3 Password Managers for Your Chromebook

Two years ago when I was looking for a password manager that would work on my Chromebook (in addition to my other devices), the selection was slim.

Almost every password manager required an app to be installed on your device.

Which meant it wouldn’t work on a Chromebook, since Chromebooks don’t allow you to install anything.

The only password manager that provided support for Chromebooks was LastPass.

Fast forward two years and I’m happy to report the landscape is entirely different.

What’s Changed with Password Managers?

Over the past two years, many password managers implemented changes to their tools to provide support through browser extensions.

Which means you no longer have to install an app on your device!

In addition, they expanded their support for major platforms, browsers, and devices. And they added support to synchronize your passwords across all your devices.

That makes it a lot easier to find a tool that works on your Android phone, Mac desktop running Firefox, and Android tablet.

Given all the changes in the past two years, I took another look at password managers, based on my requirements of:

• Supports Chromebook
• Supports the four major platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
• Browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge
• Synchronize passwords across devices

This post isn’t an in-depth review of the password managers, but I will highlight the features of the three tools I like best.

1. LastPass

• Price: Free and premium (starting at $2/month) plans
• Ease of Use: Easy
• Support: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Linux, Firefox OS, Windows Phone, Apple Watch, Android Wear.Available as a browser extension in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera.

Update: As of late December 2023, Lastpass is no longer a product I recommend. Given their breach in 2023 and poor security practices, I’ve moved on to 1Password.

LastPass works with a wider number of platforms, devices, and browsers than any other password manager that supports Chromebook.

Plus, many of its features are included with the free version.

LastPass offers the one feature you will end up paying for in other password managers: synchronizing your passwords across devices.

Other key features:

• Automatic password changing
• Share passwords with other people
• Premium plan cheaper than other premium plans ($24/year)
• Two-factor authentication
• LastPass Families premium plan (for up to six users) allows you to share passwords and other personal info with family members
• Ability to name someone as your emergency contact should something happen to you

2. Dashlane

• Price: Free and premium (starting at $3.33/month)
• Ease of Use: Easy
• Support: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Linux, Apple Watch.Available as a browser extension in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

I was disappointed when I looked at Dashlane two years ago and discovered they didn’t support Chromebooks. At the time, it didn’t seem like it was something on their roadmap.

Hi Larry! We don’t have a Chromebook version just yet, but I’ll make sure to add your vote for ChromeOS support 🙂

— Dashlane (@dashlane) May 20, 2016

But in fall 2017, Dashlane announced support for Linux, Chromebook, and Microsoft Edge through browser extensions.

Nice!

While Dashlane has similar features to LastPass (but supports fewer platforms), what makes it stand out is the attention to design details. It’s obvious their team spent more time on their interface design than LastPass.

Key highlights:

• Automatic password changing
• Data accessible on the web (premium plans only)
• Time-based one-time password
• Two-factor authentication
• Ability to name someone as your emergency contact should something happen to you
• Synchronization across devices only available in premium version ($40/year)

3. 1Password

• Price: Free and premium ($2.99/month)
• Ease of Use: Easy
• Support: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Linux, Apple Watch.Available as a browser extension in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

Many of my colleagues who use the Mac, iPhone, and iPad swear by 1Password. They won’t consider any other password manager.

Why?

1Password is fast, has a clean user interface, and doesn’t require as many steps to complete a task. It supports all their devices.

However, 1Password doesn’t offer the same type of features for Windows or Chromebook users.

If that’s on your list of requirements, as it is for me, another password manager would be a better choice.

Key highlights:

• Automatic password changing
• Share passwords with other people
• Time-based one-time password
• Two-factor authentication
• Chromebook support available with 1PasswordX extension, but has fewer features (no local syncing support, less-complex password)
• Ability to check Pwned Passwords to see if your password has been breached

Wrapping Up

It was fun to check out the latest versions of password managers and see how they’ve improved and added features over the years.

My recommendation: identify your requirements for a password manager. Check technology news for latest updates, reviews, and breaches of any password manager you’re considering.

What password manager do you use? Are you using any of the tools I reviewed? Share your thoughts in the comments.