The content is a user-posted corporate email announcing price increases for 1Password family and individual plans, posted on Hacker News. It engages most directly with privacy and security (Article 12) through discussion of password protection features, but frames these as commercial products rather than human rights. The price increase creates economic barriers that negatively affect accessibility (Article 22), creating tension with the stated mission of making security 'accessible for everyone.' Overall evaluation shows limited human rights engagement with mildly positive signals on privacy and mildly negative signals on economic access.
> Action needed: Please go to my.1password.com/billing to register your approval. If you do not provide consent by your next renewal date on or after March 27, 2026, your subscription will automatically be cancelled at time of your next renewal
Apparently you get auto-cancelled if you don't manually accept the price increase?
The email I got with individual plan went from $35.88 USD / year to $47.88 USD
The new price then is $4/month. From $3/month. (So still 33% increase, similar to family plan in OP].
I found it very cheap before, which is part of what encouraged me to get it in the first place, vs trying to do something free. Would I have signed up for it originally at this price? I don't know. But it's not enough to make me switch to a competitor now, or try to find a way to do password management for free -- so they predicted succesfully for me that they'd keep me as a customer. Even though annoyed.
Definitely can't go back to having no password management. (I also use it for TOTP and passkey).
If I was on all Apple/iOS, I'd probably just use iCloud. But I need multi-OS-vendor support.
What one actually needs these days is not something one can get a reasonable UX for free for. (unless you only need apple OS's maybe? Or only chrome?). There's really no alternative. I think they realized that, and that they were leaving money on the table. I got 1Passowrd originaly when I needed TOTP, and wanted something that was multi-device and secure, and certainly didn't want to host it myself. I don't know what else I'd use.
Just cancelled my subscription, which was due for renewal a few days after the change takes effect. I can live with vaults being read-only while I find a (self-hosted) alternative.
It's a shame that the free/cheap password managers that regular people would use (like those by Apple, Google) seem unwilling to loosen their platform lock-in, and others like 1Password mainly target business use and are too expensive for the average joe to bother. So decades and dozens of new auth standards later we are still in a place where people use the same password on all accounts and write it down on post-its.
The industry has collectively spent untold billions/trillions on cybersecurity over the years, while the best way to actually secure access would be to have a free, preinstalled, interoperable password manager that "just works".
This is useful enough for a family of 4 with teenagers who have a lot of logins that I don't mind the price. I'm not going to deal with self-hosting to save $1/month. My time is worth more than that.
I feel like I am really struggling to see the issue here with pricing, it is still a very cheap subscription and it does what we need it to do. And they were one of the ones that came out better in that recent security analysis of password managers. I see a lot of people upset here and I don’t get it.
Did they need to increase the price? Honestly I don’t know, without seeing their financials it is hard to say. But I would much rather they be able to be sustainable.
It likely doesn’t help that they are facing more and more free competition from Google and Apple. I know I have been considering a switch to Apple Passwords after the recent changes to it. I doubt this will excelerate it or anything because I will still want somewhere as a secondary area incase I loose access to my apple account.
If everyone goes to their subscriptions and cancels today maybe they'll get the message.
I've done it, and will spend the rest of the current renewal figuring out how well Apple Passwords works, I guess.
I'd like to sync everything but realistically I just need to extract any 2FA I have left in 1p; everything else can be password reset when the time cometh.
They’ve added a lot of ‘functionality’ but I use none of it. In December I migrated everything out and into Apple’s native Password manager, and cancelled my subscription to 1Password. Just in time, apparently. Subscription models need to die.
I'd like to switch to Bitwarden, but my singular focus is on security. I trust 1P because of its reputation in the security community. Does Bitwarden have any drawbacks when compared to 1P, security-wise?
I'm a 15+ year user of 1password and have been telling myself to move off of it for like 5 years now. It ain't the price... $72 is really fine for good software that just works.
But as mentioned throughout the thread it's really just too much. My goodness they really could have a nice, profitable, business with simple software. I'd happily pay $10/month for the version of 1password from 15 years ago! It's just all too much.
