LastPass Free limiting device types

[steelyman]

I’ve been a user of the free version of the LastPass password manager for a while now and like it a lot. I’ve mainly used it on iPhone and iPod Touch but occasionally on iPad and iMac.

They’ve notified users that in March 2021 the subscription model for free users will include only one of two types of devices: mobile or computer. To keep access to all devices will require a Premium subscription at a limited price of $27/year.

I use LastPass so much that I’ve considered upgrading before if only to help keep it alive. I probably will upgrade now to keep things seamless and simple.

 

[The Rodent]

I'm in the "Families Plan" 30-day trial period right now. Being able to share folders with family members (or whoever you designate as a family member) is a valuable feature. Although I like "free", the cost is not very much.
With this plan, I can still use LastPass on a desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone.

 

[gauss]

I wonder if you could setup a separate account and the export your passwords from the first account and then import them into the second account.

These would both be free accounts. One would be used on "computers" and would be used on "mobile devices".

If this is allowed, then the trick would be to somehow sync the two accounts periodically if that is important -- or maybe just 'blow the dough' and get the full paid subscription.

-gauss

 

[steelyman]

If you receive the same notice I did and want to stay free it’s worth it to follow the “Learn More” support link. I see that Windows tablets are considered to be computers, not mobile.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I'm annoyed but not surprised. I paid for a Premium account a while back, only to find their "Premium" support didn't really exist, I got nowhere filing tickets about issues I had. I got better support from other users on their forums, so I cancelled Premium. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one, as the forums had others with the same situation, and ironically even the LP rep on the forums seemed worse than useless (they provided bad advice because they never seemed to comprehend the issue we were having, and/or were unable to communicate a solution if they did).

 

[JoeWras]

The bogleheads are pretty revved up about this and many of them are moving to Bitwarden.

I never heard of Bitwarden. I use keepass and google drive.

 

[Ian S]

The bogleheads are pretty revved up about this and many of them are moving to Bitwarden.

I never heard of Bitwarden. I use keepass and google drive.

I will look into that. I like LastPass and may pay for the subscription but am interested in alternatives.

 

[sengsational]

I wonder if you could setup a separate account and the export your passwords from the first account and then import them into the second account.

These would both be free accounts. One would be used on "computers" and would be used on "mobile devices".

If this is allowed, then the trick would be to somehow sync the two accounts periodically if that is important -- or maybe just 'blow the dough' and get the full paid subscription.

-gauss

I had the same idea. Synchronization isn't a huge deal for me (it could be done with post it notes or even email with a little confounding routine for good measure). But I fear they will kneecap importing on the free version to eliminate this work-around.

I've installed Dashlane concurrently with LastPass on the desktop machine, and it's sucking up passwords. The free version is limited to 50, which addresses most of my needs. Really two use cases... convenience for often visited sites and long term memory for rarely needed info and credentials. LastPass can continue to serve the latter use case, and Dashlane the former.

 

[steelyman]

I went to Premium for $27/yr. For amounts like that I tend to just get it over with.

[ADDED] One nice feature that returns with Premium is “Security challenge”, which summarizes password strength, duplicates and so on across all your passwords/sites.

 

[Katsmeow]

I've been a free user as well and use LastPass on the computer and on my phone. It has been super helpful to have it on both.

I've considered upgrading to Premium or Families before. They are now giving us a 25% discount for the first year.

I had thought about Dashlane before and looked at that again. However, it has also gone up in price not too long ago so is still a lot more than LastPass.

Biggest issue for me is whether to do the Families thing. DH has expressed an interest in that. I hadn't done it because we both have your individual logins to a lot of the same sites so I was worried that would make it more complex. But, I may go ahead and do Families now.

I did read an article that talked about Bitwarden, but lastPass seems to have more features. So...I'm thinking I'll just stay with lastPass but pay for the Families version....

 

[Lsbcal]

I went over to the Lastpass forum and asked about moving to the family plan. I'm cheap but not that cheap. I figure we should pay for security as it will be in the company's interest to retain the best people and keep their income stream going.

So I've done the free upgrade to the family plan and invited DW who graciously accepted. After a few weeks I will use a coupon to get the best (probably only 1 year) deal on this. Here is the coupon from the Lastpass site which I understand anyone can use:

Link to $36 family plan coupon: https://www.lastpass.com/buy/families

 

[sengsational]

It looks like the tactic used by LogMeIn is working.I remember how disappointed I was when they bought LastPass because I figured they'd get greedy. And they did.

