Dashlane isn’t just good for a free product, it’s good all around. Even without the additional paid tiers, you get a comprehensive password manager with additional features that can more than handle your needs.

Although base features such as autofill and password sharing come standard with its free product, additional features such as Secure Notes and secure payments are nice additions. If you decide to go with a paid plan, you’ll have access to dark web monitoring and Dashlane’s VPN.

The only real issue we had was with Dashlane’s unclear privacy policy and help-yourself customer support. Otherwise, we’d be happy to recommend checking out the Dashlane password manager. We elaborated below to give you the full scope of our experience.

Dashlane review at a glance

Dashlane pros and cons

Dashlane features

Dashlane isn’t shy about tooting its own horn. The password manager offers a host of features, and Dashlane is enthusiastic about its offerings. If you aren’t sure how password managers secure your data or why you should use one, look at what Dashlane provides. Until we can get passwordless authentication everywhere, a password manager is your best bet for keeping data organized and available.

Unlike many of its competitors, Dashlane offers almost all its features with its free product. That means you can store your passwords, generate new ones, create IDs for autofill, and share passwords, all from a free product portal. The downside is that you can only do this on one device. If you need more coverage, you’ll need a paid plan.

You won’t be left wondering what to do. When you sign up for Dashlane, it’ll take you on a tutorial on how to set up the most commonly used features. You’ll be ready to go in no time.

Password sharing

According to Dashlane, it’s easy to share passwords and login details with other Dashlane users. You’ll need the email address they’ve registered with their own account. You can then send them a request to access the password you’ve shared.

Dashlane notes that password sharing is only between Dashlane customers, and your recipient will need their own Dashlane account. Fortunately, this feature is available on all plans, including the free plan.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication, also known as 2FA, is a way to secure your accounts by requiring you to verify your account on a second device. Dashlane allows you to toggle this feature on and off in the security settings.

There’s also an option within the dashboard to add an authenticator to better secure your account. Even if you don’t update your privacy settings regularly, 2FA is a way to help strengthen your security.

Password generator

This is the one feature that stands above the competition because of how customizable it is on both the site and while creating a password. Not only are you able to generate a new password on the website you’re visiting, Dashlane also allows you to customize the generated password depending on the rules for the site.

Autofill

This feature is part of the initial tutorial. You’re prompted to create your name card with some information and then shown a way to test it. Once in your dashboard, you can go into the Personal Info section and create as many of these name cards as you like.

Password strength report

The password health section gives a health score for all passwords in your Dashlane vault. If Dashlane comes across a password that’s weak, has been compromised, or that you’ve reused, you’ll be alerted and prompted to change the password on the site. You can use Dashlane’s password generator to create a strong password that isn’t duplicated.

Digital legacy

Digital legacy allows you to create a digital heir in the event of your passing. With Dashlane, that service is handled through creating a DASH file and emergency contact. The DASH file allows you to save your master password and login credentials to share with another person. It does require a little effort, but Dashlane outlines it well.

We suggest letting your digital heir know you’re willing them your passwords so there’s no confusion or questioning. (Or, in our case, a head that pops around the corner and says, “What the heck is this?!”)

Bonus features

Dashlane has a few additional features you may find helpful. Some are included as standard and some come with paid tiers.

• Payments: Add your credit card to quickly pay bills and easily shop online.
• Secure Notes: Create a password-protected note.
• IDs: Keep your IDs and passports here for quick access.
• Dark Web Monitoring: Available with the Premium paid plan; this monitors up to five emails for leaks or stolen data.
• VPN: Available with the Premium paid plan; this encrypts your internet connection.

Our Dashlane experience

Overall we had a positive experience with Dashlane. It was easy to download and the tutorial at the beginning took us through everything we needed to operate the password manager on a new device.

We tested Dashlane on a Windows 10 PC with the Google Chrome browser. Because Google’s password manager isn’t safe, we figured Chrome would be a good platform to test on. Even though our machine is a little older, Dashlane worked without issues.

Dashlane is user-friendly and its guides are written in plain language so you don’t have to worry about having technical expertise to use it. Each of the features was easy to use, and we found the user interface pleasant and helpful. When we went to websites to test the password generator, it worked well.

Honestly, we wish that Dashlane would have clearer privacy policies regarding data sharing because the product itself is great. Because the free version has so many features, you can use that exclusively if you’re comfortable with the one-device limit.

If you need a little more, Dashlane is one of the few products out there that offer monthly plans on all of its paid tiers. Not everyone can afford to plunk down a yearly subscription price at once, so having options is a nice touch.

