NordPass Review in 2024: The Only Security Tool You Need

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Most of us use dozens of online services and apps, which makes proper password hygiene absolutely critical. In this NordPass review, we explore if this award-winning security product from NordVPN lives up to its promise of convenient, intuitive cross-device security.

NordPass is a cloud-based password manager that acts as a security vault, a secure sharing tool, and an identity and access management system for businesses.

It uses a different encryption mechanism from most platforms, which actually helps NordPass perform better. However, you’ll have to subscribe to NordPass Premium for most of its features. Read on for our full findings and to know if using NordPass is worth it.

NordPass Pros And Cons

Before we discuss what NordPass is and if it’s any good, let’s quickly glance through the pros and cons we found from our hands-on testing of the software:

What is NordPass?

It works across all major PC (Windows, MacOS, Linux) and mobile (Android, iOS) environments.

The software is built by the same team from Lithuania behind the brilliant NordVPN, an award-winning virtual private network (VPN) tool that lets you securely and anonymously access websites from around the globe. Nord launched its password manager in 2019 as an answer to lazy passwords, challenges in secure sharing, and difficulties in remembering passwords in an increasingly digital world.

In addition to being a password manager, NordPass is also a security tool. It can run online scans to check if your personal information has been breached and also offers a secure storage vault to protect any sensitive information in the form of an encrypted text note. The business version of the software also integrates with single sign-on (SSO) and Active Directory.

NordPass has won substantial recognition due to its sleek and functional password management tools. In 2024, the trusted user review forum G2 named it a Leader in its password manager sector. It was also PC Mag’s ‘Editor’s Choice’ in the password manager category in 2022. Does NordPass deserve these accolades, and should you trust the software to store your credentials?

Before we dive into our NordPass review, let’s answer the one key question we ask of all password managers: How safe is it?

Is NordPass Safe?

NordPass invests a significant amount of money and effort into ensuring your data remains safe.

In 2022, NordPass Business obtained the SOC 2 Type 1 certification, which means that It implements proper security controls to manage customer data and protect their privacy. A year later, it became SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, keeping pace with changing user needs in terms of safety and security.

Its internal security measures are verified by the independent, third-party audit firm, Cure53. The company conducted a thorough review of NordPass’ cryptographic algorithm, source code, background application, and codebase (which, incidentally, is written in Go), along with penetration testing.

Cure53 found a total of nine vulnerabilities in its audit, all of which were appropriately addressed.

Additionally, NordPass follows a zero-knowledge architecture, which means the company itself is unaware of the passwords or information you store in the app. This is useful in case the company is pressured to reveal your personal data – say, for example, under the threat of legal action. Zero-knowledge means your data remains safe.

At its core, NordPass employs XChaCha20 encryption, a fast and simple cryptographic method that’s low-risk and widely compatible. It also performs significantly better than the alternative AES 256 encryption that many password managers use, giving NordPass a slight edge.

If you’re still wondering, ‘Is NordPass safe? ‘ You can add an extra layer of security through USB authentication. This allows you to configure a USB device as your verification key so that only you can access your password vault.

Key NordPass Features – What Can It Do?

We spent several weeks testing the password manager’s features and evaluating if NordPass is actually good. Here are our findings and observations about its top features:

1. Data Breach Scanner

The data breach scanner is built into NordPass Premium. The software activates the scanner as soon as you start using the vault (see feature 7 on this list), and it’ll automatically monitor online databases to compare the information you have stored with them.

If your details appear in a data breach, NordPass will let you know in real-time. We also liked that you can find out the source of the breach in case you want to investigate further or take legal action.

Based on the nature of the breach, NordPass will recommend the next steps, which could be a simple password change, a full account reset, or advice on how to deactivate a credit card if it’s leaked.

Note that even if you aren’t using the vault, the email registered with your NordPass account will be added automatically to the scanner’s monitoring list.

2. Password Imports

We all have our favorite password managers and many of us use browsers to conveniently store our login credentials. This is where an import feature comes in handy. With NordPass, you don’t have to worry about having your passwords scattered across different platforms – which can put you in a bind when you’re logging in from a new device.

NordPass will automatically detect if your passwords are stored on a browser and you can transfer them into NordPass’ storage in a few clicks. However, our review found that only Chrome and Firefox are supported at present.

You can also import passwords from other apps like LastPass, 1Password, Dashlane, or KeePass. Simply export your passwords to a CSV file and add it to NordPass. This will automatically upload all the credentials stored in the CSV to the NordPass vault.

