	30-day
Biometric logins
Password storage limit	Unlimited
Document storage limit for individuals	3GB per user

Pros and Cons

NordPass Pricing Pricing

NordPass offers real value for your money. And I'm not even talking about the free version. NordPass Premium offers features and capabilities you can't find in other password managers. The Premium Plan only costs $2.39 per month, billed annually. That’s just about the cost of a tall Starbucks—and I haven’t even started on its features!

It's the second cheapest among my recommended password managers. The cheapest is Bitwarden. In all paid plans, you can access your passwords across an unlimited number of devices at the same time! This is a boon for tech-savvy users who juggle multiple devices daily.

If you don't like committing to an annual plan, you can avail of the 30-day money-back guarantee. This will allow you to experience any plan and still get your money back if you're not satisfied. And remember the 30-day Premium trial mentioned earlier? That's another way to try paid NordPass features, except that it's limited to the Premium Plan. The Premium Plan is the paid plan for individuals.

To help you make an informed decision, I've put together a comparison table of the different plans. The dollar amounts you see here are the monthly costs when billed annually. You can get a cheaper price if you go for the 2-year plan. Take a look at the features offered by each plan to see which one suits your needs best. 

The Family Plan gives you the best bang for your buck if you want to secure your family members’ passwords. Yes, the subscription is $3.69 versus only $2.39 for the Premium Plan. But the Family Plan already includes 6 users! Plus, each user has its own vault and gets access to all the features of Premium. For me, this plan is a no-brainer for those with family members who could use the service too.

NordPass Security and Privacy Security and Privacy

When you pick a password manager, your major criteria must be its security features. We're always faced with the threat of data breaches. That’s why you should only entrust your sensitive data with a company rooted in strong security. 

NordPass security is one of the best. It's backed by an infrastructure that undergoes independent security audits. I like that they don't just go around claiming they're secure. They actually hire a third party auditor to assesses their systems and to verify their security. Here's a rundown of NordPass' security features. 

Master password

Your Master Password serves as the key to unlock your encrypted vault. Your vault is where all of your passwords are securely stored. You create your master password when you first sign up for NordPass. Since it's the only key to unlock your passwords, you must keep this NordPass password safe and secure. 

You must also make sure this password is hard to crack. I’ve shared tips on how to create a secure password. Check these out later in the FAQ. 

In the event that you forget your NordPass master password, you will need your Recovery Code. This code can likewise be generated when you set up your account. It acts as a backup method to regain access to your NordPass account. Read more about it in the Account Recovery section below.

Like many reputable password managers, NordPass employs a Zero Knowledge Architecture. This means NordPass won't know your master password or any of your stored passwords. It won't know your Recovery Code either. This ensures that only you can access the items stored in your vault.

Secure Notes

Secure Notes provides users with a secure way of “jotting down” private data. And I'm not talking about your usual passwords. I'm talking about Wi-Fi passwords, software keys, crypto passphrases, travel details, and so on. You can jot them all down in Secure Notes.

The NordPass app stores your secure notes in your vault, along with your passwords. Secure notes and passwords enjoy unlimited storage limits. That means you can store as many of them as you need in your password manager. My travel and food vlog necessitates me to subscribe to so many services so this really works great for me.

Password vault

The vault is the most important part of the NordPass app. It's where you store passwords, secure notes, and credit card data. As mentioned earlier, it can only be locked and unlocked by your master password.

NordPass uses the XChaCha20 encryption algorithm to encrypt its vaults. I find this worth mentioning because other password managers use AES-256. XChaCha20 is said to be as secure as AES-256. You can add another layer of protection to your vaults by using multi-factor authentication. I'll show you how to set this up later.

If you want to know if passwords in your vault have been exposed in a data breach, you can use the Data Breach Scanner. It's a Premium feature that will check if any of your logins were exposed in known data leaks.

You can also take advantage of NordPass' Password Health report. It's an automated feature that checks for weak or commonly used passwords in your vault. This will help you identify which passwords need to be replaced.

As you can see, your vault is protected by multiple layers of NordPass security. That's one of the reasons why I consider NordPass one of the best password managers out there. 

Password generator

The NordPass password generator creates secure passwords for you. You no longer have to create passwords manually. In doing so, it helps you avoid easy-to-guess, weak passwords.

