Password Manager Family Plans: Are You Paying Too Much in 2026?
1Password raised its family plan by 20% in March 2026. Here's how to compare password manager subscriptions and find the best deal for your family.
Most families treat their password manager like a utility bill — something that gets renewed quietly every year without a second thought. Then 1Password sent out an email in February announcing that, starting 27 March 2026, its family plan was going up from €59.88 to €71.88 per year. That's a 20% increase, with no new features to show for it.
If that email landed in your inbox and you deleted it without looking, this is your reminder that the charge is coming — and it might be a good moment to ask whether you're on the right plan for your family at all.
Why Password Managers Are Worth Paying For
Before diving into costs, it's worth saying this plainly: a shared family password manager is one of the few digital subscriptions that genuinely earns its keep. The alternative — everyone using the same password across sites, writing them in a Notes app, or relying on a browser's built-in autofill with no shared access — creates real security risk and constant friction when a family member needs access to a shared account.
A good family password manager means your partner can find the Netflix login without calling you, your teenager can get the Wi-Fi password themselves, and if your bank ever forces a reset, you're not hunting through emails to find the old credentials.
The question isn't whether to have one. It's how much to pay for it.
The 2026 Family Plan Comparison
Here's what the main options cost right now for a family of up to 5–6 people:
| Service | Family Plan Price | Users Included |
|---|---|---|
| 1Password | €71.88/year (from 27 March) | Up to 5 |
| Bitwarden Families | ~€34/year | Up to 6 |
| Dashlane Friends & Family | ~€49/year | Up to 10 |
| NordPass Families | ~€31/year | Up to 6 |
| Proton Pass Family | €47.88/year | Up to 6 (+ 50 GB storage) |
The range is striking. Bitwarden and NordPass both come in at roughly half the price of the post-hike 1Password. And Bitwarden in particular has earned a reputation as being genuinely excellent — open-source, independently audited, and used by millions of people who care about security.
What You Actually Get for the Extra Money
The honest case for paying more for 1Password is mostly about polish and ecosystem. If your family is all on iPhones and Macs, the integration is smooth and the app is intuitive for less tech-savvy family members. The customer support is responsive, and there are thoughtful extras like Travel Mode (hides sensitive vaults at border crossings) that you won't find elsewhere.
But for most families — the ones who just need to share a streaming password and manage a few dozen logins — those extras are nice-to-have, not must-have. Bitwarden does everything most families need, for a fraction of the cost.
Proton Pass is worth a specific mention if your household is already using Proton Mail or Proton Drive. At €47.88/year for the family bundle, you're getting a password manager plus 50 GB of encrypted cloud storage for up to 6 users — which starts to look like excellent value if you're paying separately for cloud storage.
The Hidden Cost: Renewing Without Checking
Here's the thing that gets most families: subscription prices change, and the old price you remember signing up for often isn't the price you're paying today.
1Password has now raised its prices twice in three years. Services routinely bump prices at renewal with minimal fanfare — a short email that arrives during a busy week and gets archived before anyone reads it. SubHome's price alert feature exists precisely because of this pattern. When the amount charged to your card changes from one renewal to the next, you get notified — so an increase like this one doesn't slip through silently.
The average household is spending around €200/month on subscriptions in 2026 and underestimates that figure by more than half. Password managers represent just a small slice of that, but the principle is the same across every service: staying in control means knowing when prices move.
What to Do If You're on 1Password
If your family plan renews before 27 March, you'll lock in the old rate for another year. After that, you have three real options:
Stay with 1Password. If your family is genuinely using the advanced features and the app is part of your daily routine, €71.88 per year across 5 people works out to about €1.20 per person per month. That's not unreasonable for a security tool you use every day.
Switch to Bitwarden. Bitwarden Families is free to try and easy to migrate to — there's a built-in export/import tool that moves all your vaults over cleanly. The app isn't quite as slick, but it's solid, well-reviewed, and about half the price.
Wait and see. If you're mid-subscription, set a reminder 30 days before your next renewal. Use that window to re-evaluate whether you're still happy with the service, the price, and whether your family's needs have changed.
Whatever you decide, the key is making the choice actively rather than discovering the new rate six months later when you check your bank statement.
One Subscription That Pulls Its Weight
Password managers are a bit unusual in the subscription landscape. Unlike a streaming service you might forget to use for three months, or a fitness app that sits dormant after January, a password manager is working quietly in the background every day. The value doesn't disappear when life gets busy.
That's why it's worth spending ten minutes now — before the 1Password price kicks in on Thursday — checking what your family is currently paying and whether you'd make the same choice today as you did when you first signed up.
The best family password manager is the one everyone in your household actually uses consistently. Price is one factor. The other is simplicity. If switching to a cheaper option means your partner stops using it out of frustration, you haven't saved anything.