A commenter here recently just asked me if I have considered BitWarden due to my gripes with KeePass. KeePass cannot rent-seek off my passwords. You can of course host BitWarden, but the official software can always get worse (see Minio). Thankfully we have community run versions of the BitWarden server (VaultWarden), whereas 1password customers are left to dry. There just isn't any money in personal password managers, and restricting features like TOTP (BitWarden free tier) rarely entices the average person to get a paid plan.
I've had good experiences with KeePassXC. In addition to being able to store your passwords, it can ingest TOTP seeds. And finally, it's open source and cross platform. (I originally stumbled upon it because it was the only KeePass implementation that tried to look like a native MacOS app)
This is a killer feature for me, since apparently iOS backups do not backup your TOTP generators in Google Authenticator, which I discovered after I wiped my phone and restored it thinking I was perfectly safe doing so given I had a backup.
I now encourage all the folks I mentor to set up a KeePass vault for the TOTP seeds.
There's even an option to generate one of those fancy QR codes that apps like authenticator can use, so the two are not mutually exclusive.
If you're an individual, not an enterprise user, I don't see why anyone would pay for a password manager.
I get a lot of value from 1Password but the software quality has fallen.
There was a period of time that 1P would constantly grab window focus on macOS, they must have finally fixed it because after months of it randomly happening I don't think it's happened for at least 4 months. Then there is stuff like adding a new item, the search "Try searching anything", well, at least as long as "Anything" is not the _type_ of new item you want to create...
If I search "API" because I want to create an API key entry it shows be a bunch of worthless suggestions of websites (why would that be useful?) and at the bottom just injects my search term into the name of the 3 top "types" of item you can make. I have to expand it and scroll down to find API Credential. This is maddening to me. In part because of the mocking "Try searching anything", which is just clearly BS, and in part because I find the website search 100% useless and the only thing I care to search on is the types of new 1Password item I might create.
My family pricing went up by 20%, from $59.88 USD to $71.88 per year.
I like 1Password a lot. I've used it for 10 years. It's never lost a single thing, and I don't recall any downtime that impacted me. It's easy to setup and 99% hassle free. Works on my various device types (windows, mac, ios). It supports passkeys and 2FA codes. I like having shared and private vaults. I love the ability to share an auto-expiring, one-time-view link to a password. And the billing is a simple subscription fee.
I could do without some bloat. Watchtower feels like an enterprise need that is otherwise low-value and (by default) noisy for individuals/families. I obviously don't need "AI" forced into my password manager. I didn't love the version 7 to 8 transition that required a new app/extension to be installed. But all of that is really not so bad.
So yeah, I don't feel like I'm getting any additional value that justifies the price increase, but it's still more than worth it for me.
If the main use case is shared team secrets (API keys, tokens, .env equivalents), there are team-secrets-specific tools worth considering as alternatives:
- KeyEnv (keyenv.dev) — CLI-first secrets manager, syncs across team via CLI. Works like .env but centralized and access-controlled. No per-seat pricing.
- Doppler — More full-featured, team-friendly
- Infisical — Open source option with self-host
1Password is great for passwords/logins. For dev team secrets specifically (API keys, CI tokens), a purpose-built tool often fits better since you get CLI integration, per-project scoping, and environment-level access control.
Depends on your ratio of "password manager" vs "secrets manager" usage.
Price increases are always annoying, but I will stay the course.
I don't see myself switching to free competitors like Apple Passwords or Google (doesn't do E2EE). While I am pretty much in the Apple Ecosystem, my family members who use 1P are not, you won't get the same support, it doesn't autofill entries with custom fields, you need to use separate apps to store notes and documents/images, etc. It is just a barren password manager that Apple provides for free and doesn't get the same love as 1P does.