In addition, the NordPass password generator provides you with various customization options. You can set the default password length. The longer your password, the more secure it will be. It will be more resistant to what they call brute force attacks. The generator also allows you to include or exclude specific elements. For instance, I’ve set mine to include numbers, symbols, or uppercase letters.

The password generator complements the Password Health feature quite well. Password Health can check if you still have weak passwords in your vault. If any is found, you can use the generator to create replacements. I’ll talk about this feature in more detail in a short while. 

Browser extension

The NordPass browser extension turns your web browser into a password manager. Once activated, it can autofill login pages with passwords stored in your vault. It can add new login credentials to your vault as well. New items automatically sync across your devices. So when you open your NordPass app on your desktop or phone, those newly added logins will be there. NordPass has browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. I find all these very convenient and time-saving. 

NordPass browser extensions don't stop at password management. They can also handle your credit card details. Credit cards hold some of our most confidential data and I don’t need to tell you the scary scenarios if hackers were to get hold of the info. Bottomline is, you want them stored securely. NordPass' encrypted vault can take care of that. And when you need to pay for something online, the browser extension can autofill your credit card details. No more manually typing in numbers or searching for them in your vault. 

Zero knowledge

NordPass, like every secure password manager, follows a zero knowledge architecture. What does it mean? At the heart of zero knowledge is the concept that you, and only you, should have access to your passwords. Even the NordPass company itself doesn't know your secrets. It doesn't matter if those secrets are stored in their servers. 

This principle extends to your master password and even your recovery code. This ensures that all decryption of your data happens locally on your device. So even if NordPass servers were hacked, your data would remain secure.

Password Health

NordPass offers a nifty security tool called Password Health. Password Health scans your password vault for weak passwords. It also looks for passwords that are already more than 90 days old.  I try to change my passwords regularly but it’s hard to keep up with so many accounts. This feature helps keep my passwords in check. Lastly, it looks for reused passwords. I explained the dangers of reusing passwords in the FAQ. You might want to check that out later. 

Password Health works well with the password generator. Let's say Password Health finds a weak or old password. You can then use the generator to create a new password. You don't have to brainstorm complex password combinations. The password generator will do it for you in an instant. 

Note that the age of a password is based on how long it's been stored in NordPass. If you just recently imported your passwords, NordPass won't be able to find any old passwords. 

Data Breach Scanner

The NordPass Data Breach Scanner is one of my favorite security features. I always look for this type of feature when I test a password manager. 1Password, Dashlane, and Bitwarden have features like this. So how does it work? The Data Breach Scanner scans the internet for data breaches. It then checks and identifies if any of the items in your password vault are affected.

I suggest you run the Data Breach Scanner regularly. This will keep you updated of any passwords involved in a data breach. That way, you're sure you're always using secure passwords. NordPass recently added the Breach Monitoring feature to this tool. Read more about it in the FAQ section. 

Features and Capabilities

NordPass security is certainly one of the best among password managers. But NordPass offers other features and capabilities as well. Let's direct our attention to those now. 

Unlimited passwords

You can store unlimited passwords in your password vault. And you don’t have to be on NordPass Premium to do that. Even users of the free version can enjoy unlimited storage for passwords. Remember that all your apps are synced. So all those passwords you store on the NordPass desktop app can be used on the NordPass mobile apps as well. 

Form auto-fill

Being a password manager, NordPass auto-saves and auto-fills on login screens. That's a given. But you can also enter credit card info into NordPass. You can do that in the Credit Cards section as shown below.

NordPass will then auto-fill that information on any relevant form on the web. I discovered that in most cases, it will also auto-fill the check-out pages on e-commerce sites. You'll have to install a suitable browser extension for this feature to work though. So if you're using Chrome, install the NordPass Chrome extension. If you're using Safari, install the Safari extension and so on. 

Emergency Access

I wish all or at least most password managers had a feature like Emergency Access. This feature grants a designated NordPass user access to your vault in case of an emergency. I know we don't want to talk about it, but it can come in handy if something really bad happens to you. Let's just say, for example, you sadly pass away.

The person whom you granted emergency access will then be able to view all the secrets stored in your vault. That includes all the passwords, secure notes, and so on. Let me be clear, though: this isn't as simple as granting someone access to your vault by sharing your master password. It doesn't work that way.

