Most people use a password manager primarily to manage website credentials. In practice, when you log in to a secure site, the password manager asks if you want it to save your username and password. When you return to that site, the password manager asks if you'd like it to fill in those credentials. If you have multiple logins for the same site, the password manager lists all the options, allowing you to select the correct one and log in. Most password managers also feature a browser toolbar menu of saved logins, allowing you to access a saved site and log in automatically.

When you create a new account or update a weak password, don't strain your brain trying to come up with a different password that is both strong and unique. Let your password manager handle it. Ensure your generated passwords are at least 20 characters long and include all the major character types: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

Below are our recommendations for password managers that are best for specific use cases:

Many families and friend groups share credentials for financial apps or streaming services. Editors' Choice winner NordPass's sharing options make it easier to give and revoke access to credentials. Keeper also has a stellar password-sharing system that allows you to choose how to share the credentials and how long the recipient can access them.

Business owners may appreciate Dashlane's extensive reporting tools for administrators. Understanding employee password hygiene is one of the first steps toward securing a workplace against external threats. Keeper and NordPass also offer helpful business features.

1Password offers stellar apps for Android and iOS. It's incredibly easy to sort your logins into different categories and vaults using the minimal user interface. Another mobile app highlight comes from Proton Pass, which features clean, well-designed app interfaces for both Android and iOS.

Enpass offers a completely free desktop app, making it an easy choice for individuals who primarily log in to their accounts using a Mac or Windows PC. You can also sync up to 25 passwords to a mobile device for free. With ongoing data breach threats, it's wise to monitor who is holding onto your data and how they're securing it. We appreciate that Enpass requires users to store their data locally on their devices or via a personal third-party cloud storage account.

Password managers keep you safe, and they're convenient. With a password manager, you don't have to remember a complex and unique password for each account. A password management app helps you generate new, random passwords and stores them for you.

When you sign up for a password manager, one of the first things to do is create a master password for your account. Your master password is used to encrypt the contents of your password vault, so it should be difficult for anyone else to guess. However, it can't be so random that you can't remember it. Your master password is likely unrecoverable if you do.

Read PCMag's tips for creating secure, complicated passwords. One technique you might want to consider is forgoing simple passwords in favor of more complex passphrases and using passkeys whenever possible to secure your online accounts.

Some password managers eliminate the need for a master password by offering a passwordless entry to your desktop or mobile vault. That means you can log in using a QR code with a third-party authenticator app, biometrics, a magic link, or a one-time password.

You should also set up multi-factor authentication to secure your password manager account via biometrics, SMS, or time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) stored in an authenticator app. The best password managers support authentication via U2F or OTP-based hardware security keys, most of which are about the size of a standard key and can be easily carried on a key ring.

Before you commit to any password manager, you should ensure it works on each device you use and doesn't prevent you from syncing your passwords across all your devices. In the past, most companies offered desktop password management apps for macOS, Windows, and even Linux; however, many of the apps on this list are now browser- or mobile-first applications.