We all know that GPM, aka the Google Password Manager, is a popular option among Chrome and Google users, but LastPass is far behind in terms of popularity.

Google Password Manager is a free service by Google offered to its users, while LastPass is available in both free and premium versions. Of course, the free version has its limitations.

It is recommended to have complex passwords with characters, numerals, etc. It is also recommended to have different passwords for different online accounts. With this comes the struggle of remembering each of these passwords.

One easy solution to this is a Password Manager, and today we will take a look at Google Password Manager and LastPass and how they compare to each other.

Let’s get started!

Security: Google Password Manager vs. LastPass

One of the prime concerns with passwords is security. If you are aware of these services, you are also looking for some convenience and along with that some security.

It is a good practice to have different passwords for different accounts, and this comes with its own inconvenience of remembering hundreds of passwords that we create.

This is why Google Password Manager and LastPass are useful to users. They help to store and protect passwords.

This section lets us understand how secure both of these platforms are by learning how they operate.

How Secure is Google Password Manager?

It should be very clear that Google Password Manager is not secure if your Google Account is not secured. In addition, all passwords that you store with GPM will be anyways stored by Google in their cloud servers linked to your Google account. 

So, if a hacker can somehow break into your Google Account, they immediately have access to all of your passwords as well.

Now, Google is always very vigilant of who’s accessing your Google account. One good place to start is for you to add layers to your Google Account’s Security. You can do that by setting a complex password and turning On Two-Factor Authentication for your account.

Google Password Manager has some great features, which we will discuss in the following sections. It is important to understand that if you want to have a secure password management platform with Google, you ought to put an excellent secured Google Account by adding layers of security.

You might have noticed Google will ask you on various occasions how you can make your Google account more secure. Follow those steps, and you are good to go.

How Secure is LastPass?

LastPass is a great platform for you to store your online account password, but it comes with its own nuisance. For starters, it is a Freemium application. You can either use the free version with its limitation or pay for the service. We have discussed more of the features below.

Unlike Google Password Manager, LastPass works on a different model. You will have a Master Password, which will be required to gain access to all the passwords you save inside the LastPass vault. 

When it comes to Security, it’s a great service. For one, LastPass works on Zero-Knowledge Security Model, which essentially means they know neither the Master Password nor the passwords inside the vault.

Your passwords are encrypted on the device level with AES-256 encryption, which is the industry standard and is also approved by the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). AES-256 encryption is also the most advanced level of encryption as of yet.

Once this information is encrypted, it is then synced with Transport Layer Security (TLS), a technology to encrypt the data while traveling on the internet. This provides security against on-path attackers, as on-path attacks are very common, and this is also when the information is very vulnerable.

What are the Features of Google Password Manager & LastPass?

This is where convenience comes into play, and there are a lot more players in the market today. Unlike LastPass, there were no web browsers that offered a Password Manager for users. Today, almost all major browsers offer you a Password Manager built-in.

In this section, let us see what the top features offered by both of these services are. Do note that LastPass is not a free service when it comes to accessing and using all its features. On the other hand, Google Password Manager is a totally free service.

Features of Google Password Manager

If you use Google Chrome a lot, this would make a lot of sense for you. Google Password Manager works across devices but will not work across browsers. Some of the top features are as follows:

• Password Generation: Google Password Manager will generate complex passwords whenever you register for a new account on a website or an application. Then it will store the username and password, which can be accessed on all your devices if you have your Google account signed and synced in.

• Autofill Username and Password: The Google Password Manager will also autofill whenever you try to log in to one of your online accounts if it has its username and password stored by you.

• Password and Accounts Limitation: You can technically store hundreds and thousands of passwords which will suffice you for years to come. No worries there!

• Password Compromise Alerts: Google Password Manager will also let you know of Data Breaches and if any password has been compromised in the breach. It will then ask you to change the password to a new one. 

• Cross Browser and Device: Although it is very convenient across devices, you will find it hard to use multiple browsers. Google Password Manager will only work on Chrome for your computer, Smartphone, tablet, etc.

This is about the features and limitations of Google Password Manager, but since it’s a free service, we can’t complain much.

Features of LastPass

LastPass works across devices and browsers only if you are willing to pay $3 a month. If you just talk about LastPass’s free version, you don’t see it winning over Google Password Manager. Let’s see some of its features for the free version.

• Password Generation: Just like Google Password Manager, LastPass will generate complex passwords for you and save them within your vault.

• Autofill Username and Password: It will also autofill username and password if you have stored the same on your LastPass vault.

• Password and Accounts Limitation: It lets you store an unlimited number of passwords. So there’s nothing to be worried about here.

• Password Compromise Alerts: The free version of the LastPass service will not monitor if your passwords have been compromised anywhere on the internet. Hence, it will not send you alerts on the same.

• Cross Browser and Device: Lastpass works cross-browser and device, but you can only use one LastPass on one device for the application’s free version.

Unless you are willing to pay for the service, you are not getting most of the features of LastPass. If you go for the premium, you will have access to the following features; Multiple Devices, Compromise Monitoring, Alerts, Many Shares, etc. 

Take a look at the table below and see for yourself what features are important to you. If the features offered by the free version of LastPass are sufficient for you, don’t bother to go for the premium one.

Features	Free	Premium
Price	Free	Starts at $3/Month
Number of Users	1	1
Number of Passwords	Unlimited	Unlimited
Number of Devices	1	Unlimited
Password Generator	Yes	Yes
Dark Web Monitoring and Alerts	No	Yes

LastPass also has a Families Premium plan with some additional features and some extra money every month. Do check their latest pricing in the image right below.

LastPass is more than just a password manager, it lets you store payment cards, notes, etc. However, most of the features will be limited to the premium plan.

LastPass VS. Google Password Manager: Which is Better?

When you try to evaluate between the two, there’s no binary answer. It will depend on a lot of factors. Please have a look at the table below as we compare LastPass Free plan and Google Password Manager.

Features	Google Password Manager	LastPass Free Plan
Price	Free	Free
Number of Devices	Unlimited	1
Across Device	Yes	No
Across Browser	No	Yes
Password Generator	Yes(On the Go)	Yes(Inside the Application)
Duplicate Password Alert	Yes	No
Password Compromise Alert	Yes	No
More than Password Management	No	Yes

Wrapping Up

So, to conclude this article, I would say that if you are willing to pay for a service like this, go for LastPass as it will let you use it across devices and browsers, which is an important feature to anyone who owns a second device and uses more than just Chrome.  

If you just need a password manager and not the extra bells and whistles like payment information storing and password sharing, go for Google Password Manager and make the Google account more secure by adding additional layers of security.

If you are just a Chrome user and have multiple devices, go for Google Password Manager as you will find it to be more useful.

I have been using the free version of LastPass for more than two years now. I have found myself slowly moving towards Google Password Manager because of the limited features of LastPass free, and I am a Chrome user with multiple devices.

In my time with LastPass, I do not find the free version intuitive and responsive. It fails to autofill quite often, and you can’t use it on more than one device, etc.

I find Google Password Manager to be more accurate when it comes to autofill. You can also store your Card details with Google and use them whenever you want to make a payment online. 

If you are okay paying the amount for the extra features, go for it, but if you want a simple password manager, I would recommend you use Google Password Manager.