LastPass is one of the most well-known password managers available. For anyone who needs many strong passwords to keep their accounts secure but has trouble keeping track of them, a password manager may be the realistic option.
Either your passwords are so weak that you can remember dozens of them, which makes it all too easy for malicious crooks to access your sensitive info, or they are so strong that you can’t possibly remember them.
This is where a service like LastPass comes into play, a service that generates extremely complex passwords, stores them, and then auto-fills specific passwords for the corresponding accounts.
That said, not everybody has the same needs when it comes to password management. For this reason, LastPass offers various account levels designed for specific groups: LastPass Free, Premium, Family, Enterprise, and more.
How Pricing Works
As mentioned, LastPass features several account types or service levels for customers to choose from. It features a variety of accounts for single person and family personal use and several business plans. Let’s look at the various account options available.
LastPass Free
The first option is LastPass Free, which, as the name implies, is totally free to use. This is a good option for beginners who want basic password management features and security.
It comes with all of the basic features such as a password generator, secure password vault, access on all devices, and a few pretty decent security features. However, it does not come with any more advanced security or storage features that come with the higher account levels.
Moreover, when you sign up for a LastPass Free account, you get a one-month free trial for LastPass Premium, the service that we are here to discuss in more detail today.
LastPass Premium
LastPass Premium is the next step up from the free account, and most people would agree that this account level offers the most bang for your buck.
LastPass Premium is designed for individual users. It comes with a full range of password management and security features and various additional storage and support features. LastPass Premium costs just $3 per month and is billed at $36 annually.
LastPass Family
LastPass Family comes with all of the same great features as LastPass Premium, but instead of being designed for single users, it is designed for families with up to six members.
It includes extra features related to file sharing to make it easier for families to work as a coherent unit and ensure that all family members have access to the same information. LastPass Family costs $4 monthly, which can be billed annually at $48.
LastPass Business
This article’s focus is LastPass Premium, so we’ll quickly compare it to the personal account types. However, there are several LastPass Business account types: LastPass Teams, Enterprise, Identity, and MFA. These LastPass Business prices range from $3 per user to $8 per user (per month).
LastPass Premium
What Do You Get?
If you are an individual who needs to keep track of all of your passwords and wants to keep everything secure, the LastPass Premium account should be considered.
For just $3 per month, you get access to a plethora of password management features, including a secure password vault, access on all devices, password autofill, a password generator, and more.
Security features include a dashboard, dark web monitoring, secure notes, multi-factor authentication, other security features, email support, and even storage for critical document backups.
Password Generator
The first feature is the password generator. This feature automatically generates extremely secure passwords, individual passwords for all of your connected accounts.
These passwords consist of random letter, number, and symbol sequences and are sufficient to ensure maximum security.
This feature can be used when setting up new accounts or increasing security for your existing accounts. Passwords generated by the LastPass password generator are some of the most secure in the world.
Secure Password Vault
LastPass Premium also includes a secure password account where you can find all of your stored passwords for individual accounts. You can evaluate the strength of individual passwords and alter them as needed.
This password vault and other LastPass features are secured using AES-256 encryption, which is performed on your device before being synced with TLS. Because your info is locally encrypted on your device, it allows for a greater degree of security.
This is the zero-knowledge approach, which means that even the owners and operators of LastPass do not have access to your password vault and your other sensitive info. The only person with access to your password information is you.
Access on All Devices
What also stands out about LastPass Premium is that it grants access to your passwords, the manager, and all relevant functions on all of your devices.
This includes your laptops and computers, tablets, and phones. You can sync everything, so no matter what device you are using, you will always have access to all relevant information and features.
Save and Auto-Fill Passwords
One of the most beneficial features is password saving and the autofill feature. The genius behind LastPass is that you don’t actually have to remember all your passwords.
Once they have been generated and stored in the vault, all you have to do is enter your master password when you access an account. When you create a LastPass account, you will be asked to create a master password.
This is the password that you will have to remember, which you will use to log into all of your accounts. When you log in to any account, you just have to enter your master password. At this time, LastPass will automatically reference your password vault and auto-fill the correct password for the corresponding account − the secure password that was generated with the password manager.
In essence, it means that you really only have to remember a single password to access all of your accounts.
One-to-One and One-to-Many Sharing
With LastPass Premium, you can share your passwords with trusted family members. You can share your passwords, and sensitive information with as many trusted family members as you see fit.
It’s a safe way to share passwords with the people you trust without putting your sensitive information at risk. This way, if you have family members who need access to any one of your accounts, they can easily get access with your permission.
Security Dashboard
The security dashboard is like the command center for all of your digital security needs.
Here you can see what your password score is − it allows you to evaluate the strength of your passwords. You will be alerted if you have weak or vulnerable passwords that need changing.
It’s a great way to stay up to date and aware of all security concerns that may affect you.
Dark Web Monitoring
Yet another great feature is dark web monitoring. This feature automatically and consistently watches all accounts related to your email address.
This will alert you if there is a security breach related to your email address and connected accounts. If there is a security breach, you will be warned and provided with additional instructions to stop the violation and prevent it from occurring again.
Secure Notes
Next, LastPass Premium can do more than just keep your passwords safe. With secure notes, you get a secure way to store other sensitive information, including things like your addresses, credit card details, passport information, other forms of identification, and more. It’s a convenient and secure way to store all of your sensitive data in one place.
Multi-Factor and Advanced Multi-Factor Authentication
Perhaps one of the best security features is multi-factor and advanced multi-factor authentication. You can add a second layer of authentication to all accounts for advanced security.
When you log in to any account, you can choose to have a special code emailed to you or texted to your phone, which you then must enter to access a specific account.
It’s a second layer of defense, so if somebody does get hold of your password, they still won’t be able to access your info without the authentication code. Advanced multi-factor authentication also allows for fingerprint authentication and the use of a YubiKey.
Self-Guided Email Support
In case you have any issues, LastPass Premium features self-guided email support, so you can instantly get help if you need it.
Encrypted File Storage
When you get LastPass Premium, you get 1GB of encrypted storage so you can make backups of any and all of your most important documents and information.
Emergency Access
The final feature worth mentioning is emergency access. This allows you to nominate trusted people that you will allow to access your account if needed. If you become incapacitated in any way or can no longer remember your master password, the nominated people may then access your accounts.
Comparison to Other Plans
As you can probably tell, LastPass Premium has many useful features. In terms of other plans, such as the free plan, it does have significant advantages. For just $3 per month for the Premium plan, you get a lot you don’t get with the free plan.
Included with the Premium account, which are not included with the free account, are one-to-many sharing, the security dashboard, dark web monitoring, emergency access, advanced multi-factor authentication options, self-guided email support, and 1GB of encrypted file storage.
There is also a LastPass Family account option. However, this is virtually the same as LastPass Premium. The only notable difference is that it is designed for use by families of up to six people instead of single-person use.
There are four LastPass Business account types, although these start to get expensive as accounts are priced on a per user basis. Unless you are running a business with many employees, there would be no reason to go for any of the business accounts.
Although, if you do have a business with many employees, any of the business accounts are recommended, depending on your needs.
Final Verdict: Is LastPass Premium Worth it?
We would say that LastPass Premium is definitely worth it. When you consider the many extra features you get for $3 per month, it is absolutely worth it compared to the free plan.
LastPass Premium comes loaded with password management and security features, a lot of storage for sensitive info, and a sound support system.
In general, LastPass is one of the best password managers available, whether for personal or family use or your business.