NordPass review: is it safe and easy to use?

NordPass came into a saturated market in 2019 and took one year to become one of the consumer’s favorite password managers. This isn't surprising, considering the tool was created by NordSec – the people behind the popular (and quite awesome) NordVPN service. Security, privacy, and ease of use are in this company's DNA, and NordPass does really well in each of these areas.

Yet there's more to a good password manager than just security and a good interface. So what exactly does this password manager bring to the table? We investigate in our NordPass review.

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NordPass pros and cons

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NordPass features

NordPass has all the basic features you’d expect from a password manager. So it does everything from syncing and saving all your passwords to auto-filling them in and generating new secure passwords whenever you need one.

Auto-saving and auto-filling

As with all good password managers, NordPass lets you save all your passwords automatically. Whenever you log in to an online account for the first time, NordPass will prompt you to save your password.

Then, anytime you go back to that online account, NordPass will auto-fill your saved credentials and log you in by default. So you don’t have to go to the effort of remembering passwords or filling them in. And because you don’t have to remember them anymore, you can choose passwords that are much more secure, thereby making your accounts much safer.

Folders

If you have a lot of passwords you need to store, like we do, it’s actually really useful to be able to organise them into folders. So you can have one for work, one for social media accounts, one for shopping apps, and so on.

Although it’s not the most important factor when choosing a password manager, it’s a nice little feature. And it’s yet another reason why this is the most user-friendly one we’ve tested.

OCR scanning

Again, this isn’t exactly the kind of feature you should base your decision on but OCR scanning is another of those useful extras that show NordPass has really thought about ways to make things easy for its customers. You can scan in information on anything from written documents to images and credit cards. So you can save important data without having to type it in.

Importing existing passwords

We were really impressed by how easy it is to import your existing passwords across to NordPass. You can either import them in bulk using a CSV file from another password manager or add them manually by following the step-by-step instructions in the settings. Either way, it takes a matter of seconds and it’s really simple to do.

Master password

As with other password managers, NordPass requires you to set a master password to unlock your account. So it’s really important that you set a secure password. And by that, we mean one that’s at least 15 characters long and made up of a seemingly random selection of symbols, digits and uppercase and lowercase letters.

If you’re struggling, NordPass has a really handy password generator that’ll give you one that fits all your requirements.

Of course, because all passwords on NordPass are encrypted, you’ll need to remember this one. Not even the customer service team would be able to decrypt your password and share it with you if you forget it.

In fact, the only way to recover your account is by using the recovery code which will appear on the screen when you first sign up. You must save this code and keep it somewhere really secure. As we said, NordPass won’t be able to re-share this code with you if you lose it.

Biometric authentication

One of our favourite features of NordPass is that it lets you use your fingerprint or face to unlock your account. It’s so much quicker and easier than entering a long master password.

Naturally, this only works on devices that have biometric security features, like fingerprint scanners or FaceID built-in. So, with most laptops and older phones and tablets, you’ll still need to type in your master password to login.

Password generator

If you struggle to come up with secure passwords, NordPass will do it for you. The NordPass online password generator is really useful as it lets you choose how long you want your password to be, as well as whether you want it to include numbers, symbols and uppercase and lowercase letters.

Now you can also choose words mode, which generates not only a random string of symbols. It creates password phrases that would be easier to memorize, so it wouldn’t be impossible even without the password manager if you remember it.

Multi-factor authentication

NordPass supports several multiple-factor authentication methods. In the past NordPass used to support only confirmations via email or authenticator app. With the first method, you received a randomly generated code that you received by mail. Meanwhile, the authenticator app continuously generates codes that you can type in when logging in.

Recently, they have added support for security keys alongside their other options. The security code will be generated on a separate device outside of your phone or email. Essentially, this makes it hackproof, only with the physical object will you be able to confirm your identity.

Currently, the only supported security devices are U2F security keys certified by FIDO. This includes models like Yubikey, iePass, MultiPass, ePass, BioPass, and others. These allow you to be extra safe, as they’re not in any way tied to your identity and are the most secure 2FA authentication options.

Secure backup and sync

NordPass stores all your passwords in the cloud to make sure you don’t lose them, even if your phone or laptop breaks. But it encrypts them first to keep them secure. In fact, they’re so safe, not even the people who work for NordPass can decipher them.

