NordPass vs KeePass: the ultimate password manager showdown

NordPass and KeePass are two well-known password managers. Backed by the same people behind the extremely popular NordVPN, NordPass has carved a place for itself by offering advanced security, robust features, and outstanding user-friendliness. Meanwhile, KeePass is an entirely free and customizable open-source solution.

No doubt, it’s a difficult task to choose between them. That’s why we’ll take a closer look at both password managers in this NordPass vs KeePass comparison – paying close attention to security, features, pricing, ease of use, and more. By the end of it, you’ll have a clear idea of which is the best password manager for you.

NordPass vs KeePass – an overview

	NordPass	KeePass
⭐ Rating:	4.9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★	3.5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
🥇 Overall rank:	#1 out of #19	#18 out of #19
🔥 Coupons:	NordPass coupon 58% OFF	Cybernews Password Manager Coupons
💵 Price:	From $1.24/month	Free (donations)
✂️ Free version:	Yes, plus it includes a 30-day money-back guarantee	Yes (unlimited)
🔒 Encryption:	XChaCha20	AES-256
🖥️ Platforms:	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows
🌐 Browser extensions:	Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari	Only with unofficial plugins

Which one is more secure?

NordPass is the more secure password manager in the NordPass vs KeePass security comparison. NordPass’ vigilant security protection covers every aspect with advanced encryption, flexible multi-factor authentication (MFA), and a privacy-friendly policy. NordPass’ one letdown is its slightly fiddly secure data storage.

KeePass, on the other hand, has its merits, like strong and versatile encryption using 256-bit AES, ChaCha20, and Twofish. However, at the same time, it fumbled in several areas, such as restrictive MFA and unintuitive data storage.

Encryption

When it comes to encryption, NordPass has the lead with its more advanced and secure algorithm. Having said that, you can expect the best from both password managers.

In NordPass’ case, it chucks the industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption aside for the more modern XChaCha20. A stream cipher that encrypts individually instead of by block, XChaCha20 is safer, simpler, faster, and less intensive on resource consumption compared to AES-256.

Additionally, NordPass is a zero-knowledge password manager. So, all encryption/decryption takes place locally on your device, and only encrypted data is sent to its servers. The company has no way to access or view your data.

As for KeePass, the edition you have will decide which encryption algorithms are supported. That said, the three available options are all secure, stable, and efficient.

• KeePass 1.x – 256-bit AES and Twofish
• KeePass 2.x – 256-bit AES and ChaCha20

Multifactor security

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides a crucial extra layer of security by requiring two or more methods of identity verification before granting access to the vault. In this regard, NordPass easily reigns supreme with its diverse and flexible MFA methods.

With NordPass, you get three main options for MFA:

• Authenticator applications such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and Authy
• Security keys like YubiKey and MultiPass FIDO
• Backup codes

Unfortunately, KeePass, in striking contrast, only allows two-factor authentication (2FA) using YubiKey. If, for whatever reason YubiKey is not a feasible authentication method for you, you’ll need to install third-party plugins to use other authentication methods.

Obviously, an out-of-the-box solution would be better for ease of use. But, convenience aside, it’s also important to note that third-party plugins could pose a security risk. Hence, it’s best to proceed with caution here and carefully evaluate the plugin before installation.

Data storage

Most password managers also double as a secure cloud storage vault for sensitive documents. Here, both NordPass and KeePass overcomplicated their deliveries of this simple feature.

With NordPass, you’ll need to download an entirely separate app, NordLocker, to store anything other than passwords. But, if you can overlook that slight hassle, NordLocker is very generous with storage. The free plan comes with 3GB, and there’s an option to purchase up to 2TB.

Meanwhile, KeePass's Attachments feature lets you store documents, text files, and images. While the inconvenience of saving items as attachments could be forgiven, KeePass is also unnecessarily vague about capacity.

That said, creator Dominic Reichl confirmed that it isn’t designed to store huge attachments and ballparked the maximum file size at about 4GB. Judging from users’ complaints, that’s an accurate estimate since they ran into various issues when trying to store larger files.