Here's how it works. First, you select a NordPass user, presumably someone you really trust. You give that person emergency access rights. After that person accepts, he or she can request emergency access anytime. You can then deny or allow access within 7 days. What's so special about that? Here's the kicker.

If you fail to respond within 7 days, that person will automatically be granted access. You don't have to do anything. And it's really what it's designed for. If you're unable to respond, it likely means you're incapacitated or gone. 

Other password managers don’t have this feature. In 1Password, for example, a user can only get 'emergency access' if he or she is a designated organizer or admin. That's only possible in a Family, Team, or Business Plan. In NordPass, Emergency Access is available even at the Premium Plan. This means individuals can leave their passwords to a trusted person. I consider it a sort of online bequeathal in a way.

Some of our most valuable possessions are behind our online accounts, after all. You'll never know when you'll have to be gone for a long time or permanently. If you want someone to inherit those possessions, Emergency Access is one simple way to do it. 

Document storage

Most password managers provide unlimited password storage. But NordPass has one big advantage when it comes to storage. NordPass gives users a whopping 3GB of document or file storage. I’m not talking about passwords. I’m talking about files. Why is that a big deal? Well, NordPass is the only password manager I know that gives that amount of file storage. Other password managers only provide up to 1GB. 

Bear in mind though, only NordPass Premium users (and higher) can use this feature. Free version users can't. In fact, free version users can't attach files at all. That’s a bit of a letdown, but then again, it’s the same for most providers. 

Ease of Use and Setup

NordPass is more than a secure password manager. The NordPass app actually does a great job in simplifying how we adopt secure practices. In the following sections, I'm going to show you the most common things we do on this kind of app. And I'd like you to see just how easy they are. 

NordPass account creation

There are a couple of ways to create a NordPass account. You can try the free version, in which case you'll be given access to a 30-day Premium trial. With this option, you can use Premium features for 30 days. Unlike the other options, you don't have to submit a credit card to sign up. After the 30 days elapse, you can either upgrade to a paid plan or downgrade to the free version.

The other sign up options, which are associated with paid plans, require you to submit a credit card or another payment option. For the Premium and Family Plans, you're entitled to a 30-day money-back guarantee. And for the Business Plan, you're entitled to a 14-day free trial.

Here are the general steps to create an account:

1. If you choose NordPass Free, all you have to do is submit an email address.
2. You may then be sent a verification link, which you can use to activate your account. In some cases, like if you use a Google account, you won't be sent a verification link.
3. You'll then be asked to enter a Master Password. Create a strong password. Check out our tips on how to create a secure password in the FAQ. 

Once your account is set up, you’ll then be asked to add or import passwords.

Account recovery

While we hope you never have to recover your account, it’s best to prepare for this situation right from the start. If you ever lose or forget your Master Password, your ability to recover your account will usually depend on only one thing—your Recovery Code. The only exception is if you’re a Business Plan user. I’ll explain why shortly. Thus, it’s very important to:

1. Retrieve your recovery code right from the start. In fact, you should retrieve it as soon as you create your NordPass account. 

2. Store your recovery password in a safe place. Once you’ve obtained your code, copy it, paste it in a file, and then save that file in a safe place. Better yet, download the PDF, print it, and then store it in a safe place. 

If you’re a Business Plan user, you can request account recovery from your Admin. Your Admin can then approve the recovery through the Admin Panel. I imagine majority of my readers will be Free, Personal, and Family Plan users. So, you really need to follow the steps outlined above!

Import and export passwords

NordPass allows you to import passwords from other password managers. You can even import from your web browsers. What ever the source, the import process usually involves a CSV file. 

Once you already have the CSV file from the source, the process is straightforward. I found it easiest to import passwords using the import tool on the NordPass website. If you don't know how to obtain the file, that won’t be a problem. I appreciate that NordPass provides instructions for doing that on every source. They really covered all bases. 

Switching to a different password manager can often be daunting. But NordPass makes the transition smooth and simple. With just a few clicks, your passwords and other sensitive data will be all imported to NordPass. 

Exporting passwords is just as easy. However, note that some NordPass apps do not have an export feature. The NordPass iPhone app, for instance, doesn’t support it. Again, the easiest place to export passwords is through the NordPass website. Just login to your account, click the gear icon on the left, scroll down, and then use the export tool. Just export the CSV file and then import that file into your target password manager. 