Data Breach Scanner

Recently, NordPass added a Data Breach monitoring feature. It works like password monitoring that you’ve likely seen in other password managers on the market. It automatically scans for breached databases monitoring whether they had your login credentials. The alerts are not limited to your account credentials, but banking information as well. That way, you can avoid unauthorized logins to your account and heavy financial losses.

Such breaches often open up a floodgate for hackers to try credential stuffing – reusing your already known email/password combinations on other sites. Since most users do not like memorizing passwords, they’re often reusing them. NordPass protects you in those same areas: it helps you generate a secure password, store it, and autofill it. Plus, it will always warn you about known data breaches. The feature is now also available for business users.

Sharing login details

Whether you share an online subscription with your partner or you need to give your work colleague access to a shared account, there are bound to be times when you’ll need to give a password to a trusted contact.

And when you do, the NordPass Premium account not only makes it simple, but also really secure. You can select whichever password you want to share, type in the recipient’s email address and it’ll encrypt the password before sending it, so that no one but that person will be able to use it.

Syncing with other devices

You can add your NordPass account to six different devices. And, to make this experience seamless, it automatically syncs between your devices and backs up to the cloud without you having to remember to do it.

This means that, whenever you add a new password, you’ll find it automatically added to all of your devices. And when we tested this out, it seemed to work pretty well instantly.

Having said that, it’s worth noting that the free version of NordPass only lets you use NordPass on one device at a time. So if you go from using it on your desktop to your mobile, for example, it’ll log you out on your desktop. But the Premium version lets you stay logged in on all six devices at the same time.

Is NordPass safe?

Yes - NordPass is completely safe to use. With sophisticated encryption, automatic back-ups and that all-important two-factor authentication offered as standard, NordPass uses all the necessary security measures needed to keep your passwords safe without impacting the user experience.

NordPass encryption

Rather than using the industry standard AES-256 encryption, NordPass has opted for the more modern XChaCha20 encryption. And seeing as the newer algorithm is said to be up to three times faster than AE5-256, it’s not hard to see why so many Silicon Valley companies are switching.

Because all passwords are end-to-end encrypted, even NordPass staff can’t access your login details.

Independent audit

In 2020, NordPass underwent an independent third-party audit by Cure53. This includes their desktop, Android, and iOS apps, as well as their browser extensions.

Independent audits are a great way to spot any vulnerabilities before hackers are able to exploit them. Also, a third-party audit is a proof that the application you're using offers a high level of security.

What is NordPass and NordSec?

NordPass is a secure password manager that you can use on your mobile, desktop, and tablet. In a nutshell, it lets you store, generate, and manage all your passwords for your online accounts in one place.

The benefit of this is you don’t have to remember passwords. Which not only makes logging into your accounts quicker and easier, but it also means that you can set a unique and strong password for each of your online accounts that you’ll never need to worry about remembering. So your accounts will be much safer than they would be if you used the same easy-to-remember password for everything.

It’s worth mentioning that NordPass is created by NordSec, or Nord Security - the same company behind NordVPN and NordLocker. Founded in 2012 and located in Panama, NordSec has established itself as one of the most trustworthy and reliable security software providers online.

NordPass applications

Of course, the most important thing before selecting a password manager is to make sure it works on your browser or operating system.

Luckily, NordPass supports most of the main operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux. It also works with lots of browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Edge.

NordPass desktop apps

When it comes to desktop applications, NordPass offers support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The functionality of the app you get greatly depends on the subscription plan you purchase. This means that you’ll unlock the app’s full functionality only with the paid subscription.

However, as most desktop devices aren’t able to support biometric authentication methods, you’ll need to use your master password in order to login to your NordPass account.

In any case, you won’t have any problems using your application, as the software is really intuitive. You won’t get overwhelmed by the amount of features because everything is neatly put under corresponding tabs.

NordPass mobile apps

As you’d expect, the NordPass mobile app is every bit as simple and intuitive as the desktop version. We tested it out on Android and it was incredibly quick and easy to set up. It has all the same helpful features that you’ll find on the desktop version, including the credit card scanner, the option to add folders and somewhere to save sensitive documents.

NordPass browser extensions

NordPass offers browser extensions for the majority of popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.

The extensions offer the same functionality as the desktop applications. Also, they make it really convenient to autofill your passwords while browsing.

