Best Free Web Form Filler and Password Manager

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Last updated by v.laurie on 25. November 2020 - 11:58

Introduction

Products in this class are among the most useful of all PC and mobile utilities because they allow you to complete the common task of filling in web forms and logins by simply clicking a button, as well as allowing you to store other credentials, such as program serial numbers and registration details, in a secure electronic form.

They work by saving (in encrypted form) user IDs, passwords and other information needed by individual sites for later retrieval.

To login to a site you need only type in a single master password to allow retrieval of the specific password information for that site. This information is then used by the program to automatically login.

This greatly improves security because it allows different passwords to be assigned to individual sites without the need to remember them. And it makes the login process easy and quick.

 

Rated Products

Bitwarden  

One of the best password managers out there and our new Editor's Choice.

Our Rating: 
5
License: Free (Open source)
Synced passwords over all devices, Supports all common platforms, Great usability, Encrypted vault, 2FA, Unlimited entries
Can't think of any
Read full review...

LastPass  

A reliable and secure password manager combining both web service and software

Our Rating: 
4.5
License: Free (Limited features)
Packed with features such as automatically filling in passwords, and accessing your passwords anywhere.
Some users say this product is insecure because it is web based.
Read full review...

KeyWallet  

Allows you drag and drop saved information directly into web forms

Our Rating: 
3
License: Free
Drag and drop saved information directly into web forms, automatically save form data and handle difficult Java based forms, skinnable.
Not quite as neat as RoboForm's click-and-fill system, not updated since 2001, with some system related issues.
Read full review...

RoboForm  

Sync password across multiple devices with a web form filler, limited to 10 passwords for free

Our Rating: 
2.5
License: Free (Limited features)
Easy to use, seamlessly integrated into both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, constantly being enhanced by the developer.
Allows only 10 forms or passwords to be stored in the free version.
Read full review...

Online Solution

If you want to separate password keeping from filling out forms, consider PassPack. Its advantage is that it's entirely online: there's nothing to download and install. This lets you generate and use passwords from any computer that's connected to the Internet. My only concern at this time is the legitimacy of the service, but at present it would seem to be a viable alternative to software password managers.

 

Related Products and Links

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Editor

This software review is copy-edited by Victor Laurie. Please help edit and improve this article by clicking here.

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Average: 4 (59 votes)

Comments

It appears that the new free version of RoboForm - v8 - allows an unlimited number of passwords rather than the old 10. However, it does not allow syncing across several devices. There is a good article about it here www.infopackets.com/news/10120/explained-roboform-8-free-or-not-yes-few-caveats.

Has anyone here tried it and does this change alter the above rating?

LogMeOnce.com is getting rave reviews!
At one time, RoboForm was the only software to do this. Then LastPass and Dashlane and KeePass came on the scene. And now there's a brand new one: LogMeOnce.com. PCMag picked it, along with LastPass, as their Editor's Choice for Free Password Managers 2017: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2475964,00.asp.
Here is the in depth review of LogMeOnce: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2494447,00.asp.

Has the site editor or any readers had any experience with Master Password (masterpasswordapp dot com)? Reviews, comments, security issues, ease of use, etc.? It looks very promising. I came across it from the very informative article at privacytools dot io; check it out.

Dashlane has been updated to version 4.6.6.23032 .

I'm with Bolt 1955! Can't see why Dashlane did not get a mention? I find it works quite well with the occasional problem that it does not recognize there are fields to be filled, even in ones I use frequently. I would like to see a review of Last Pass Vs Dashlane

Greetings,

KeePass 2.29 (stable) was released today (both the installed & portable versions) - http://keepass.info/news/n150410_2.29.html (they recommend upgrading from any previous 2.x version to 2.29).

Version 2.2.9 introduces fully-signed binaries in the password manager, amongst other improvements (including better Firefox integration using the KeeFox plug-in - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/keefox/).

For a comparison between the "Classic Edition" (version 1.29) and v. 2.29, see the Edition Comparison Table at http://keepass.info/compare.html .