As for competitor cloud based password managers, most of them just don't have a tight security model compared to 1P, and I'm including some of the newer entrants like Proton Pass. 1P made a really smart decision of having a separate password and secret key and using a PAKE to authenticate. I don't think anything has come close except maybe Enpass with its notion of a keyfile. For me, the security story is of utmost importance. Also a lot of the status quo can't seem to get the basics of encryption right, a few still supporting non-authenticated encryption, bleh.
As for Keepass or local (FOSS) password managers, I would rather just write in an encrypted plain text file instead and store everything there. I don't need to be forced into using a database for that.
I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults. Various free clients exist which I use for my Android and Windows devices, and you can sync using either direct integration with Dropbox, OneDrive, etc, or use the device’s filesystem and sync it to whatever you like that way. It supports passkeys as well and you can have your iOS devices save your passkeys in StrongBox instead of the Apple thing.
The UI isn’t quite as slick as old versions of 1PW were, but since 1PW went Electron I don’t see a difference in quality.
I still refuse to rely on iCloud’s functionality for this since it is a one-way door, giving you no native way to export your vault without painful, one-at-a-time password typing. I had to do that once to escape 6 years ago — never again. Literally every other password manager lets you export a plaintext CSV.
what's interesting is that the email I received did not contain this part. Maybe it's the billing address and laws? Mine is in the Washington State, US.
1Password used to be great for personal use and you could sync your vault with Dropbox or Synchings or whatever. I'm sad they stopped selling "forever" licenses and supporting local sync and went the SaaS route.
It's a shame that the free/cheap password managers that regular people would use (like those by Apple, Google) seem unwilling to loosen their platform lock-in
How do you mean? You can export your passwords from the Apple app:
> After you set up iCloud for Windows, you can use iCloud Passwords to access your passwords in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Firefox using a browser extension. You can also manage your passwords in the iCloud Passwords app.
There is no reason for this increase except the fact that they know people are too lazy to migrate away.
They're not wrong. I'm a geeky guy with a tech resume as long as your arm, and I'd really rather do something else beside research how to export 1PWD data to something else, then import to $TOOL_OF_CHOICE. I'm sure it's not all that hard, and maybe that's part of the problem: it's monkey work, not an interesting technical challenge, right up there with "clean the gutters".
I've been a mostly happy 1Password customer with a Family plan for quite some time. This may cause me to jump ship.
My biggest issue with 1Password has been 1) how intrusive it can be in the browser, especially on mobile when it's too proactive to show its dropdown and just gets in the way of my experience. I know this is challenging because a mobile device is a small screen, but it is incredibly frustrating. 2) how bad the Safari extension. It regularly fails to load at all.
Aside from that, while you're absolutely correct - 1Password is still relatively inexpensive, let's look at the improvements thet mention:
1. Automatic saving of logins and payment details
Isn't this what 1Password has always done or am I misunderstanding?
2. Enhanced Watchtower alerts
I haven't seen any of these alerts ever help me.
3. Faster, more secure device setup
This I have noticed. It is very convenient
4. AI-powered item naming
This is weak sauce. I don't care for "AI" to help me name my logins/accounts/etc.
5. Expanded recovery options
I'm not sure what this is and how it's different than what they've always offered on a Family plan.
Apple Passwords works very well (as somebody who has fully migrated to it for password storage and OTP functionality). There’s a bit of a hassle because Apple has much simpler data structures currently, but you can bet that they’re working to enhance the record types they support because it’s such an easy win.
I stopped using 1Password for personal stuff and switched to just Apple Passwords about a year ago so I can add a little colour to what to expect.
Firstly, the Apple Passwords app is slow as molasses, just really really bad. If you've got more than about 1000 items, it's almost unusable. That said, you very rarely have to use it, because password entry in Safari is perfect, and the menubar app for it doesn't have the same slowness problems.
One big gotcha though is that Apple Passwords thinks site1.example.com and site2.example.com are the same site. So if you log into site1, it notices that the password you used isn't the password for site2 and offers to update it. If you click yes, it will overwrite the password stored against every subdomain of example.com - if you need to use multiple Sentry accounts, this is very problematic.