Privacy policy

Whether they’re built on zero-knowledge architecture or otherwise, most password managers collect personal user data. And, you’ll see exactly that with NordPass and KeePass. However, to their credit, both password managers’ privacy policies are reasonable and not too brazen.

Among other things, both password managers collect:

• Personal data like email addresses
• Device and browser information such as IP addresses, browser types, operating systems used, and internet service providers
• Statistical information about your account’s activities like date and time of access
• Cookies

While that might seem like a long list, the data that they collect is actually pretty standard for the industry as a whole. And, playing fair, both password managers’ privacy policies make it very clear that different methods to mask your identity are available.

Additionally, you also have control over how some of your data is shared and can enforce your rights with erasure, rectification, withdrawal of consent, and more.

Third-party security audits

Independent security audits are critical to evaluate a password manager’s security and reliability as well as to ensure that it satisfies all the necessary compliance/regulatory requirements. Both NordPass and KeePass have been audited and were quick to plug the gaps. However, they could certainly do with more regular and comprehensive audits.

In NordPass’ case, it has passed the SOC 2 Type 1 audit. Beyond that, NordPass has also been externally audited by security firm Cure53. The firm found nine vulnerabilities, but the NordPass team fixed the issues before the auditors had even completed the full audit.

Meanwhile, KeePass is an open-source password manager and OSI-certified. It has also been audited in the EU-FOSSA 1 project. Plus, the European Commission sponsored bounties for finding security vulnerabilities in KeePass 2.x for the EU-FOSSA 2 project. A few issues were discovered, but they’ve since been fixed.

NordPass vs KeePass: features overview

The NordPass vs KeePass feature comparison is where the two password managers’ differences are most apparent. NordPass is the clear winner with its wide-ranging password-importing options, helpful recovery means, customizable password generator, handy password sharing, and convenient autofill feature. To learn more about its features, read our comprehensive NordPass review.

In stark contrast, KeePass has considerably fewer features, and most of them are only available via plugins. And since certain features aren’t readily available out-of-the-box or via plugins, this would mean that users will simply have to make do or go without those features. Check our KeePass review to learn more.

Password importing

NordPass and KeePass support bulk password importing from all the popular browsers, files, and password managers. Between the two, NordPass supports more applications. Additionally, its password-importing process is significantly easier and more intuitive.

NordPass automatically recognizes all the saved passwords on your browser and lets you transfer them with just a couple of clicks. Additionally, it also allows import from various password managers like KeePass, Keeper, and RoboForm. Naturally, importing using the standard CSV file is allowed as well.

As for KeePass, the edition you have will determine the options available to you. If you’re on KeePass 1.x, your options are limited to just CSV files, CodeWallet, Password Safe, and Personal Vault.

Meanwhile, KeePass 2.x is more versatile and supports a longer list that includes:

• KeePass 1.x
• Password managers like 1Password, RoboForm, and Keeper
• Browsers like Chrome and Mozilla
• CSV files

However, KeePass’ password-importing process is rather tiresome and unnecessarily complicated. It has guides for it but, just like the process, they’re long-winded and technical.

Account and password recovery

NordPass has an easy lead in this round of KeePass vs NordPass since it provides a couple of account and password recovery options. Meanwhile, KeePass brutally doesn’t offer any recovery options.

With NordPass, you can generate a unique 24-symbol Recovery Code when you sign up for an account. This code should be properly safeguarded since it helps to recover your account if you lose or forget your master password. Without it, you can only reset your NordPass account.

NordPass’ Premium users, on the other hand, have another safety net in the form of its Emergency Access feature. Here, your pre-assigned contacts get read-only access to your vault. While this isn’t a perfect solution, it’s still a better alternative than a complete loss.

Speaking of complete losses, KeePass doesn’t offer a single account and password recovery method. If you’ve lost or forgotten your master password, your only available option is to create a new account.

Password generator

A password generator is a handy tool that helps to quickly create strong, unique, and random passwords that are difficult to crack. Both NordPass and KeePass pass muster with their excellent password generators.

NordPass’ password generator allows plenty of customizations in terms of length and character types. The default password length is 12 characters, but you can stretch it out to 60 characters. Additionally, you can tweak to include/exclude upper and lower cases, symbols, and numbers.

