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Comparison · Updated October 2026

1Password vs RoboForm 2026: who should pay more?

Affiliate disclosure: Affiliated, never sponsored. We earn commissions through links on this page, but commissions don't move rankings. Picks with no affiliate program are still mentioned where they're the honest choice. See “How we test” for the protocol behind every score.
What's changed
  • Oct 2026: Page published with verified October 2026 pricing, renewal-cost math, and security-model comparison for both products.
Lab status: vendor pricing · renewal prices · audit dates and certifications · free-tier limits, in progress: hands-on autofill testing.

The short answer

Our overall pick is RoboForm Premium: it renews at $29.88/yr against 1Password's $47.88/yr, it is the best form filler in the business, it has a genuinely free tier, and it carries the fresher independent pentest evidence (Secfault, 2025).

The honest cons: the apps look dated next to 1Password, there is no Travel Mode, no dedicated document storage, and family sharing stops at the five paid seats with no guest accounts. If polished apps, Travel Mode, or sharing with people outside your household matter to you, 1Password is the pick worth paying more for, and you should budget on its $47.88/yr renewal, not the $35.88 first-year promo.

30-day money-back on every pick6 independent audits behind our #1 pickRenewal prices published, unlike the industry0 sponsored rankings

The two, side by side

Every figure below is from the vendors' own pricing pages and published security documentation, checked October 27, 2026. Verify at checkout: first-year discounts change often, renewals change rarely, and renewals are what you pay for years. 1Password is not currently sold through our affiliate partners, so this page carries no buy link for it; the comparison below is editorial, and the RoboForm link is the only purchase link on the page.

Product imageProductIndividual priceFamily planFree tier / trialSecurity modelStandout extrasBest forLink
RoboForm Premium1RoboForm PremiumOur pick$2.49/mo billed annually (first year $19.90, renews $29.88/yr)First year $31.95 · 5 users (renews $47.75/yr)Unlimited passwords, one device, free foreverAES-256 + PBKDF2, zero-knowledge; Secfault pentests (2023, 2025); SOC 2Best-in-class form filling; 30-day money-back guarantee; local-only modeBest value; form-heavy users; families on a budgetCheck price
21Password Individual$3.99/mo billed annually (first year $35.88 at new-customer promo, renews $47.88/yr)First year $53.88 · 5 users (renews $71.88/yr, plus 5 guest accounts)No free plan; 14-day trial onlyAES-256 + 34-character Secret Key, zero-knowledge; Trust Center reports; public bug bountyTravel Mode; Watchtower alerts; 1GB document storage per user; developer toolsPolished apps; travellers; households that share with guests

The price story nobody tells: 1Password's price went up

Most ranking pages still quote 1Password Individual at $2.99/mo as if that were the standard rate. It is not anymore. $2.99/mo is the new-customer first-year promo; the standard rate is now $3.99/mo billed annually ($47.88/yr). The same staleness runs the other way for RoboForm: pages still quoting $0.99/mo are years out of date, since RoboForm Premium renews at $29.88/yr. On current renewal prices, an individual saves $18/yr with RoboForm, and a five-person household saves $24.13/yr ($47.75 vs $71.88). That is the whole decision for most buyers, and it is the figure the big comparison pages bury. Check RoboForm's price

Security: Secret Key vs fresher pentest evidence

Both vaults are zero-knowledge: neither company can read your passwords, and both encrypt with AES-256. 1Password's distinctive layer is the Secret Key, a locally generated 34-character key that works alongside your master password, so stealing the password alone is not enough. It also publishes security reports in its Trust Center and runs a public bug bounty program. RoboForm's distinctive evidence is recency: Secfault penetration tests from 2023 and 2025, plus SOC 2 certification. Neither product has suffered a vault breach. If you want the cleverer architecture, that is 1Password. If you want the most recently independently tested product, that is RoboForm.