Note that imports need to follow a specific CSV file template to be compatible with NordPass.

3. Cross-Device Backup and Sync

One of our main reasons for using a password manager is to keep our credentials synced across devices so we can quickly log in anywhere on any machine. Here, too, NordPass doesn’t disappoint with encrypted backup on the cloud.

The company enforces zero-knowledge security, which means even NordPass doesn’t know which passwords you have synced. While this helps in security, don’t expect to retrieve your credentials via email if you’re unable to sign in from a new device.

Luckily, the chances of this happening are low with NordPass’s Web Vault—storage that you can access from any browser, regardless of the device, as long as you have the master key (see the next feature). The process is simple and intuitive, and you can rest easy about using cross-device credentials.

4. Master Password

The master password is a mandatory feature when signing up for NordPass. The software assigns every user a special password that acts as the key to all other passwords, user IDs, bank details, social security numbers, contact information, etc., stored in NordPass.

You may think it’s risky to use a single password for everything. After all, it creates a single point of failure that criminals could exploit.

In reality, when you’re creating passwords for hundreds of websites – social media platforms, e-commerce apps, utility sites, bank accounts, productivity tools, government portals, and more – you’ll probably resort to bad habits like repeating passwords or assigning generic ones.

Instead, with NordPass’ master password, you get a single, strong alphanumeric combination that’s almost impossible to break.

When you create your NordPass account, you’ll receive a unique recovery code. Note this down for later use—if you ever lose your master password, this code will help you access your vault.

5. Password Sharing

Even with the recent crackdown on Netflix password sharing, there are times when you might need someone else to log into your account. For example, you might hire someone to manage your social accounts, or maybe you have a family email ID. NordPass lets you share your password with others, with several security features built-in.

There are two ways to share a password on NordPass – generate a secure link or share it securely with another NordPass user.

We found the first method more flexible. The recipient doesn’t need to sign up for NordPass, and you can send any information you like, not just passwords. However, secure sharing links expire after 24 hours.

Use the second method when you want someone else to have ongoing access to a password. To use this feature, the recipient also needs to be a NordPass user. Then, you can just click on the ‘Share’ option from any credential in your vault, and it’ll be sent to their Shared Items box.

We liked that NordPass offers different levels of access rights when sharing your passwords.

For example, you might want to give someone full rights, which means they can access, view, edit, and use the information without any restrictions. Or, you could grant limited access, where another person can autofill websites with the password but can’t see or edit it.

6. Auto Form-Filling

Autofill is one of the central features we look for when reviewing password managers, and NordPass has it covered. It works just like you’d expect – type in a password on a website, NordPass asks if you want to save it, and the next time when you log in, it auto-fills the information.

Interestingly, the software lets you add custom fields when auto-saving passwords for later, so you can save things like renewal dates, account IDs, and other information.

The software saves some of your personal information, including passwords, which you’re likely to use frequently when signing up for different online services. However, our NordPass review found that Personal Info autofill is available only on desktops.

7. Nordpass Web Vault

Everything you save on NordPass is backed up to a cloud-based vault. Web Vault is the browser-based version of this capability. When you use a new device and don’t have NordPass installed, you can still retrieve your data via the Web Vault.

It works just like the installed app – you can access data, edit, delete, or share anything you like, and even create notes (see feature 10). However, our NordPass review found that you can’t use autofill only by visiting the Web Vault.

For security reasons, you can autofill your passwords and personal information only from devices where the NordPass app is installed or browsers where you’ve installed the extension.

8. Multiple Passkeys

Passkeys are a passwordless authentication method with obvious advantages. They aren’t vulnerable to brute-force attacks, and there is no risk of forgetting them. NordPass introduced passkeys in 2023 – a cryptographic code that’s unknown to even the user but seamlessly read by the machine where you’re trying to log in.

The feature is available on all NordPass app versions (desktop, iOS, Android), NordPass Web Vault, and Firefox, Safari, and Chrome-based browser extensions. All you need to do is generate a passkey for compatible websites instead of a password. There’s no option to import passkeys yet.

We were impressed that you can share passkeys on NordPass, just like other items in your vault. You can also save multiple passkeys for an account, and NordPass will ask you which one you’d like to choose when logging in.

9. Live Text Scanner

The live text scanner is nothing but an optical character recognition (OCR) tool that lets you extract data from physical documents and store it in NordPass. The feature is available in the mobile app and takes advantage of your phone’s camera.

All you need to do is take a picture of documents like your credit card or Wi-Fi paperwork, and NordPass will use artificial intelligence (AI) to extract letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. However, our NordPass review found that you can only scan Latin characters, which means it won’t support all languages.