Plus, it also has the added benefit of being able to create passphrases of up to 10 words. Compared to a long string of random letters, numbers, and symbols, passphrases are far easier to remember.

Similarly, KeePass’ password generator is equally customizable. In fact, for those who are tech-savvy, it’s even more customizable compared to NordPass. As is typical, you can tweak capitalization and the type of characters to include. Beyond that, you can also generate passwords based on patterns or custom algorithms.

Password sharing

When it comes to NordPass vs KeePass for password sharing, NordPass makes a clean sweep. With NordPass, you can easily and securely share all your saved credentials like passwords, credit card details, and secure notes. And, of course, you have full control over each recipient’s access level – Can Share and Can Edit.

Recently, NordPass introduced time-limited sharing, allowing users to set a time period (of 1 hour to 1 month) for which the shared item will be accessible.

All you need to do is select the item to share, adjust the access level, and key in the recipient’s email address. Your recipient will then receive a notification about the shared item.

In glaring contrast, KeePass doesn’t have any password-sharing feature. Instead, your one makeshift solution, which is far from perfect, is to set up a shared database and share the master password among the relevant parties. Needless to say, this is a half-baked solution that undermines both ease of use and security.

Autofill

A good autofill feature helps to improve user experience and security by automatically filling up login, payment, and other online forms. Between the two password managers’ autofill features, NordPass’ version easily comes out on top.

With NordPass, its autofill feature is a breeze to use. With the recent introduction of Instant Login, users receive a Log in with NordPass prompt. One click and you're logged in. This feature can be disabled for certain websites.

Contrastingly, KeePass doesn’t have an autofill feature. Instead, you get auto-type, which automatically types pre-defined credentials into the login fields. Here, you’ll need to plug in your own keystroke sequence, just like you would if you were logging into the site manually.

The process isn’t all that complex, but it’s also not that much more convenient than keying your credentials in manually. Plus, KeePass’ tricky process of creating customized sequence associations is also likely to stump many – especially newbies and those less tech-savvy.

Plans and pricing

NordPass takes the win in the NordPass vs KeePass pricing faceoff. For starters, NordPass has plenty of options to scale and diverse plans to suit different users. It even has a free plan, too. Beyond that, NordPass also offers a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee for risk-free trials. Additionally, the password manager is very generous with its features, too.

Plan	NordPass	KeePass
Free	$0.00	$0.00
Premium	$1.24/month (1 user)	–
Family	$2.68/month (6 users)	–
Business	$3.59/month/user (up to 250 users)	–
	Try NordPass	Try KeePass

As for KeePass, its free plan makes it accessible to all. However, since there’s only one plan for all, some users’ needs would inevitably be left unmet. Moreover, KeePass offers only the bare minimum for features, and you’ll need plugins to extend functionalities. While some might appreciate the stripped-down customizability, it’s a massive source of inconvenience to others.

NordPass pricing

NordPass has four plans:

• Free – $0.00
• Premium – $1.24/month for 1 user
• Family – $2.68/month for 6 users
• Business – $3.59/user/month (up to 250 users)

The Free tier generously has all the basics like unlimited passwords, autosave and autofill, automatic sync, and MFA as well as a free 30-day Premium trial. However, you’ll need the Premium plan to enjoy the full spectrum of features. It comes with everything in Free as well as secure sharing, emergency access, data breach scanner, and Password Health.

Data breach scanner recently added monitoring for email and credit cards with advanced customization options. Similarly, Password Health introduced Exposed Password features that scans the dark web for leaked login details – it's definitely worth checking out.

If you’re sharing with others, get the Family plan. It has all the same features as Premium but supports up to six users.

The NordPass Business plan is an excellent solution for enterprises. The starting price allows you to self-checkout a plan for up to 250 users with the option to upgrade. Along with all the Premium features, you also get an admin panel for user management, and each employee can use their own personal password vault.

Recent updates bring plenty of new features for business users, including Shared Folders, Authopia, Sharing Hub as well as Vanta and Splunk integration.