Dashlane privacy policy

Dashlane does a dance around the topic of personal privacy. In the privacy policy, it’s mentioned that hashed personal data is shared in an effort to make sure current customers don’t see Dashlane ads.

Dashlane does state it shares personal data with “affiliates” but it’s not 100% clear what that means. As far as privacy policies go, this isn’t the most egregious we’ve ever seen but it’s not the best either. When you’re giving so much information to a service provider, it should be protected, and that protection should be clearly stated.

Dashlane third-party audits

Dashlane doesn’t participate in third-party audits but mentions it audits itself. This is suspicious given the fact that audits by an impartial third party allow the public to see issues or security vulnerabilities within the product.

Dashlane does participate in a bug bounty program. Again, though, it’s all managed internally.

Is Dashlane safe to use?

Your data stored in Dashlane is encrypted, and the only decryption key is your master password. Because it doesn’t store your master password, Dashlane promises your data will stay encrypted in the event there is an attack.

To date, there are no known hacks of Dashlane. Because the service uses a zero-trust model, hacking into Dashlane may be more difficult for cybercriminals. By all accounts, this means Dashlane is safe to use.

Dashlane customer service

Dashlane’s customer service is extremely impersonal. There’s no phone number or phone support. There’s a help section on the main website as well as a link to the Help Center within the Dashlane main menu on the web app. Mostly it tries to lead you to help topics so you can troubleshoot items yourself.

If you absolutely must contact support, there’s a Contact us button at the top of the Help Center pages as well as a chatbot that can direct you to live chat support.

We reached out with an inane question about compatibility. Almost immediately, we received an email with our ticket number and a disclaimer that customer service is busier than usual and we won’t receive a response within 24 hours. We were then offered more links to the Help Center. It’s an underwhelming feature, to say the least.

Dashlane compatibility

Dashlane works on several browsers and has mobile apps for iPhone and Android. There’s no option for a desktop app on Windows or macOS, but you can use the web-based dashboard. Below is a breakdown of compatible browsers and mobile devices.

Dashlane browser extensions:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari

Mobile devices:

• Android
• iOS

How much does Dashlane cost?

Although Dashlane does have a fully functional free product, there are a few additional offerings that come with the paid plans. These bonus features are probably irrelevant for most single customers, so the free plan should be enough to manage what you need.

If you’re looking for a password manager for the entire family, Dashlane’s Friends & Family plan costs more than competitors but, like most of its plans, allows for unlimited devices.

Dashlane plan comparison

Although Dashlane does have a free product, its paid products come in at the higher end of password managers. It’s more expensive than 1Password by $1 per month and LastPass by about 50 cents a month.

This isn’t unmanageable, but it’s worth noting that 1Password has an excellent privacy policy, whereas LastPass suffered at least two security breaches last year alone.

There aren’t any stand-out features that make Dashlane Premium jump ahead of its competitors. The free product is nice, but the idea that some of your data may make it into someone else’s hands is a trade-off that may not be worth it.

Dashlane isn’t the worst, but it also isn’t the best. 1Password offers more, whereas LastPass is definitely worse (can’t ignore a data breach). It’s a solid middle-of-the-road product.

Dashlane FAQs

Bottom line: Is Dashlane good?

Yes, Dashlane is a good product and probably one of the best password managers out there right now. Its free offerings are more than adequate for taking care of your password management needs. The additional features in paid tiers might not be necessary for everyone, but integrating Dashlane across your devices may be a good reason to choose a paid plan.

4.0

Learn More

On Dashlane's website

---

Dashlane

• Extra features boost security
• Paid plans come with Hotspot Shield VPN
• Free plan is limited to one device

As far as performance and usability, we had no problems. Dashlane took us through a nice tutorial and then delivered on all the promises of its features. We were especially impressed by the password generator and the ability to customize passwords. The only lackluster aspects of Dashlane were support and the privacy policy, but neither of those were deal breakers.

With all the password management options, such as 1Password and LastPass, on the market, Dashlane provides extensive service for little to no cost. If you’re shopping for a password manager, you may want to consider Dashlane. At the very least, it’s worth testing it out. We think you’ll be pleased.

4.0

Learn More

On Dashlane's website

---

Dashlane

• Extra features boost security
• Paid plans come with Hotspot Shield VPN
• Free plan is limited to one device

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary lives in Los Angeles and has been a cybersecurity writer for over five years. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, her career in online security began in sales and content creation for a private cybersecurity firm.