 

[ocean view]

Biggest issue for me is whether to do the Families thing. DH has expressed an interest in that. I hadn't done it because we both have your individual logins to a lot of the same sites so I was worried that would make it more complex....

I don’t see the need for a family plan for DH and myself. For those websites where we each have our respective logins (Amazon, VG, Southwest, etc) LastPass handles multiples just fine. When I go to login to VG, for example, the LastPass icon shows in the username field with a 2 next to it to indicate that I have two passwords for this site. Hover over the icon, both usernames are displayed, pick the one you want to use. Easy.

 

[Lsbcal]

It is cheaper for a family plan than 2 individuals.

 

[ocean view]

It is cheaper for a family plan than 2 individuals.

Even cheaper if you share an individual account.

 

[Lsbcal]

Even cheaper if you share an individual account.

Yes, a good point.

In our case I'd rather have my own organization of stuff and DW doesn't have to be poked by me if she changes this. But others may have different needs/desires.

 

[EnricoPallazzo]

In an instance of fortunate timing, I received a note several days ago from the school where I did a graduate program saying it was time to change the password on my school email account. I don't use the account, but have kept it active 'just in case' I'd ever need/want to.

Fortunately, I read the email, because it also mentioned that the school provides free Premium LastPass accounts to all students/alumni. I didn't convert my Free account at the time, but once I got the email from LastPass changing their account features I went ahead and did so.

Mentioning this just in case anyone out there wants to check if their school/organization/employer/otherwise offers something similar..

FWIW, if this wasn't available to me, I'd likely have paid for Premium anyway. Not for any specific benefits since the Free version worked fine for my needs but I've considered signing up for Premium a few times given the value I receive from the tool.

 

[tulak]

I’ve been paying for Lastpass since I started using it years ago. At the time, it was $12/year and I figured it’s better to support them in order to keep it a viable product.

I wasn’t thrilled when they were acquired and then increased the price, but I still get lots of value using Lastpass. It works well on all my devices and for the price, it’s still worth it.

I’ll probably take a look at the competition out of curiosity, but odds are I’ll stick with Lastpass.

 

[misanman]

I've been a premium subscriber for a few years. Well worth it from my point of view.

 

[DayDreaming]

I went to Premium for $27/yr. For amounts like that I tend to just get it over with.

I totally agree! $27/year is not even worth thinking about. Especially considering that I've used the product for years for free.

 

[JoeWras]

So paying LogMeIn every year is OK, but paying Intuit or Quicken isn't?

We have people leaving Fidelity because they didn't get their free TurboTax. We have people using 10 year old Quicken because they will never pay a subscription.

I'm honestly confused. Seriously.

 

[Trooper]

Even cheaper if you share an individual account.

True, but after next month you'll only be able to use the shared individual account (assuming it's a free one) on either desktops or mobile. That's a showstopper for DW and me.

Based on posts on this thread it sounds like the Families option would be best for us, simply because it's cheaper than 2 Premium accounts. I just need to be sure the Family plan is multi-device and retains the same capability as Premium.

I agree with others about LastPass's value. I have no problem with paying for it at this point.

 

[tulak]

So paying LogMeIn every year is OK, but paying Intuit or Quicken isn't?

We have people leaving Fidelity because they didn't get their free TurboTax. We have people using 10 year old Quicken because they will never pay a subscription.

I'm honestly confused. Seriously.

I pay for TurboTax and Moneydance without any complaints. They (mostly) provide good value and I have no problems supporting them.

Even though I’m not too happy with TT right now due to a bug I found and spent too long figuring out what was happening (TT has issues with multiple 1098s).

 

[JoeWras]

I pay for TurboTax and Moneydance without any complaints. They (mostly) provide good value and I have no problems supporting them.

Even though I’m not too happy with TT right now due to a bug I found and spent too long figuring out what was happening (TT has issues with multiple 1098s).

Yeah, sorry, I may have come across snarky.

Software has constantly fought the battle of getting paid. I think the subscription model is what gets people hot about Quicken. TurboTax has a built in requirement for yearly pay.

LastPass is like Quicken in that you wonder why the yearly charge is necessary. Since Quicken started as one time pay, it is hard to get people to move to a new model.

Anyway, sorry to derail the discussion.

 

[Lsbcal]

My guess is that the software costs are going up because the tech business is booming (labor rates way up) and everyone is doing it to make money and stay competitive. It is actually a sign of a healthy tech economy (OK with Covid this is a bifurcated economy). Another guess is that this will top out at some point.

Anyway the stock market is booming and so I have the extra money to pay these small charges. My current software subscriptions are:

MS Office
TurboTax
and now Lastpass

Not going to break the bank.