Form filling vs the polished experience

This is the real trade-off, and it is about how you use a password manager, not a spec sheet. RoboForm's form filling is the best in the category: it handles multi-page logins and checkout forms that simpler autofill gives up on, and it does it on a free tier. 1Password has the more polished apps, Watchtower's breach and weak-password alerts, Travel Mode for border crossings, 1GB of document storage per user, and guest accounts for sharing outside the household. If you live in web forms all day, pick RoboForm. If you want the app you will actually enjoy opening, and you travel with sensitive vaults, pick 1Password. Check RoboForm's price

The free-tier gap matters more than it looks

1Password's 14-day trial is a deadline, not a safety net. After it ends, you pay or you leave. RoboForm Free never expires: unlimited passwords on one device, with the paid tier waiting for the day you need a second device. For a first-time password manager buyer, that difference is decisive. Start free, learn the habit, and upgrade only when the one-device limit bites. The paid tier then costs $29.88/yr, and the 30-day money-back guarantee covers the change of mind that 1Password's trial window does not.

Pick RoboForm when…

  • Price is the deciding factor: $29.88/yr renewal vs $47.88/yr
  • Form filling is your daily grind; nothing autofills like it
  • You want a free tier with no expiry date before committing
  • You want the most recently pentested of the two (2025)
  • A 30-day money-back guarantee matters to you

Pay more for 1Password when…

  • You want the most polished apps and interface
  • Travel Mode matters: stripping vaults at border crossings
  • You share logins with guests outside the household (5 guest accounts)
  • 1GB of document storage per user appeals to you
  • Developer tools (SSH workflows, CLI, SDKs) are part of your day
Methodology: launch assessments from published audits, pricing, and feature documentation checked October 2026, not lab scores. Hands-on autofill and usability testing is pending. Rankings are locked before any affiliate program lookup; commissions never move rankings.

Questions, answered

Which is cheaper, 1Password or RoboForm?

RoboForm, by a wide margin, and the gap is bigger than the headlines suggest. RoboForm Premium renews at $29.88/yr ($2.49/mo billed annually; first year $19.90). 1Password Individual renews at $47.88/yr ($3.99/mo billed annually; first year $35.88 at the new-customer promo rate). Families: RoboForm renews at $47.75/yr for five users, 1Password at $71.88/yr for five users. Budget on the renewal column, not the first-year column. Prices observed October 2026; verify at checkout.

Does 1Password have a free plan?

No. 1Password offers a 14-day free trial and then requires a paid plan. RoboForm has a genuinely free tier: unlimited passwords on one device, with the paid tier adding multi-device sync, secure sharing, emergency access, and breach monitoring. If you want to try a password manager for free with no expiry date, RoboForm is the only one of the two that lets you.

Which is more secure, 1Password or RoboForm?

Both use zero-knowledge encryption, which means neither company can read your vault, and both use AES-256. The difference is the second factor in the design. 1Password adds a locally generated 34-character Secret Key on top of your master password, and publishes security reports in its Trust Center alongside a public bug bounty program. RoboForm pairs AES-256 with PBKDF2 key derivation and carries the fresher independent pentest evidence: Secfault assessments from 2023 and 2025, plus SOC 2 certification. Neither has suffered a vault breach. On published evidence alone, this is a tie with different strengths.

Which fills in forms and logins better?

RoboForm. Form filling is its historic strength and the reason it has survived 25 years: it handles complex multi-page logins and checkout forms that trip simpler autofill. 1Password autofill is solid and its apps are more polished, but if you live in web forms all day, RoboForm is the pick.

What do I lose by picking RoboForm instead of 1Password?

Four things. Travel Mode, which strips sensitive vaults from your devices at borders. Watchtower, 1Password's polished breach and weak-password alerting (RoboForm has its own Security Center and breach monitoring, but it is less refined). Document storage: 1Password Individual includes 1GB per user; RoboForm has no dedicated document storage. And guest sharing: 1Password Families includes five guest accounts for sharing with people outside the household; RoboForm sharing stays inside the five paid seats. If none of those four matter to you, you are paying $18/yr extra for polish.

Can I switch between them later?

Yes. Both import from browsers and from other password managers, and RoboForm's import tool preserves credentials and folder structures from 1Password. Switching costs about half an hour, not a weekend. That is why the price question matters more than lock-in fear: pick the cheaper one now, and move later if you miss the extras.

Should I buy now or wait for a Black Friday deal?

Password managers discount heavily around Black Friday (Nov 27, 2026). If you can wait four weeks, waiting is reasonable; both vendors have run steep promotions in past Novembers. If you need one today, buy on the renewal price: a first-year discount means little if year two costs more than the competitor. Our deal watch at /password-manager-black-friday-deals tracks the live offers.