Password management is a challenging category for Gizmo's freeware reviews, because there are so few good products that are completely free. E.g.:

* Password Safe is listed as Unrestricted freeware, but it has a premium feature.

* Dashlane's free version (mentioned by Bolt1955) is for only one device, which also leads to its offering no secure backup or online database access. Thus, people using the free version to generate strong passwords would need to manually create and maintain secure backups of their password vault.

* Access Manager is also listed as Unrestricted freeware but it, too, has a premium version.

I realize that my bullet-points might be newer than the information from the time of the original review of these programs, but that date is not shown. When an update is only for copy-editing (maybe for _any_ update that isn't comprehensive?) it would be desirable to see the original review date as well as the copy-edit date.

When a new review is written, I would like to see each review include a comment on the product's security. E.g., is PINS, which hasn't been updated since 2003, "not crackable" as its website claims because it uses 448-bit Blowfish? KeyWallet also uses Blowfish encryption, and is in version 1.0, which apparently might be from 2001. I see that Bruce Schneier, Blowfish's creator, switched from Blowfish to Twofish in 2006 as part of his changes "to provide better security" to his Password Safe product.

For that matter, perhaps it's time for Gizmo's reviews to list the current version's DATE along with its number. While a version number is meaningful mostly in comparison to the version offered by a download site or already installed on one's computer, a version date has additional meaning--such as in alerting us to the possibility that a vintage 2003 program might not be up to the challenges of 2015 technology.

I would also like to see more priority given to the free SW's quality and functionality. In other words, if the free version of a freemium brand deserves a top rating, so be it, but if the free version of a freemium brand such as RoboForm is so limited in functionality as to make create "a major reservation" about recommending it for most readers, than its free version should be listed appropriately lower in the article and rated with fewer stars, and its limitations should be mentioned more prominently than the glowing description of its advantages. Similarly, when a new reviewer comes to this page, it will be interesting to see how that person assesses KeePass (with its free mobile apps) against the free version of LastPass (with its advanced features for the desktop version).

[Moderator's note: Commercial content edited out.]

Password Safe has a disk on key version, but that is a different thing. It does not restrict Password Safe, which is free, in anyway, and therefore, the software will be called as unrestricted freeware only. Same thing will apply to Access Manager. It has a premium version, yes, but the free version is not restricted in any way. The premium version has extra features. Therefore, this will be unrestricted freeware too. If there are some features in the free version, which are restricted, and those are available in the commercial version, then only it won't be called unrestricted freeware.

Thanks, Anupam. Now, I see that I might have made some incorrect assumptions about how your distinction works among such categories as unrestricted freeware, restricted freeware, and premium or commercial products. (If there's a page on your website or forum that explains this, I'd appreciate a link to it.)

Am I correct, then, with the following statements?

1. LastPass and RoboForm are restricted freeware because the free and premium versions are the same download with the premium features available after payment.

2. The other products are unrestricted freeware because premium features are provided through purchase of separate products.

I guess you are correct. Please note that with different software, there are different conditions, and therefore, sometimes it can be hard for an editor to choose a category for such software. Like, LastPass can be called as unrestricted freeware, since by comparison of free and commercial version, I found that the free version is not restricted, and the commercial version has extra features, which might not be required by general users. Similarly, Access Manager can be called as feature limited freeware, since the free version has less features than commercial ones. Therefore, these can be interpreted differently by different editors. Gizmo's provides a guide or just a review of the software. Editors try to provide as much information as possible, but it is also on the users to check the sites of the software, and decide on their own.

I admit that I prefer LastPass (for the moment, at least -- I'm a bit mercurial about such things) to Dashlane. For one thing, in my experience Dashlane has had a string of problems with its Chrome browser integration.

But I can't help but wonder why Dashlane isn't mentioned at all in this review. It seems to be a major, reasonably polished, very popular free password manager -- one that has received favorable comments before on this site. Is there something about Dashlane that the author regards as a deal breaker?

Thanks for the information. This category is currently without an active editor.