10. Secure Notes

Secure Notes are a section in the NordPass vault where you can create and save text files. They are protected using all of the software’s usual defenses, including XChaCha20 encryption and master password enforcement.

Secure Notes also uses OCR technology (see point 9), which means you can back up your handwritten notes to NordPass using your smartphone camera. You could then edit them as you like, sort them alphabetically, share them with others via NordPass, or even put them into a folder inside the vault.

Also, we found the ability to add emojis to a note title to be a handy little feature!

11. NordPass Authenticator

The authentication feature adds another layer of security, ensuring that only you can access your apps, websites, and accounts.
When authentication is turned on, you’ll enter the password as usual using NordPass autofill. But then, you won’t directly log in – the NordPass authenticator will send a time-bound one-time password (TOTP) on your registered device. You’ll have to use biometric authentication to access it. The auto-filled password and the TOTP together will allow you to log in.

The authenticator feature is only available with NordPass Business. The admin needs to turn it on from their dashboard, which enforces 2FA for all team members. We were happy to see that the admins on your team can track who has adopted 2FA and who hasn’t used activity logs.

12. Email Masking

Worldwide, there were nearly 300 million breached accounts in 2023, so it makes sense if you don’t want to share your email with a third-party provider. However, most online services require your email information to sign up. To address this, NordPass offers a unique capability called email masking.

It allows you to create an ‘email mask’ that you can use online. All emails sent to your mask will be forwarded to your real, registered email ID. It’s a simple but useful feature that keeps you protected in case the third-party provider suffers a breach or sells your data to someone else.

You could also set up multiple masks for different websites – for example, you can use a temporary email mask to sign up for a newsletter and then delete it when it’s no longer needed.

13. Organization Folders

According to research, the average user has 227 accounts that need a password to log in. While you can store all of this data in a password manager, it’s impossible to organize, find, and sort your credentials in one long list of passwords. That’s why NordPass offers a simple folder structure to help arrange passwords just like you would file on your PC.

During our tests, we found that the organization option also pops up when you’re autosaving a password. You could either back it up to your main vault or add it to a new or existing folder. This makes it much easier to avoid credential clutter. Or, you could always sort your passwords into folders manually.

14. Strong Password Generator

This is another essential feature we look for in our password manager reviews. Manually set passwords tend to use common patterns and combinations that could be cracked either through brute-force attacks or social engineering – think Passw0rd or your mother’s middle name.

That’s why it’s much better to use an automated password generator like NordPass Premium. It will generate a random string of characters following security best practices and store it in your vault. The next time you sign in, it’ll autofill the password without you having to remember it.

We were impressed by the password generator for two reasons.

One, you can try out the tool for free without even signing up for NordPass. Simply visit the website and use the interactive tool to generate a strong password for whichever website or app you need. Of course, you won’t be able to save it automatically.

Two, you can modify the type of password you want to create, even if it’s randomly generated. Do you want to use characters or words? Would you like to include both uppercase and lowercase letters? What’s your preferred password length? You can control all of this when generating new passwords.

15. Emergency Access

This is a NordPass Premium feature that can come in handy if you ever lose access to your account or, God forbid if anything were to happen that stops you from accessing your online accounts. In that case, you can share emergency access with a friend or family member so that your data and accounts are in good hands.

To give someone emergency access, you’ll need to invite them via email. Once they receive and accept the invite, they can request to see your passwords. You’ll have seven days to grant or reject the request. If you don’t act on the request in seven days, then NordPass will grant the access request automatically, i.e., it assumes you’re unable to access the software.

This can be an incredibly useful feature for an age when so much of our lives are led online. However, remember that the recipient will only get viewing rights and won’t be able to modify or delete any data.

NordPass Pricing – Is it Affordable?

NordPass Basic is free, while NordPass Premium starts at $1.49/month for a 2-year subscription. NordPass business starts at $1.79/month/user. You could also sign up for a family account starting at $2.79/month, which includes six Premium accounts.

Whether you’re an individual customer or a business user, NordPass offers three plans, starting from free forever to $5.39/month/user for the most expensive plan—which we found quite competitive. However, there’s no option to pay month on month, and you must sign up for a one-year or two-year contract.

Here is a quick breakdown of NordPass pricing for individuals:

Next, let’s look at NordPass for businesses – a complete identity and access management tool for companies of every size. Here too, you can choose from three plans:

NordPass pricing follows industry standards, and we were happy with the features and plans on offer. Moreover, all plans come with a free trial (including the business tiers) and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

However, do make note of the discounted price you’re getting when you sign up.

