Dashlane vs. Keeper: Which password manager is better?

Do you struggle with the hassle of creating passwords for your sites? Learn how one of these softwares can help in this Dashlane vs. Keeper comparison.

Unsure of an ideal way to create, store, and secure your personal or organization passwords?

Try using a password manager. Dashlane and Keeper are excellent at it. Dashlane provides an advanced security platform with add-ons like VPN. 

Keeper offers a broader integration stack and various MFAs. However, which provides better password security? Let’s find out in this Dashlane vs. Keeper comparison.

Dashlane vs. Keeper: At a Glance

Here’s a table showing the factors we considered in the Dashlane vs. Keeper comparison.

Criteria	Dashlane	Keeper	Winner
SMB Guide’s Rating	8.4/10	8.5/10	Keeper
Multi-factor Security and Authentication	Provides 2 MFA options	Provides 4 MFA options	Keeper
One-time Passwords	✅	✅	Tie
Password Capture and Generation	Generates passphrase passwords	Requires manual extra steps	Dashlane
Password Sharing	Lacks audit logs on shared passwords	Offers a basic log on who accessed it	Keeper
Emergency Access	✅	✅	Dashlane
Security Dashboard	Dark web monitoring and alerts	Dark web monitoring and alerts cost extra	Dashlane
Account Recovery	✅	✅	Tie
Browser Extensions	✅	✅	Tie
Data Privacy and Compliance	Complies with CCPA and GDPR	Complies with HIPAA, SOX, PCI-DSS, and GDPR	Keeper
User Experience and User Interface	Clean interface	Functional interface	Dashlane
Integrations and Compatibility	Lacks a public API	Provides a public API	Keeper
Customer Support	Provides phone (business), live chat, Reddit, and X DMs	Only email and live chat (24/7)	Dashlane
Pricing	$4.99/mo – $8/mo	$2/mo – $6.25/mo	Dashlane
Scalability	✅	✅	Tie

Dashlane: Key Factors, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

Dashlane is a password manager with modern security features like passkeys and biometric login. It also offers file storage, VPN, and dark web monitoring to protect against phishing and cyber threats.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Dashlane offers two scalable personal plans with a month-long money-back guarantee, but no free plan. Business users can choose from two scalable professional plans, all billed annually.

The business plans also include an enterprise package for large teams and organizations. Here are the plans:

• Premium: $59.88 yearly
• Friends & Family: $89.88 annually (max ten members)
• Business: $96 per seat yearly
• Enterprise: Contact support

Keeper: Key Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

Keeper is a password manager providing core digital vault security for browsers and systems. It features various MFA options, autofill, and a user-friendly interface.

Add-ons like ‘BreachWatch’ for dark web monitoring and increased file storage are sold separately.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Keeper offers two scalable personal plans, but no free plan. It includes a month-long free trial. For businesses, there are three scalable tiers, including an enterprise plan for large organizations.

All plans are billed annually. Here are the plans:

• Personal: $31.80 annually
• Family: $76.35 yearly

Multi-Factor Security and Authentication

Dashlane and Keeper offer various MFA options, both basic and advanced. Users can find authenticator apps on Dashlane (Google, Authy) and its native authenticator.

Dashlane also includes email and SMS with biometric login.

Keeper offers more MFA options than Dashlane, including authenticator apps (Google and Microsoft). Other options are hardware tokens like YubiKey, U2F security keys, and SMS with biometric login.

Setting the MFA options is simpler on Dashlane with authenticator apps. However, on Keeper, the hardware tokens require extra steps to configure.

On security effectiveness, hardware tokens offer the ideal security. Authenticator apps provide a balance of convenience and protection against phishing.

✅ Winner: Keeper

One-Time Passwords

Dashlane and Keeper make generating OTPs easy. A user can trigger the OTP generation within the app or extension directly when logging onto a site.

Dashlane and Keeper integrate seamlessly with apps and websites, and both work with OTP-enabled platforms. However, Dashlane’s autofill feature often has glitches, making it unable to populate the OTPs.

It then requires copying and pasting them manually.

Regarding security features, both software use strong encryption to secure the OTPs. The software also uses zero-knowledge technology, meaning it doesn’t store or access the generated OTPs.

The OTPs generated also have a short expiration time, often 30 seconds.

