1Password vs LastPass

The short answer

• Choose 1Password for its Secret Key protection, a guided business setup, Watchtower and Travel Mode, and item links you can share with people outside your account.
• Choose LastPass for a lower per-user price on its Teams and Business plans, broad directory integrations, and a large policy set on Business.
• Either way, plan for the handoffs both leave out: collecting credentials from outside, and knowing an outside share arrived. CredenShare covers them alongside either.

Who this page is for: teams choosing, or reconsidering, a business password manager.

1Password vs LastPass at a glance

Checked on October 23, 2026. 1Password prices are from its pricing pages. LastPass's pricing page showed placeholders, so its prices are from LastPass's own blog (May 2026), billed annually; confirm on its site. See the sources below.

Which is cheaper, 1Password or LastPass?

LastPass, on most like-for-like plans. For a 10-person team, billed annually:

The exception is 1Password's flat Teams Starter Pack, which undercuts both for teams of 10 or fewer (up to 20 people, at $4.99 for each extra seat). For larger teams on full business plans, LastPass Business is about $20 less per 10 users each month than 1Password Business, while LastPass Business Max costs about the same.

Which is more secure, 1Password or LastPass?

Both use AES-256 encryption with keys derived on your device, and both say they can't see your vault.

• 1Password adds a Secret Key: a 128-bit random key, created on your device and never sent to 1Password, combined with your password. Even if your password is weak or leaked, an attacker with only the encrypted data and your password can't decrypt it. Sign-in uses SRP, so your password never crosses the internet.
• LastPass derives your key from your master password with PBKDF2-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations, and states: "LastPass has zero knowledge of your encrypted vault data." It also offers passwordless sign-in, through its authenticator, biometrics or a hardware key.

On certifications, both hold ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II. 1Password adds ISO 27017, 27018 and 27701; LastPass adds SOC 3.

Bottom line: the Secret Key is a structural advantage for 1Password when the master password is the weak link. For most teams, administration and sharing will decide more than encryption.

Which is better for business administration?

• SSO: 1Password offers Unlock with SSO through OIDC on Business. LastPass tiers it: none on Teams, 3 apps on Business, unlimited on Business Max.
• Directory: both provision users from an identity provider. LastPass lists Active Directory, Entra ID, Google Workspace, OneLogin and Okta on Business and above.
• Policies: LastPass Business advertises 100+ policies. 1Password Business focuses on role-based vault permissions and custom reports.
• Audit: 1Password Business keeps 365 days of activity, with an Events API for SIEMs. We didn't find LastPass's log retention on its pages.

How do 1Password and LastPass share with people outside?

This is where they differ most.

• 1Password item sharing creates a link that people without 1Password can open: anyone, or verified email addresses, for 1 hour to 30 days or one view.
• LastPass is built for sharing between LastPass accounts, through shared folders and the Sharing Center. LastPass's own help pages disagree about non-users: its Sharing Center article says the recipient "must create a LastPass account". We found no expiring or view-limited share links on its pages.

If you often hand credentials to contractors or clients who don't use your password manager, that difference matters, and it's where a dedicated handoff tool helps.

Which should you pick? Scenarios

Whichever you pick, a credential that has to reach someone outside it, or come from someone outside, is the gap covered below.

What neither 1Password nor LastPass does

Both are built around your vault. How each reaches people outside it:

• 1Password: item links that anyone, or verified email addresses, can open for 1 hour to 30 days or one view.
• LastPass: shares between LastPass accounts (shared folders, the Sharing Center); no expiring links found.

At the edge of the vault, three needs keep coming up that neither covers on its own pages:

1. Collecting a credential from someone outside. A client's hosting login or a vendor's API key: there's no request form, so it usually arrives by email or chat.
2. Proof that an outside handoff arrived. Their logs track your organization; a per-link record of who opened a share, when and from where, isn't described.
3. Handoffs on the recipient's schedule. Links that last longer, or start counting at the first open.

CredenShare is built for that edge, and works with either:

• Secure Requests (Business and Enterprise): send a form with the fields you need; each answer is encrypted in the sender's browser.
• Access logs for every share: views, times and IP addresses, kept 3 to 180 days by plan.
• Expiry from 1 hour to 3 months, optionally from the first open, plus passcodes and view limits.
• Slack, a browser extension, a REST API, SDKs and an MCP server for AI agents.

Shares made in the web app, API and SDKs are encrypted in your browser or client; Slack-created shares are encrypted on our servers. Only the people who create shares and requests need a CredenShare seat.

Before you share a credential: a checklist

These apply whichever tool you use.

1. Send the link and the passcode through different channels. For example, the link by email and the passcode by text message.
2. Watch out for link scanners. Some email security filters and chat apps open links automatically, which can use up a one-view link. Send the link as plain text through a channel that doesn't pre-open links, or allow a second view with a short expiry.
3. Don't open the link to test it. On a one-view link, your test is the view.
4. Pick the shortest expiry that works. If you don't know when the recipient will act, a link that starts counting at the first open is safer than a long fixed window.
5. Rotate after the handoff when you can. The link expires, but the credential is still valid.
6. Keep the original in your password manager. A sharing link is a delivery method, not storage.

Verdict: 1Password or LastPass?

• Pick 1Password for the Secret Key, a guided setup, and the ability to share items with people outside your account.
• Pick LastPass for a lower price on its full business plans, and an extensive policy set.

Whichever you choose, cover the outside handoffs neither is built for.

Related: 1Password vs Bitwarden · Bitwarden vs LastPass · CredenShare vs LastPass

Sources (checked October 23, 2026):

• 1Password: pricing, business pricing, security, assessments, SSO, activity log, share items
• LastPass:
  • prices: blog (business), blog (personal), pricing, business plans
  • security and sharing: zero-knowledge security, trust center, Sharing Center

1Password, LastPass are trademarks of their respective owners. CredenShare is not affiliated with any of them.