NordPass review: Affordable, streamlined password management

Best Prices Today: NordGo

For a more recent service, NordGo is downright old-school — in the very best method. Since we final reviewed this password supervisor from the maker of NordVPN, the panorama has modified. Paid subscriptions bought dearer, and heavier restrictions fell upon free plans. Meanwhile, NordGo went the alternative route and didn’t pare again. Instead, it saved its costs low, added extra options to its premium plan, and left its free tier intact.

NordGo is accessible as a browser extension (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Brave, and Safari), an Android or iOS cell app, and desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Nord favors the browser extension — while you enroll on a pc, that’s what you’re steered to. Only the cell apps are linked to inside the browser interface, too. Downloading the desktop apps requires a web based search. For this overview, I used the desktop software program for Windows 10, the browser extension in Chrome, and the Android app.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best password managers roundup to study competing merchandise.

Nord requires a double login for its password supervisor. During setup, you first create a Nord account. Then you select a separate grasp password to safe your vault. It decrypts the login information (and different entries) saved to the password supervisor. In idea, this method makes accessing Nord providers (together with NordVPN) simpler, whereas nonetheless maintaining your saved credentials protected. But in observe, I discovered it cumbersome since I wasn’t utilizing NordVPN or NordLocker, the corporate’s safe cloud storage service. You can cut back this friction should you select to make use of biometric authentication (like a fingerprint) to unlock your browser extension or cell app, however you possibly can’t get rid of it utterly.

NordGo additionally helps two-factor authentication throughout all plans, with an authenticator app, backup codes, and {hardware} keys as your choices.

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After the signup course of, you possibly can import passwords out of your browser or one other service into NordGo. To accomplish that, it’s essential to add a CSV file — the app not affords to mechanically pull in passwords saved to your browser. Browsers and password managers will allow you to export a CSV, however you can too create your individual, as long as it follows these guidelines. On a PC, you’ll drag and drop the CSV file into the import window, after which wait. It’s a seamless course of.

No matter the platform, NordGo’ interface continues to be clear and easy, whereas nonetheless wanting fashionable. On PC, the format is break up between a left sidebar and a important panel. The sidebar homes all app options, with account information, notifications, and settings icons and a search bar tucked up on the very prime. Underneath are three sections: Categories, Folders, and Tools. The Android app is organized equally, however with a backside navigation bar.

Within Categories, you’ll discover All Items, Passwords, Passkeys, Secure Notes, Credit Cards, Personal Info, Shared Items, and Trash. For Passwords, Secure Notes, Credit Cards, and Personal Info, you possibly can view, add, and edit gadgets, whereas for Passkeys, you possibly can view and edit. To add a passkey, it’s essential to create one on an internet site instantly and permit NordGo to seize it. Each entry sort is easy: Credit card entries include simply cost information, for instance — you’ll create identities with contact information individually inside Personal Info. However, NordGo has added the power so as to add customized fields to password, safe be aware, bank card, and private information entries since we final noticed it, which retains them from being too bare-bones.

On paid plans, you possibly can attach files of any kind to all merchandise sorts, as much as 50MB per file and as much as 50 recordsdata per entry. The complete quantity of storage you get is 3GB.

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Shared Items exhibits gadgets that you simply’ve shared with others (should you’re a paid person), or have been shared with you (all customers). You can solely share with different NordGo customers — should you ship an entry to an electronic mail tackle not affiliated with an account, they’ll have to enroll to see it. The function isn’t pretty much as good as with different password managers, since recipients can solely see a password should you share with full modifying rights. Limited rights solely exhibits the e-mail tackle or person identify, which isn’t useful. These permissions might use extra consideration from Nord; restricted rights ought to let customers see a password, however not edit them.

During every day use, NordGo behaves equally to its greatest competitors. It affords to fill in saved login information (or use a saved passkey) on websites it acknowledges. For credentials you haven’t saved but, it asks to seize the main points after you enter the information. And although NordGo doesn’t all the time acknowledge each account creation web page (it typically treats signups with separate pages as varieties to autofill), when it does, it suggests email masks (a function inside the app that creates distinctive aliases to your electronic mail tackle) and passwords to make use of. When this automation works, it’s easy.