✅ Winner: Tie

Password Capture and Generation

Dashlane and Keeper provide browser extensions that capture login credentials from websites and other password managers.

However, Dashlane’s extension is more seamless, saving login info and importing passwords from managers in various formats.

The Keeper’s import feature is less intuitive and requires extra manual steps, especially on less popular platforms.

Dashlane and Keeper accurately capture and import passwords. However, complex web forms or outdated sites might require manual work.

Regarding password generation, both softwares provide a powerful generator that generates strong and random passwords.

Users can customize the length (10 – 108 characters) and character types (upper and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers).

However, Dashlane offers an extra customization option. It generates passphrase passwords with up to 10 words, making them easy to memorize.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Password Sharing

Dashlane uses “Collections” to share passwords. An owner can share their password collections with five other recipients.

An owner can grant full editing access only, with no read-only capability. However, there is a condition. The recipient must first have a Dashlane account.

Unlike Dashlane, Keeper offers more granular control. An owner can use the new ‘One-Time Share‘ feature to give users access for a limited time.

Users can set permissions to read and write or read-only.

Both softwares also use AES-256 encryption to secure the passwords. They also employ zero-knowledge technology, meaning they don’t store or decrypt users’ data. Unlike Dashlane, Keeper adds 2FA options for shared access like YubiKey and SMS beyond common login verification.

Regarding audit trails and logs, Dashlane doesn’t provide any for password-sharing activity. However, Keeper offers a basic log on who accessed and when.

✅ Winner: Keeper

Emergency Access

Dashlane provides a single emergency contact slot across all plans. It involves creating a secure DASH file storing and sharing it. Then, users can share the file’s password with their contacts.

Keeper also offers users the option to designate emergency contacts. However, it includes a 24-word recovery phrase and a backup verification code.

Regarding security measures, Dashlane requires contacts to use a shared key paired with a one-time code sent by SMS or email.

Keeper also employs a 2-step method. The contact must have the 24-word recovery phrase and the backup verification code. If not stored securely, the code can be vulnerable.

With revocation of access, both Dashlane and Keeper allow users to revoke or modify access designated to an emergency contact at any time.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Security Dashboard

Dashlane provides a security dashboard that displays password strength scores for each saved credential. It highlights reused and weak passwords.

Unlike Keeper, the software also offers dark web monitoring, alerting users of email credentials that appear in any breach.

Keeper’s security dashboard offers more granular details, such as password strength scores, security audit reports, and breach alerts (costs extra).

The reports provide details on weak, reused, and inactive passwords. Unlike Dashlane, it offers a better analysis of password security.

Keeper offers more flexibility regarding customization than Dashlane. Users can customize the metrics on the dashboard to their liking.

On usability, Dashlane has an edge due to its user-friendly interface. However, customization limitations hinder users who need detailed analysis.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Account Recovery

With account recovery, Keeper offers a better option than Dashlane. Users need to have a recovery phrase and a backup code obtained when setting up an account.

The recovery phrase comes from the answer to a security question asked when signing up.

Dashlane requires a user to have a recovery key generated when signing up. Using it together with email verification can help reset the master password.

Alternatively, biometrics can help recover access to an account.

✅ Winner: Tie

Browser Extensions

Dashlane and Keeper offer browser extensions that provide helpful password autofill and save when logging on to sites and web forms.

With Dashlane, its extension is compatible with Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Brave Safari, and Edge browsers.

Keeper’s extension is compatible with Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Safari, and Opera browsers. Users can also generate passwords through the extension, but the web app offers more functionality.

Regarding security, both software use encryption to secure the data vaults and employ zero-knowledge technology.

✅ Winner: Tie

Data Privacy and Compliance

Dashlane and Keeper use AES-256 encryption to secure password vaults. Both software also use TLS for passwords in transit, offering them military-grade protection from breaches.

Both also use zero-knowledge technology, which doesn’t store or decrypt data. Regarding compliance, Dashlane complies with CCPA and GDPR.

Keeper complies with HIPAA, GDPR, SOX, PCI-DSS, and ISO 27001. Unlike Dashlane, Keeper is certified under SOC 2 Type II.

✅ Winner: Keeper

User Interface and User Experience

Dashlane offers a modern, user-friendly interface with less clutter than Keeper. Navigating the platform is easy, and tasks like filling out forms or adding passwords are straightforward.

