Free Alternative to Dashlane

Bitwarden is the obvious landing pad for ex-Dashlane users. I have been running it on my M3 MacBook Pro and iPhone for weeks. The transition is incredibly smooth. The free tier is almost unbelievably generous. You get unlimited passwords synced across an unlimited number of devices. Dashlane charges $60 a year for that exact privilege. The Safari extension works reliably, though it sometimes requires a manual click to wake up compared to Dashlane's aggressive auto-fill. The desktop app is an Electron wrapper. It feels a bit like a web page stuffed into a window. I am willing to forgive the utilitarian design because the core syncing engine never fails. The open-source nature means security researchers constantly audit the code.

I love the raw utility of KeePassXC. It looks like a Linux app ported to the Mac. That is part of its charm. You control the vault file completely. Your passwords never touch a server unless you manually put the database file into Dropbox or iCloud Drive. I tested version 2.7.6 and found it incredibly fast. Opening a vault with 800 entries takes zero seconds. The browser integration works through a companion extension called KeePassXC-Browser. You have to pair the extension with the desktop app manually. The setup takes about five minutes. It is slightly annoying. Once configured, it reliably fills credentials in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. You will need a third-party iOS app like Strongbox to open the database on your phone.

For years, Apple hid your passwords deep inside System Settings. With macOS Sequoia, they finally pulled them out into a standalone app. I have to admit it is excellent. It handles passkeys better than any third-party app I tested. When you create a new account in Safari, the Passwords app intercepts the prompt and saves the credential instantly. The UI is clean, native, and incredibly fast. It shares Wi-Fi passwords and verification codes natively. The biggest issue is platform lock-in. If you use a Windows PC at work or an Android phone, accessing these passwords is a massive headache. Apple does offer a Windows iCloud app, but it is notoriously buggy. If you live entirely inside Apple's walled garden, you might not need anything else.

Proton Pass surprised me. The company behind ProtonMail built a password manager that focuses heavily on identity protection. The standout feature is the hide-my-email alias generator. When I sign up for a random newsletter, Proton Pass creates a fake email address and saves the password in one click. The free tier is quite good. It allows unlimited logins and unlimited devices. You are capped at 10 hide-my-email aliases on the free plan. The Mac desktop app is new. It functions fine but clearly shares a codebase with the web version. I noticed a slight delay when opening the Safari extension compared to Apple Passwords. The open-source cryptography gives me peace of mind.

Strongbox takes the ugly, utilitarian KeePass database format and wraps it in a beautiful, native Mac interface. I tested the free version alongside KeePassXC. Strongbox feels like a real Mac app. It supports Touch ID. It integrates smoothly with iCloud Drive to sync your database file between your Mac and your iPhone. The free tier is heavily restricted. It nags you constantly to upgrade to the Pro version. You lose access to biometric unlock after the trial period expires. Typing a 20-character master password every time you open Safari gets old very fast. Still, if you want local database control with an interface that does not hurt your eyes, Strongbox is a fantastic piece of software.

Enpass operates on a unique model. The company does not host your passwords. The app encrypts your data locally and then uses your existing cloud storage accounts to sync the vault. I linked it to my personal Dropbox account. It worked flawlessly. You get the convenience of cloud syncing without trusting a password company's servers. The desktop app for Mac is completely free with no limits on the number of passwords. They monetize by charging for the mobile apps. If you only need a password manager on your MacBook, Enpass is an incredible deal. The interface is clean and offers a huge variety of templates for things like bank accounts, software licenses, and frequent flyer numbers.

Padloc is an open-source password manager that prioritizes design above everything else. I was struck by how modern and clean the interface is. It feels lighter than Bitwarden and Dashlane. The free tier is strictly for local use. You can store your passwords on your Mac, but you cannot sync them to their cloud without paying. I tested version 3.2.0. The app launches quickly. The tagging system is intuitive. It lacks many of the heavy-duty features power users expect. There is no custom field support. You cannot attach files to entries. If you just need a simple, beautiful bucket to hold your passwords on a single Mac, Padloc is a joy to use.

MacPass is an open-source KeePass client built specifically for macOS. I installed it looking for a lighter alternative to KeePassXC. It definitely feels more like a standard Mac app. The animations are smoother. The layout mimics traditional macOS finder windows. It natively reads and writes the standard KDBX files used by the KeePass ecosystem. Development moves very slowly. The app frequently goes months without an update. I ran into a few minor graphical glitches on macOS Sonoma. The browser integration relies on plugins that are tricky to configure. I still keep it installed because it is incredibly fast for quickly looking up a secure note.

Buttercup is an open-source password manager built on web technologies. I downloaded the desktop client to see how it handles local vault management. You create an encrypted archive file and save it wherever you want. The interface is very straightforward. It lacks the visual clutter of Dashlane. You can connect it directly to Dropbox or Google Drive from within the app to keep the archive synced. I found the desktop app a bit heavy on system resources considering how simple the feature set is. The browser extension works well for basic auto-filling. It struggles with complex multi-page login forms.