Using the desktop app

Generally speaking, I prefer the desktop app of any password manager over the mobile apps. Desktop apps have a larger screen real estate, so I find them easier on the eyes. I also find it easier to navigate them. For example, if I'm viewing an item in the vault and want to reach another part of the app, I can do it in fewer steps. In most cases, the tool I want to reach is just one click away. Compare the two screenshots below to see what I mean. 

The NordPass desktop app is one of the most visually appealing in the industry.  I know looks don’t count for much compared to features, but it's just a bonus worth mentioning. It's also very intuitive. I like how all the tools I need are lined up along the left panel, easily accessible from almost anywhere in the app. 

Both free users and premium users get to use practically the same desktop app user interface. The only difference is that free users don't have access to premium features like: 

• Password sharing
• Password Health, 
• Data Breach Scanner, and 
• Emergency Access. 

Setting up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Setting up Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) on NordPass is easy. Here’s how you do it on the deskto app.

1. Click the gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Scroll down the right panel. Look for the toggle switch labeled Multi-Factor Authentication. Enable that by switching the toggle to the right. 
3. This will load up a web page where you’ll be asked to enter a one-time login code. This code will be sent to your registered email. Note that you’ll encounter this process from time to time. 

4. Enter the one-time login code. 
5. This will log you into your account on the NordPass web site. Specifically, you’ll be brought to the MFA page. 
6. There, you’ll be able to set up MFA using an authenticator app (like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator) or a USB security key. You can find more information about authenticator apps and USB security keys in the FAQ below. 
7. Click the set up button beside the MFA method you want to use. In this example, I’m choosing the authenticator app. 
8. As soon as you click that, you’ll be asked to scan a QR code using your authenticator. Do that and follow the rest of the instructions on the screen. 

When you’re done, you’ll be logged out of all your devices. All succeeding logins will then be done through MFA. As explained in the FAQ, MFA adds another layer of security to your NordPass logins. 

Password sharing

NordPass supports password sharing, but only in its Premium plans and higher. It doesn't support this feature in NordPass Free. In comparison, you can share passwords in the free versions of Dashlane and Bitwarden. If you need this feature on a regular basis, consider an upgrade to a paid plan or try those two other solutions. 

Sharing is easy on NordPass. Just select a vault item, click the share button, and then enter the recipient's email. You can also specify if the recipient has full or limited rights. If you select ‘full', the recipient can view, edit, and re-share your item. If you select ‘limited', sensitive item details will be hidden on the app and can't be edited. 

I suggest you avail of the 30-day Premium Trial first. That’s what’s awesome about having a free trial period for premium plans. You'll be able to use premium features like sharing for free. You can share login credentials and other items in your vault with other NordPass users. At the end of 30 days, you can make a more informed decision. If you find the features worth the cost, you can upgrade your NordPass account to premium. If not, you can downgrade to free. 

NordPass Mobile App Mobile App

The NordPass mobile app is an excellent tool for managing your passwords on the go. It's compatible with both iOS and Android devices. So you have the convenience of accessing your vault anytime, anywhere. You can store unlimited passwords, notes, and credit card data on the mobile app. I mentioned earlier that the desktop app looks good and is user-friendly, and the app interface is just as intuitive.

One of the key benefits of the NordPass mobile app is its autofill feature. It doesn't just autofill passwords but also credit cards information. This can come in handy when shopping online or logging into your accounts on your mobile device. You don't need to remember your intricate passwords or dig out your credit card details. 

Additionally, the mobile apps support biometric authentication, such as fingerprint and face scans. This gives you quick and secure access to your vault without the need to type in your master password each time. All you have to do is show your face or thumb, and you're in!

Customer Support

NordPass offers a live chat service for customer support. That's a big plus for me, especially because password managers can be tricky sometimes. I always look for live chat whenever I try any app. Not all of them offer it, so I'm very pleased that NordPass has one. In addition, my experience with the NordPass team has always been superb. They're very quick to reply and they know their product well. 

In addition to live chat, NordPass also offers support through email and social media. You can DM them on Twitter. They're also on YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit. However, it doesn't look like they actively provide support through those platforms. They do have a comprehensive FAQ page and Knowledge Base. I looked there too and found answers quickly.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with NordPass's customer service. They're professional, knowledgeable, and quick to respond. It gives me peace of mind knowing that there's always someone I can turn to in case I need help.

FAQ