Keeper provides a modern and functional interface, but it’s cluttered. The good thing is that the level of detail in the info displayed is exceptional.

Regarding customization, both offer some level, but Keeper has more flexibility. Users can choose themes and tweak the design to their liking.

Dashlane limits it to password settings and language.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Integrations and Compatibility

Dashlane and Keeper are compatible with major OSs like Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. However, unlike Dashlane, Keeper offers compatibility with Linux.

Dashlane offers pre-built integrations with email clients through SSO and SCIM, but the selection is smaller than that of Keeper’s. It also lacks a public API.

Keeper’s extensive pre-built integration stack includes cloud storage providers, SSO, SCIM, and more. Keeper also provides a public API that developers can use to create custom integrations.

✅ Winner: Keeper

Customer Support

Dashlane offers phone (business) support, live chat, and email. Response times on live chat are quick, and agents are knowledgeable about answering even technical issues.

Keeper offers support via email and live chat (24/7). Responses are fast on live chat, and the reps provide helpful assistance.

Regarding self-help resources, Dashlane offers exceptional articles, FAQs, white papers, and a help center. The content is in-depth and covers the platform’s inner workings.

Keeper also offers self-help resources such as a blog, resource library, and guides. The content is comprehensive.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Pricing

Dashlane and Keeper pricing models share similarities. Both offer flexibility with their plan options, each with annual billing cycles. The platforms also offer month-long free trials.

However, even with a free trial period, Keeper plans are cheaper than Dashlane. The drawback of Keeper is that it sells most standard features as add-ons, which can be pricey.

✅ Winner: Dashlane

Scalability

Dashlane and Keeper offer scalable plans that families or businesses can use. However, Dashlane lacks in-depth information on its performance under heavy load usage.

Keeper is ideal if you prioritize readily available data on the platform output under a heavy load.

On cloud infrastructure, Dashlane uses AWS, which is well-known for its reliability and scalability. Keeper uses Microsoft Azure, which, like AWS, is known for its scalability and reliability.

✅ Winner: Tie

Standout Features of Dashlane

Besides offering core security features like unlimited password storage, Dashlane includes add-on features like biometric login.

Here are three other features we found that make it stand out. 

Phishing alerts

Dashlane provides a built-in and proactive phishing alert feature that sends multiple notifications when an attempt occurs. It helps add a protection layer, and the alerts allow users to respond in time.

Admin tools

Dashlane provides enterprise password management for employees with military-grade encryption. With role-based permissions, admins can delegate management responsibility without admin privileges.

3. VPN

Dashlane combines a password manager with its built-in VPN to allow users to enjoy online activities. Users can browse anonymously using public Wi-Fi while keeping their identities intact.

Standout Features of Keeper

Keeper offers decent apps for browsers and platforms at a reasonable price, making it stand out as a password manager. During our evaluation, we found three unique features.

Passkey support

Keeper supports Passkey technology, allowing users to access a more secure authentication option than traditional login. It enables users to share their public key with sites they log onto while the private key remains encrypted.

Browser extension

Keeper provides users an intuitive browser extension that easily captures passwords and auto-fills them from various sites. The extension integrates with major browsers like Firefox, Edge, Chrome, Opera, and Safari.

Biometric login

Using the SSO Connect feature, users using devices that support SAML 2.0 can easily connect with Keeper. Through it, users can log in to their vault through OTPs or biometrics (face or finger).

Dashlane vs. Keeper: SMB Guide’s Verdict

Our Dashlane vs. Keeper comparison confirms that choosing a password manager comes down to budget and need. Dashlane offers a better security model, while Keeper delivers on its add-ons like BreachWatch.

However, after a thorough evaluation, Dashlane wins. Here is why:

Dashlane offers a broader feature set that includes add-ons like built-in VPN, dark web monitoring, phishing alerts, and more. 

Keeper is a decent alternative that provides more MFA options and discounts for medics, military personnel, and students. However, the standalone add-ons make it pricey for comprehensive protection.

Choose Dashlane If:

You need user-friendly software with add-ons like VPN, passkeys, and dark web monitoring.

Choose Keeper If:

You need advanced 2FA (DUO & RSA) and user access management.