Which password manager should my small team use?

The short answer

Why "which one" matters less than "any one"

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is blunt about the problem a password manager solves: "Weak or reused passwords are a common cause of cyber security incidents in small businesses." It tells businesses to "use a password manager to generate and securely store passwords." (ACSC, Securing accounts and identities)

The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) adds that small businesses "are just as likely to experience online crime as larger ones." (NCSC Small organisations guide)

So the real risk isn't picking the "wrong" password manager. It's spending another month comparing while your team keeps passwords in a spreadsheet. Use the checklist below, pick one, and move on.

What actually matters for a small team

Ignore the long feature lists. These six things decide whether a password manager works for a business of 3 to 50 people.

1. Shared vaults with permissions. Staff can use a login without ever seeing it in a chat message. Set up vaults by job ("Finance", "Suppliers"), not by person.
2. Admin controls. You can invite people, remove them in minutes, and set rules such as requiring multi-factor authentication (MFA).
3. Account recovery. If someone forgets their master password, an admin can help them back in. Without this, a forgotten password can mean lost data.
4. Password health reports. Flags for weak, reused or breached passwords, so you know what to fix first.
5. Works on everything your team uses. Browser extensions, desktop and mobile apps.
6. Price per user you can live with. Watch for minimum seat counts and introductory prices that rise at renewal.

One more thing to check: protect the vault itself. The ACSC advises "a strong, unique master password along with MFA." In its words, weak protection here "is like putting your valuables in a safe and leaving the unlock code beside the door." (ACSC)

Comparison: 1Password vs Proton Pass vs NordPass

From each vendor's official pages, checked 18 October 2026. Not hands-on tested. No ratings. Prices change often and some are introductory, so confirm on the vendor's site and at checkout.

Sources: 1Password business pricing · Proton Pass for business · NordPass pricing

Who each one suits

1Password: best for most small teams

If you want the option with the fewest gaps, start here. The Teams Starter Pack gives a small business a flat yearly price for up to 10 people. The Business plan adds identity-provider integrations, Watchtower alerts, and broader reporting. Its pricing page lists the ability to "recover your and others' accounts if locked out", which is the feature owners tend to discover they need on the worst possible day.

Honest note: 1Password costs more per head than the other two. In October 2023 it also disclosed that an attacker briefly accessed the Okta system it uses to manage employee apps. It said it "concluded that no 1Password user data was accessed." (1Password blog)

Proton Pass: best if you're on a tight budget

Pass Essentials was the lowest per-user price we found for a business plan with shared vaults, and it includes a built-in 2FA authenticator, dark web monitoring and a password health check. There's also a free personal plan, so a sole trader can start for nothing.

Honest note: the page shows the Essentials price as a discount. Budget for the price going up at renewal, and check whether you need Professional (US$4.49) for activity logs and SSO.

NordPass: best if you want group- and folder-based sharing

NordPass Business lists group-based and folder-based credential sharing, password strength monitoring and data breach monitoring, with a 5-user minimum. The Teams pack is a fixed 10-user bundle.

Honest note: the lowest prices shown are on a 2-year plan, and the page says displayed prices don't include VAT. Compare like-for-like billing periods before you decide.

Quick pick

What we'd avoid: honest limits