Finally, password entry in other browsers is less than perfect. There's an extension for Firefox but it's clunky, and the experience is even worse in Orion. Don't know about Chrome as I don't like to have spyware on my computer.
Sync requires a server, however server does not see any secret data, it is only used to relay encrypted hash-chained ops log between devices. It's intended to be self-hosting friendly - server is single binary backed by SQLite.
It's project is early-alfa, CLI app, Keepass import and sever/sync work for the most part, there is MacOS app in progress and plans for a iOS app and a browser extension.
Not ready for production and it's not audited.
I'm currently using KeepassXC/Keepasium with Syncting, but I want a better solution - something that supports trouble-free sync natively and allows me to own the system
The VC treadmill ruined what should be a simple, sustainable business. They’re not going to light the world on fire trying to pedal a password manager as the be all and end all IAM story for enterprises. It’s not the amount of the increase. It’s that they’re chasing enterprise for VC unicorn status and clearly intending to leave their original market behind. I don’t want my passwords in a product becoming more and more derelict since the org’s heart is in another place.
> I will still want somewhere as a secondary area incase I loose access to my apple account
I'm quite content with Apple's Password app but I pay for 1Password only for the peace of mind of having a backup in case Apple ever locks my account. I will suck it up and pay the higher price.
Wasn't mentioned on mine, either (Ohio, United States). My subscription is through in-app purchase, so I'm assuming that'll go through Apple's usual "your subscription price is increasing" flow.
The manage to find the money to sponsor an F1 team, so I don't think the money is the issue.
Also, if they'd increase things by 5%, or did yearly 2% increases or something like that, I'd be okay with that (to cover the inflation). But the 33% increase combined with the list of features I don't care about -- that's just taking users for granted. Thankfully I didn't start using passkeys, otherwise I'd be locked within 1p without ability to export them.
In a world where everything is increasing in prices and salaries aren't keeping pace, you might be able to see it if you imagine what life was like making much less money.
1Password, like other subscriptions, becomes something for the middle class and up, not for the masses.
To be honest I'm mostly fine with the price increase (it hasn't been adjusted for inflation in ages), the thing I do take issue with is that for over a year now (with the 'upgrade' to a new web interface) you can't easily create a password etc. anymore straight from the browser extension.
You click the button in the browser, choose what to create 'I want to create a password (or a note, or whatever)' and then get redirected to their web-app and be presented with a pop-up asking what you want to create (I just told you, didn't I?)
I get it, when you move to a new web-app some things can break. But after using stored passwords creating new ones is pretty much the only other thing you do in the app, it seems to be core functionality that's been broken for over a year now, it's kinda madness tbh.
Edit: To be fair they offered a 'solution' when I reported it: "Don't use the web-app, install our desktop app instead."
I just wrote up my migration plan. This is going to be very painful.
Step 1 is deleting accounts I don’t use anymore. I did 2 of them today. One required an email, another required a phone call. Both were rather painful, but at least I was able to get them done within the day. I have 320 accounts left to go through.
I have been wanting to reign in my digital footprint, so I guess this is a good excuse, it’s just very difficult. Last year I tried to delete a PSN account (I have 2 of them). I waited on hold with Sony for 45 minutes for them to just hang up on me. I also got caught in captcha hell a few times.
I also have to be willing to let things ago. I found an old Zinio account. I assumed the company would be dead (digital magazines), but they are still going, my account still works, and I have dozens of magazines in there I purchased 15 years ago when the iPad launched. Do I keep it around just incase, or let it go… there are going to be a lot of things like this. I almost feel like I need to take time off work to deal with this.
> It's a shame that the free/cheap password managers that regular people would use (like those by Apple, Google) seem unwilling to loosen their platform lock-in, and others like 1Password mainly target business use and are too expensive for the average joe to bother. So decades and dozens of new auth standards later we are still in a place where people use the same password on all accounts and write it down on post-its.
build 1ad9551+j7zs · deployed 2026-03-02 09:09 UTC · evaluated 2026-03-02 11:31:12 UTC
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