For example, we found that the $1.49/month or $35.76 for two years applies only to the first contract. When you renew your plan, NordPass Premium will start costing $71.76 for the same two-year term.

NordPass Interface – Is it Easy To Use?

NordPass has a minimalist interface that’s easy to use whether you’re using Windows, MacOS, Android, or iPhone. It also offers browser extensions, although a few features like autofill require the app to be installed.

NordPass is primarily meant to be used from your desktop, whether it’s a Windows PC or a MacBook. We found that both versions have 100% feature parity, and it doesn’t matter what device you use. You’ll be able to access all features – like vault, secure notes, sharing, and passkeys – from both apps.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of your computer’s biometric authentication system when using the desktop interface.

Overall, the desktop app sports a clean design that’s easy to learn and use. You’ll find the navigation pane on the left and your main controls on the center. NordPass settings are neatly tucked away at the bottom left, while the universal search bar is on the top left. If you’re looking to retrieve your credentials in a hurry, you’ll have no trouble finding them on NordPass.

Next, we tested the mobile login experience – one of the key reasons we installed a password manager anyway. Once you have the NordPass app downloaded and installed on your phone, its icon shows up during login. Simply tap the NordPass icon to log into the website using your stored credentials.

We liked that it gives you the option to use a different system rather than imposing NordPass as the default.

Coming to the mobile app also maintains excellent feature parity with the desktop application. You’ll be able to access advanced capabilities like sharing and emergency access from your mobile phone, which makes it an excellent password manager for use on the go.

We also liked that NordPass mimics the native OS design aesthetic on both Android and iOS. Given how well it blends into the OS ecosystem, this makes the learning curve much smoother, and you’ll likely use the app more frequently.

Apart from the apps, NordPass is also available as a browser extension on desktop – a surprisingly useful and convenient experience.

The extension doesn’t just let you autofill passwords and personal information. You can add saved passwords to a folder, append notes, fill in credit card details, and simplify your end-to-end login experience. However, it’s available only for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave, and other Chromium-based browsers. There’s no extension for, let’s say, Tor.

Speaking of browsers, you can also access NordPass using your browser—no download or installation is needed.

However, this doesn’t give you the advantage of one of its essential features: autofill. You can access, modify, or delete any information in your NordPass account using the Web Vault at app.nordpass.com, but you’ll have to manually enter passwords and other credentials after you view them.

NordPass vs Other Password Managers

Globally, the password management market brings in over $2 billion every year, making it a competitive and growing industry. This means you have plenty of options to choose from, and while NordPass performed exceptionally well in our tests, it’s always better to conduct your own evaluation and make an informed decision.

We found NordPass to be the best overall solution – thanks to its competitive pricing and the balance it strikes between convenience and security. NordPass makes password sharing a breeze and the use of XChaCha20 helps future-proof the technology.

NordPass Reviews – What Are People Saying?

Customers on G2 rate NordPass for businesses a stellar 4.5 out of 5. They appreciate the comprehensiveness of features and the ease of use. However, users note that the platform doesn’t work with desktop apps – let’s say Zoom.

Likewise, on Capterra, it’s rated 4.5 out of 5. Users are happy that it offers so many features and works on all major platforms. They’ve also highlighted the occasional bug, such as the failure to launch autofill sometimes and launching the app instead. The NordPass review we’ve shared from Capterra below flags another bug.

Users on Trustpilot give NordPass a rating of 4.1 out of 5. There are mixed opinions about the company’s customer service, with many users sharing their glowing reviews while others found the service too slow. Users also appreciate the great features of the NordPass mobile app.

NordPass Alternatives

Choosing the right password manager to entrust your precious data is a major decision. Let our in-depth reviews guide you:

• Keeper Password Manager Review 2024: Is Keeper Legit?
• How Good Is the Default Android Password Manager?
• The Best Android Password Managers in 2024 — Top 10 Compared
• The Best Password Manager for iPhone: Top 10 Ranked + Compared for 2024
• The Best Password Manager for Mac Devices: Top 9 Compared
• The Best Password Managers for Business in 2024: Top 10 Compared
• 10 Best Password Managers to Secure Your Accounts in 2024

Why You Can Trust Our NordPass Review

At TechReport, we’re committed to bringing you the latest insights from the world of technology, including cybersecurity.

Our team has extensive experience testing and reviewing security products such as password managers, virtual private networks, and spyware detection apps. We are well-versed in NordPass and its parent company, NordVPN.

