1Password vs NordPass: Which Is Better in 2026?
Reviewed · Updated
Quick answer: 1Password is the one I'd pick if you want proof. It costs $47.88 a year, its 14-day trial needs no card, and its checkout printed the full total with tax before I entered a card. NordPass is the cheaper offer on paper: a free plan, $23.88 for the first year of Premium ($35.88 after), and a 30-day refund on the first purchase. But I have no test account there, and its U.S. prices came from the pricing service its page queries, not a checkout. Checked 10/20/2026.
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I opened a 1Password trial on 10/09/2026 and took its checkout to the payment step. Its pricing page said the same on 10/20/2026. This site has no NordPass account. NordPass’s column comes from its plans, product, security and refund pages on 10/20/2026.
Its dollar prices need a note. The plans page showed our network prices in a local currency, and its terms page blocked us outright. So the U.S. prices below come from the pricing service the plans page itself queries, asked for the United States. Treat them as what the company publishes for U.S. visitors, not as a checkout I watched.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | 1Password | NordPass |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.1/10 | Not scored: no test account |
| Company | AgileBits Inc., Toronto, Canada | Nord Security |
| Cheapest paid plan, per year | $47.88 (Individual) | $23.88 first year (Premium), $35.88 regular |
| Longer term | None | 27 months for $37.53 (2 years plus 3 free months) |
| Paying month to month | $4.99 | Not offered: 1-year and 2-year terms only |
| Group plan | Families, $71.88 for 5 people | Family, $44.28 first year ($71.88 regular) for 6 vaults |
| Free plan | No | Yes: unlimited passwords and passkeys, one device logged in at a time |
| Trial | 14 days, no card; read-only after | No trial; free plan plus a 30-day refund |
| Total with tax before a card | Yes: $52.13 with New York tax | Not checked |
| Refund | None after a charge | 30 days on the first purchase of a personal plan; renewals excluded |
| Two-factor authentication | Authenticator app or security key, off by default | Available on Free, per the plans page FAQ |
| Encryption | AES-256 plus a 128-bit Secret Key | XChaCha20-Poly1305 |
| Published audits | ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, pen tests via a Trust Center | ISO 27001, SOC 2, “regular” third-party audits; last named audit Cure53, 2020 |
| Last disclosed incident | Okta support-system intrusion, 09/2023, no user data accessed | None found on NordPass’s pages; not searched elsewhere |
| Check prices |
Prices verified on 10/20/2026. NordPass’s U.S. figures are from its pricing service, not from a checkout. Its plans page showed our network a local currency.
Price: first year and renewal
NordPass is the cheaper of the two by a wide margin. For one person it’s $23.88 for the first year against 1Password’s $47.88. Even at NordPass’s regular rate of $35.88 it’s $12 less. The 2-year term is $37.53 for 27 months, which is $1.39 a month, but you pay it up front. For a group, NordPass Family is $44.28 the first year ($71.88 regular) for 6 vaults, against $71.88 for 5 people at 1Password.
The renewal story is where you should read carefully. NordPass’s pricing service returned both the discounted price and the regular price it’s discounted from: $35.88 a year for Premium and $71.88 for Family. So the first year at $23.88 is a 33% promotion. The second year costs the regular rate.
1Password has no introductory price inside the account. Its public page advertised $2.99 a month for the first year. My trial’s checkout showed $47.88 plus tax, “starting on October 23, 2026,” with a reminder 7 days before. The terms say the subscription renews “under the same conditions.”
Full numbers and cancel steps for 1Password are on the 1Password pricing page.
Free plan, trial and refunds
NordPass Free is the more generous starting point. Its product page says the free plan “puts no limit on the number of passwords, passkeys, or personal information you can keep.” It syncs across devices, autofills, and includes multi-factor authentication.
The limit is in the plans page FAQ. Premium adds “the ability to switch between devices without the need to log in,” plus password sharing, Password Health and the Data Breach Scanner. In practice Free keeps one device logged in at a time.
1Password has no free plan. Its 14-day trial asked me for a name, an email and an account password, and no card. It turns read-only when it ends without a payment method.
NordPass also offers what 1Password doesn’t: a refund. Its help center says personal-plan customers can claim one by cancelling within 30 days of the initial purchase. Renewals are no longer eligible “unless local laws require otherwise.” 1Password’s terms say “all amounts paid are non-refundable,” with case-by-case exceptions. The trial is your refund window.
Whether NordPass renews automatically by default is in its terms of service, which blocked our network on 10/20/2026. Its help center has an article on cancelling auto-renewal, which suggests it does. I couldn’t verify the exact wording.
Security: what each company publishes
Both are zero-knowledge designs. 1Password encrypts vaults with AES-256 and adds a 128-bit Secret Key that is combined with your password and never stored by the company. NordPass encrypts with XChaCha20-Poly1305 and keeps the private key on your device.
The paper trail is where they differ. 1Password’s audits page lists ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 certifications and a SOC 2 Type 2 report. It notes pen tests moved to its Trust Center in November 2025 and a HackerOne bug bounty, with a publication date on the page.
