1Password is still the best password management tool
A recent conversation had me thinking about password tools and why I've stuck with 1Password ever since I bought it around version 2 almost 20 years ago.
There have been a few major changes in those years:
- Subscription Plans
- 1Password Cloud
- Moving to a common Electron-based platform on desktop
Geeks really, really like to get upset over subscription plans (and love to make claims every time how it spells doom for whatever company dares to move to a subscription-based setup. It's worked quite well for Adobe). For me, as I paid for all the major updates anyhow, and because on-going cost-effective subscriptions mean better support and development of the tool, paying the subscription each year isn't even a second thought. I've got lots and lots of data in there and I use the tool so many times a day I couldn't even count them. It certainly is worth every penny I pay. I get that people don't like subscriptions but I can't think of a single case of any software that I subscribe to where support or development has been worse after the subscription plan has started.
People also really got upset when 1Password was forced to use their own cloud-based sync solution. Previously syncing between devices used Dropbox or iCloud, neither of which worked particularly great. I have had much better luck with 1Password's custom cloud sync which also enabled a web-based version to be available.
I think the biggest complaints came (including some from me) when 1Password announced that starting with 1Password version 8 the desktop version of the software would be based on the oft-reviled Electron desktop application framework. Prior to then 1Password was based on native code for Mac or Windows and frankly the Windows version was terrible. They never reached the same feature set on both platforms. I have to admit I wasn't too thrilled with the initial versions but they worked out the issues that most concerned me and given that I use the software on Mac as well as Windows I was more thrilled that the experience was now the same on both platforms.
1Password isn't perfect, but it certainly is the best of any of the other password management tools I've tried. Dashlane is too expensive compared to 1Password. LastPass has had too many security problems for my comfort level for software I'm going to trust sensitive data to. BitWarden? ProtonPass? Nope. Not enough features to replace 1Password (ProtonPass) or the user experience is terrible (BitWarden). I've tried them all and none of them are anywhere near as good as 1Password, especially given how much important data I store in there. It would just be too hard to switch for little benefit.