For this review, we signed up for a trial of NordPass Premium to fully understand its features, including advanced capabilities like emergency access, link-based sharing, passkeys, and notes. We also tested the app in different environments, spanning desktop and mobile, to evaluate the user interface.

In addition to our hands-on experience, we have referred to customer reviews of NordPass on trusted forums like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot.

This gives us a broader picture of how the software works in daily workflows and real-world conditions. Our perspectives are also informed by our reviews of competing products (e.g., Keeper), which allows us to present an objective and unbiased analysis.

How To Use NordPass – A Step-By-Step Guide

Thanks to NordPass’ stellar documentation and thoughtfully designed UI, it’s easy to get started with the password management tool. Here are the steps we followed in our NordPass review and tests when trying out its features:

1. Sign Up for NordPass

The software’s primary interface is the PC and mobile app (not the Web Vault), so you’ll need to download NordPass before you can sign up. Visit nordpass.com/download; it’ll automatically detect your device and tell you where to download it.

Install the app on your phone and PC and open it. First-time users will see the following window – click on ‘Create account’ to proceed.

Once your account is up and running, navigate back to the app and log in. At this stage, you’ll be prompted to create your master password. Choose a powerful code but one that’s easy to remember.

Also, note down the recovery code you receive in your NordPass account creation email. This will come in handy if you ever forget your master password. To generate a new code, open ‘Settings’ from the NordPass app and go to the security tab, where you’ll see options for recovery codes.

2. Turn on Password Autofill

Autofill is arguably the No. 1 reason why we use a password manager, and the steps to turn it on are simple.

From the app, open the menu, and from settings, turn on autofill. Make sure you have the NordPass extension installed on your browser. This will trigger the autofill workflow when you open a website; click on the NordPass icon next to the password or username field, and it’ll enter the data automatically.

The process is the same on your smartphone. Turn on autofill from your NordPass settings – also, make sure to configure your device settings so that the software can enter data automatically. Search for autofill settings on your Android or iOS phone and make sure that NordPass is selected as the default autofill service.

3. Activate Auto-Lock for Extra Protection

As we mentioned, you need to log into NordPass using a master password to access all your credentials. But what happens after you’ve signed in, your device has been idle for a while, and someone else comes and takes a peek? To prevent this, NordPass lets you auto-lock access after a certain period of time.

From your NordPass settings, go to ‘Security.’ Scroll down until you see the auto-lock option. Choose the interval after which you’d like NordPass to ask for the master password after you’ve already logged on once. It could be an hour, a few days, a week, or even a month.

Do remember that if you restart the app or your device, you’ll have to login using your master password anyway.

4. Import Existing Passwords

If you’re worried about your less-than-perfect password habits but can’t let go of your existing credentials, NordPass lets you import your data into its vault.

Open the app’s settings and scroll down to the ‘Import and Export’ section. Click on ‘Import items’ – NordPass supports multiple formats like CSV, JSON, ZIP, 1PUX, and XML. You can also choose the origin app directly when importing your passwords.

Note that the import option on your Android phone isn’t under settings. It’s a separate module that you’ll find in the menu that opens when you click on your profile image.

5. Use the Email Masking Feature

When we ask, ‘Is NordPass good? ‘ One key feature that emerges is email masking. With so many websites demanding our contact information, you need to know how to use this feature. Luckily, there are only a couple of steps to follow.

Open the NordPass app and select ‘Email Masking’ in the ‘Tools’ tab. Select ‘Create Email Mask,’ which opens your existing list of masked emails, if any. Click on the ‘Create Mask’ button to create additional masked emails or delete old ones from the list when they’re no longer necessary.

NordPass Review – The Verdict

A growing share of Americans are using password managers jn 2024. Pew Research found that password manager adoption grew from 20% in 2019 to 32% in 2023. This trend has a lot to do with advancements in software tools like NordPass, which makes storing, using, and securing passwords a frictionless experience.

Our NordPass review found that the app covers all the bases, including bank-grade encryption, multi-device syncing, master passwords, and a secure vault. It also offers a few unique capabilities like emergency access to passwords if you are unavailable and a powerful (and affordable) business edition.

On the downside, there is no way to pay month to month. Most features require app installation and aren’t available on the web app. The free-forever plan isn’t much better than the default password manager on your Android phone, and you’ll have to spring for NordPass Premium if you want to enjoy its best features.

On the plus side, the two-year plan is competitively priced, and you can start your free trial without sharing your credit card details.

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