NordPass’s security page names ISO 27001 and SOC 2. It says the product “undergoes regular internal reviews and independent third-party security audits” without dating them. The latest audit I could find by name was Cure53’s in 2020, on NordPass’s own blog.
1Password’s last disclosed incident, in September 2023, touched no user data by the company’s account. I found no disclosed incident on NordPass’s pages and didn’t search further.
Data handling
1Password’s sign-up asked for a name and an email. The data region (United States, Canada or EU) follows where you create the account. Two defaults worth changing: the web app’s first-run prompt to share usage analytics was on, and Manage Account has the same checkbox. Deletion is in Manage Account, with 30 days to ask support to restore the account.
NordPass’s sign-up goes through a Nord Account shared with NordVPN. I didn’t open one, so I can’t compare its defaults or deletion path.
What it’s like to be a U.S. customer
| 1Password | NordPass | |
|---|---|---|
| What you’ll pay at checkout | $47.88 plus tax; $52.13 with New York tax, shown before a card | $23.88 the first year, $35.88 after, per its pricing service; tax not checked |
| How to cancel | Billing → Cancel subscription; active to the end of the term, then read-only | Nord Account; help center has an auto-renewal cancellation article; not tested |
| Deleting your data | Manage Account → Permanently Delete Account; 30 days to restore | Not checked |
| Who can sign up | Worldwide; data region US, Canada or EU; Ontario law | Not checked; terms not readable from our network |
| Support | Email, form, chatbot; “24/7 support” claimed; auto-reply in a minute, human reply pending | Help center and email; not contacted |
| Inside the account | Web app with vaults, generator, Watchtower, import from 15 sources | Not seen |
Details for 1Password are in the 1Password review, and for NordPass in the NordPass review.
Who should pick 1Password
- You want the full total with tax before you enter a card, from a checkout someone has watched.
- You want the Secret Key and hardware-key 2FA.
- You want a dated audit list and a public incident history.
- You can live without a refund by using the 14 trial days well.
Who should pick NordPass
- You want a free plan and mostly use one device at a time.
- You want the lowest paid price: $23.88 the first year, $35.88 after.
- You want a 30-day refund window on your first purchase.
- You need 6 seats and $44.28 the first year is the budget.
Verdict
1Password is the one I’d pick if you want a service I could check end to end. The trial needed no card. The checkout printed $52.13 with New York tax before asking for anything. The audit list has dates on it.
NordPass is the better deal on paper, and not by a little. A usable free plan, half the price for the first year, $12 a year less at the regular rate, and a refund window 1Password doesn’t have. What holds it to second place is what I couldn’t see. There is no test account, its terms page blocked our network, and its “regular audits” have no date newer than 2020 that I could find.
If the budget decides it, NordPass is a reasonable choice. Read its own plans page from a U.S. connection before you pay, and the 1Password review for the other side.
What we checked
- Test accounts: 1Password 14-day trial opened 10/09/2026 and used in the web app. NordPass: none, this site has no test account there
- Checkout: 1Password Individual taken to the payment step on 10/09/2026, $52.13 with New York tax shown before a card. NordPass: no checkout opened. Its U.S. prices come from the pricing service its plans page queries, asked for the United States on 10/20/2026, because the page showed our network local-currency prices
- Vendor pages: 1Password's pricing page re-read 10/20/2026, its terms, refund policy and audits page from 10/09/2026. NordPass's plans, product, security and refund pages captured 10/20/2026. NordPass's terms of service blocked our network and were not read
- Support: one email to 1Password on 10/09/2026, auto-reply only. NordPass not contacted
- Public records: 1Password's Okta incident of 09/2023, CFPB and CourtListener searched for 1Password on 10/09/2026. NordPass not searched beyond its own security pages
FAQ
Is NordPass better than 1Password?
On price, NordPass. It has a free plan, charges $23.88 for the first year of Premium against 1Password's $47.88, and gives a 30-day refund window that 1Password doesn't. On what I could verify, 1Password. I took its checkout to the payment step and saw the total with tax before a card, and its audit list is published with dates. I opened a test account only at 1Password.
Is NordPass cheaper than 1Password?
Yes. NordPass Premium was $23.88 for the first year and $35.88 at the regular rate on 10/20/2026, or $37.53 for a 27-month term. 1Password Individual is $47.88 a year. For a group, NordPass Family is $44.28 the first year ($71.88 regular) for 6 vaults, and 1Password Families is $71.88 for 5 people. All figures before sales tax.
Does NordPass have a free plan, and does 1Password?
NordPass does: unlimited passwords and passkeys, autofill, sync and multi-factor authentication. The catch is that Free keeps you logged in on one device at a time. Premium lets you switch devices without logging in again and adds sharing, Password Health and the breach scanner. 1Password has no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no card.
Can I get a refund from NordPass or 1Password?
From NordPass, yes, within 30 days of the first purchase of a personal plan, per its help center. Renewals are excluded. From 1Password, no. Its terms say all amounts paid are non-refundable, with case-by-case exceptions, and the trial is the way to test it.
Can I move from NordPass to 1Password, or the other way?
1Password imports CSV files through its web app, and NordPass's product page says it imports data from other password vaults. Either way you'll go through a CSV export, which is unencrypted. Delete the file once the import is done.