NordPass pricing

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NordPass doesn’t have to cost you anything. You can sign up for a free account. Or, you can opt for a NordPass Premium account, which starts at a very reasonable price of $1.49 a month.

But what’s the difference between the two plans? We’ll break it down for you.

NordPass Free

Unlike a lot of free password managers, the NordPass free account has no limit on the number of passwords you can store. So, no matter how many you save, you’ll never have to upgrade your plan because you’ve run out of space.

However, just like with the vast majority of other free password managers, you can only use it on one device at a time.

And in a world when so many of us are forever flipping between our laptops, smartphones and tablets, it’s actually pretty annoying to be always logging in and out of your password manager whenever you switch devices.

On the other hand, NordPass free syncs your passwords across all your devices, which is pretty convenient. It also lets you keep secure notes and credit card details.

Overall, the free version of NordPass is actually pretty good, so long as you don’t mind logging back in whenever you switch between devices.

NordPass Premium

As you’d expect, the Premium version does away with the free version’s problem entirely by keeping you signed in on as many as six devices without logging you out.

There are some other important features that the NordPass free account doesn’t come with. The paid-for version lets you share encrypted passwords and add trusted contacts. Which is a really handy feature if you share a lot.

The Premium account also tells you how strong your passwords are. But, if you use the free NordPass password generator to create your passwords, you can be confident that they’re already strong enough.

In addition, NordPass Premium also has a Data Breach Scanner that lets you know if any of your credentials (passwords, credit card numbers, or email addresses) have been compromised.

Free vs Premium overview

Overall, the free version of NordPass is actually pretty good, so long as you don’t mind logging back in whenever you switch between devices.

But, if you know that’s going to drive you mad or if you want a secure way to share passwords, you should probably opt for the Premium account.

Is NordPass included with NordVPN?

Currently, NordPass Premium isn’t included with NordVPN. You can choose to add NordPass Premium to your basket when you sign up for the VPN, but it’s still the same price as it is to sign up for each separately. So, there’s no advantage to signing up for both at the same time aside from the convenience of doing both in one transaction.

How to use NordPass

If you’ve never used a password manager before, getting started with NordPass might seem a bit intimidating. Luckily, the app is extremely intuitive and beginner-friendly, which means that managing your passwords will be a piece of cake.

How to create a NordPass account

It’s really simple and easy to create and use a NordPass account.

First off, go to NordPass and choose whether you want a free or Premium account. You’ll then be prompted to download the app and, once it’s downloaded, you’ll need to enter an email address and password.

As soon as you’ve got your account set up, your recovery code will appear on your screen. As we mentioned before, if you ever get locked out of your account, your recovery key will be the only way you can get it back. To keep your account secure, you’ll only be shown your recovery code the first time you log in. So be sure to copy it somewhere secure and make sure you don’t delete it. You never know when you might need it.

How to import passwords to NordPass

Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be asked if you want to import all your current passwords from your old password manager or browser.

The easiest way to do this is by using a CSV file. In keeping with NordPass’ customer-friendly approach, there are links to simple how-to guides to help you export your passwords into a CSV file and import them into NordPass.

After that, you’ll find navigating NordPass really straightforward. Everything is easy to find and it gives you handy prompts to make your life easier, like adding browser extensions so you can access NordPass with just a click.

Recently, NordPass also introduced dark mode to their desktop and browser clients. That way, you will be able to match it to your preferred color scheme.

NordPass customer support

Although online help centres aren’t always that useful, NordPass has loads of handy how-to guides and a really useful search function that’ll actually answer your questions more often than not.

And if you still need to get in touch with a member of the customer service department, you can email [email protected] and someone will get back to you to help resolve your issue. There's also a live chat option that you can access via their customer support website.

Should I get NordPass?

Strong security features and low prices make NordPass appealing, but it's the simplicity that puts it above competitors. The user-friendly design makes this password manager really easy to set up and use, and it works really well on both desktop and mobile.

Visit the NordPass website

The only thing that jarred with the otherwise flawless user experience was the fact that you can only be logged in on one device at a time. Still, this is done away with on the Premium account. So, for the sake of a couple of dollars each month, it’s definitely worth upgrading your NordPass account, especially if you want to use it on more than one device.

The simplicity of NordPass makes it an ideal choice for users who are just starting to look into password security. It’s particularly great if you’re setting it up on behalf of a friend or relative who struggles with complex apps.

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