In short
Business password managers are licensed per user, and each vendor offers a free trial of its business plans: 1Password, NordPass and LastPass each offer 14 days with no credit card. LastPass says its trial has no seat limit and keeps your settings when you subscribe; Keeper offers free trials of Business and Enterprise. Forever Systems can quote all four.
Get a quote for a business password manager trial
Tell us roughly how many users or sites you have and we will come back to you with options and a quote.
Trials of the business plans
Business plans from Keeper, 1Password, NordPass and LastPass are paid per user or per pack. What each vendor offers instead is a free trial of its business plans, which lets you test the admin console, sharing and single sign-on with real staff before you commit.
Some staff may already use a personal free plan from one of these vendors. Those plans are designed for one person, and the next section explains why a business needs the admin side that the business plans provide.
If cost is the main question, the answer is usually the plan that matches your team size rather than a free plan. The password manager for small business guide shows the entry plans and their seat rules.
Business free trials compared
What each vendor says about its business trial. Trial terms are the vendors' own and can change, so we confirm them when you start.
| Password manager | Business plans you can trial | What the vendor says | Card needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password | Teams Starter Pack and 1Password Business | "Try FREE for 14 days. No credit card required. Cancel anytime." 1Password also offers "extended trial periods and proof of concepts for enterprise implementations" | No |
| NordPass | Teams and Business; every business plan card, Enterprise included, offers a free trial | "Start your 14-day free Business trial ... no credit card required"; "Try every NordPass feature for free" | No |
| LastPass | Teams, Business and Business Max | "14-day trial of LastPass Business. All features are available within the trial period", with no limit on the number of seats; it "Includes a Business Max trial for new customers" (LastPass (opens in a new tab)) | No |
| Keeper | Business Starter, Business and Enterprise, plus KeeperPAM | "Yes, Keeper offers free trials for Keeper Business, Keeper Enterprise and KeeperPAM"; the business plans carry a Start free trial option (Keeper (opens in a new tab)) | Confirmed when the trial is set up |
LastPass also says that when a trial converts, "everything you configured during your trial will remain, so you don't lose any settings, data". That is worth knowing if you plan to set up shared folders and policies during the trial rather than afterwards.
Not sure which plan fits? Ask us
Tell us what you need and we will recommend the right plan for your organisation, with a quote.
Why a business needs a business plan
The NCSC encourages everyone to use a password manager, but for company data an employer needs controls that only the business plans provide:
| What a business needs | Why it matters | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| An admin console | Add and remove users, and see who has access to shared logins | Every business plan, from Keeper Business Starter and NordPass Teams upwards |
| Shared folders or vaults with permissions | Teams share logins with view or edit rights, and changes reach everyone | Keeper shared team folders, 1Password shared vaults, NordPass and LastPass shared folders |
| Policies for everyone | Enforce password strength and multi-factor authentication on the vault | Keeper policy engine, NordPass Password Policy, LastPass security policies, 1Password custom policies |
| Offboarding | Shared credentials stay with the organisation when someone leaves | Keeper Account Transfer (opens in a new tab), NordPass Item Transfer, 1Password provisioning that suspends users |
| Single sign-on | Staff unlock the vault with their work identity | Plan-dependent; see choosing a business password manager |
Cyber Essentials (opens in a new tab) v3.3 (opens in a new tab) asks organisations to provide "usable secure storage for passwords ... with clear information about how and when it can be used", which is much easier to show with a managed business vault.
Keeping the cost down
Once the trial has shown which product your staff prefer, a few choices keep the licence cost sensible:
- Match the plan to your team size. 1Password's Teams Starter Pack includes 10 members, NordPass Teams is a 10-user pack, Keeper Business Starter covers 5 to 10 seats and LastPass Teams covers up to 50 users
- Only pay for features you will use. Single sign-on and provisioning sit on mid or top plans at most vendors, so move up when your identity platform needs it
- Count what the business plan already includes. 1Password Business and LastPass Business and Business Max give every user a personal account outside the work vault (1Password (opens in a new tab), LastPass (opens in a new tab)), and Keeper lists a Free Family Plan for every user on its business plans (Keeper (opens in a new tab)), so keeping staff's personal logins separate costs nothing extra
- Buy all your licences in one place. We can quote all four for your business, with the plan confirmed at quote; licences can be billed monthly, with terms confirmed at quote
Which is cheapest depends on your seat count and the plan you need, so ask us for a quote with the numbers for your team.
Is a business password manager trial the right fit for you?
We will check it against your systems and requirements and recommend the right option.
Arrange a trial with us
We can help you plan a trial so it answers the questions that matter: whether single sign-on works with your identity provider, whether the sharing structure suits your teams, and which product your pilot group finds easiest. We can:
- Shortlist one or two products against your requirements, so the trial compares like with like
- Help you set up single sign-on, policies and shared folders for a pilot group
- Help you import passwords from browsers or a spreadsheet into the trial vaults
- Quote the plan you choose, with the trial, plan and terms confirmed at quote
Contact us to arrange a trial, or for free advice or a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a paid plan after the trial?
Yes. Keeper, 1Password, NordPass and LastPass license their business plans per user or as packs, and the trial lets you test them with real staff before you subscribe: 14 days without a credit card for 1Password, NordPass and LastPass, and free trials of Keeper Business and Enterprise.
Can staff use personal plans for work logins instead?
It works for one person, but the business controls are missing: no admin console, no shared folders with team permissions, no company-wide policies and no way to keep shared credentials when someone leaves. Those are what the business plans add, and what Cyber Essentials' "usable secure storage" point is easier to show with.
What happens to our data when the trial ends?
LastPass says that when you subscribe, "everything you configured during your trial will remain, so you don't lose any settings, data" (LastPass (opens in a new tab)). For the other vendors, we confirm what carries over when we set up your trial, so plan the subscription before the trial ends.
How long are the free trials?
1Password, NordPass and LastPass each describe a 14-day business trial. 1Password also mentions extended trials and proofs of concept for enterprise implementations, and LastPass includes a Business Max trial for new customers. Keeper offers free trials of Keeper Business, Keeper Enterprise and KeeperPAM.
Which business password manager is cheapest?
It depends on how many seats you need and which features. For a team of 10, the 10-user packs (1Password Teams Starter Pack and NordPass Teams) and Keeper Business Starter are designed for that size. Above 10 users on Keeper Business Starter and NordPass Teams, 20 on 1Password Teams Starter Pack and 50 on LastPass Teams, you move to the per-user Business plans. Ask us for a quote with your numbers and we can compare all four.
Still have a question about a business password manager trial?
Ask us and a member of our team will get back to you.