NordGo generates distinctive, advanced passwords of as much as 60 characters, which is lower than some opponents — Bitwarden can create passwords so long as 128 characters, for instance. But 60 nonetheless is greater than ample. Many websites nonetheless advocate simply 16 characters, whereas some safety specialists recommend between 20 to 32. These days, two-factor authentication or using a passkey will present extra safety than a really lengthy password.

For faster entry to your saved passwords (and different entries), you possibly can set up them by including them to folders. You can create as many folders as you need. I used them to group associated gadgets (like “Work”), which made organising new units sooner. I didn’t have to look individually for the related accounts.

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Since we final evaluated NordGo, its lineup of premium instruments have expanded, placing it on extra equal footing with extra established password managers. These are solely accessible to clients on paid plans, like the person or household subscriptions.

Previously, the corporate supplied simply two utilities. Password Health scans for weak, reused, and previous passwords. If any are discovered, you’ll see the entry in a listing — clicking on it takes you to that web site so you possibly can change the password. Once you replace it to one thing safer, NordGo will seize it.

Note: Flagging passwords that haven’t been modified in awhile is an previous, outdated safety observe, meant for when individuals used ones that had been quick, simply guessed. But with NordGo or some other password supervisor, you possibly can generate lengthy, random, and distinctive character strings that shouldn’t want frequent updating. Only change them while you suspect they’ve been compromised.

The Data Breach Scanner trawls the online for any of your web site or bank card accounts caught in a breach or leak. Any outcomes that seem will listing what info was compromised, like your password, start date, telephone quantity, or IP tackle, together with particulars in regards to the breach. For identified websites, you’ll additionally see a button that sends you there so you possibly can change your password.

Two extra options be part of the lineup. Emergency Access permits you to designate different customers that may request entry to your passwords. You can instantly grant or deny the request, however should you don’t reply, your passwords will mechanically change into accessible for viewing to them after seven days. This function permits household, pals, and different trusted people to have the ability to conduct enterprise in your behalf should you’re incapacitated or in any other case unavailable. When I examined this function, permissions modified immediately — each for including trusted contacts, in addition to granting and revoking entry.

Email masking creates aliases to your actual electronic mail tackle (which Nord assumes is similar because the one you used to enroll in NordGo). Any messages despatched to one in every of these masks will get forwarded to your precise electronic mail account. You can create a complete of 200 electronic mail masks on Premium or Family plans, and as much as 30 per day. As talked about above, NordGo can recommend an electronic mail masks when signing up on a brand new web site. You may create electronic mail masks inside the apps or the browser extension. Managing these aliases consists of turning forwarding on or off, and deleting them. For probably the most half, it is a nice function, however Nord might enhance on it by permitting customers to improve to a better variety of masks. Heavy web customers can simply have a number of hundred (if no more) logins.

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NordGo’ pricing tiers are considerably uncommon in 2024. For starters, its free plan stays pretty unrestricted. You can save limitless passwords and passkeys, and the information syncs throughout totally different gadget sorts. Other premium password managers with free tiers have slashed the variety of entries, with Dashlane having lower to 25 in fall 2023 and Keeper forcing customers to cull to a ruthless 10 as of March 1. You’re not restricted to only one sort of gadget both, as LastPass does. The important restriction is you can be logged into just one gadget at a time, however you possibly can transfer between them freely. You additionally don’t get entry to file attachments, sharing (sending passwords to others), and the Password Health, Data Breach Scanner, Emergency Access, and Email Masking options. 

To get these perks, you’ll must pay for a Premium or Family plan. Currently, NordGo affords a particular price to new Premium customers of simply $35 should you join two years ($1.30 per 30 days), or $26 for one yr ($1.70 per 30 days). Family plans run $67 for 2 years and $45 for one yr. For comparability, Dashlane is $60 per yr for particular person plans, Keeper is $35 per yr, and 1Password is $36 per yr. Bitwarden is the one rival password supervisor that provides extra worth, with no limits on password creation or gadget utilization without cost customers, and a value of simply $10 per yr for its paid plan. But its interface will not be as person pleasant.

Overall, NordGo is intuitive, and utilizing it’s a polished, seamless expertise. Its free plan is a throwback to when corporations had been extra beneficiant with options, and its paid plans now sport the type of superior options that make them corresponding to related rivals. If you don’t thoughts the inconvenience of its double-login system, you’ll be hard-pressed to search out an alternate that provides such a easy, easy-to-use interface with such inexpensive costs.