KeePass pricing

KeePass has two completely free editions, KeePass 1.x and 2.x, and they’re fundamentally different. KeePass 1.x is the lightweight basic version, while KeePass 2.x is more advanced and has more features. Both editions run on Windows, but KeePass 2.x has the added advantage of also working on other operating systems like macOS and Linux.

Either way, both editions let you extend functionalities with plugins. KeePass has over 100 community-created plugins covering integration and transfer, import, and more.

Platforms, interface, and ease of use

NordPass has the victory in this round of NordPass vs KeePass for a few reasons. For starters, NordPass is compatible with all the major operating systems and web browsers. Moreover, it also has very functional and easy-to-use apps for desktops as well as mobiles.

	NordPass	KeePass
Supported OS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Browser extensions	Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Edge	Plugins only
Number of users	Up to 6	Multiple users

KeePass supports all the popular operating systems, too. However, it doesn’t have official browser extensions and mobile apps, which is a huge loss. Plus, KeePass’ tunnel vision when it comes to utility also means that its interfaces are less intuitive and more difficult to navigate.

Desktop apps

NordPass and KeePass’ desktop apps are supported on all Windows, macOS, and Linux devices. Regardless of your operating system, the setup could be wrapped in just minutes. All you need to do is click when instructed.

In NordPass’ case, its desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux look pretty much identical to each other. All three versions are streamlined, modern, and intuitive. All the important items are neatly organized on a menu to the left. Navigation is super easy and there’s virtually no learning curve.

Similarly, KeePass’ desktop apps for the different operating systems look very alike to each other, too. However, they are significantly more dated compared to NordPass’ versions. Cluttered and without a clear structure, navigation is a chore and it’s difficult to find what you need. That said, tech-minded users might appreciate the utilitarian interfaces.

Browser extensions

NordPass offers browser extensions for all the usual browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. It takes just a couple of clicks to add the extension to your browser.

In terms of functionalities, it’s best to keep your expectations low. Just like most browser extensions, NordPass’ version has its functionalities linked to its web app. That said, you won’t be left without the core features like autosave, autofill, and password generator.

In a complete 180, KeePass doesn’t have any official browser extensions. Your closest alternatives are the community-created plugins. But, of course, it’s vital to note that third-party plugins bring with them a certain level of risk.

Mobile apps

To set up NordPass on your mobile device, simply download the app from either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. It’s as easy as that.

NordPass’ mobile apps for Android and iOS devices are very similar. Orderly, structured, and responsive, it’s extremely easy to find what you need. Speaking of, the mobile apps have all the same features as NordPass’ web and desktop apps.

KeePass, meanwhile, doesn’t have official mobile apps. Instead, your best bet to plug the gap is community-created apps like KeePassMob, KeePassium, and MiniKeePass. However, note that you’ll inevitably see distinct differences in terms of quality, security, and functionality. So, it pays to research each beforehand.

Customer support

NordPass is the clear winner when we compare NordPass vs KeePass for customer support. NordPass’ support team is available 24/7 via live chat and email. And, in a clear departure from the industry’s norm, the 24/7 support is available to everyone, including free users and even non-NordPass users. Its agents are also efficient, knowledgeable, and eager to help.

Alternatively, you could also hit up NordPass’ online help center for self-research. This is home to a massive collection of knowledge-base articles, step-by-step guides, and tutorials.

In striking contrast, KeePass doesn’t provide any agent support. A FAQ and a help center are all that it offers in terms of official assistance. Otherwise, as a last-ditch effort, you could also try to get help on the local KeePass Wiki or the user forum.

Video review

If you want to see a different take or simply prefer audiovisual format, check out this video comparison of both providers:

NordPass vs KeePass – which one to choose?

All things considered, it’s clear that NordPass is a better password manager than KeePass. Offering advanced and comprehensive security, rich features, intuitive interfaces, and outstanding customer support at a very affordable price point, NordPass perfectly fits the bill of a top password manager.

Category	NordPass	KeePass
Security	✅	❌
Features	✅	❌
Pricing & plans	✅	❌
User-friendliness	✅	❌
Customer support	✅	✅

Meanwhile, KeePass is let down by its weak features, interfaces, and support – among other things. That said, tech-savvy users in search of a highly-customizable password manager could find KeePass to be a good fit.

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