# Dashlane review

> Dashlane pairs a documented zero-knowledge design with passkey support, AI-powered scam protection and a VPN in Premium, but it has no free plan and costs more than Bitwarden, LastPass or 1Password.

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (Strong Security Suite)
- Evidence level: Expert Researched. Researched from vendor documentation, independent reports, and published pricing. No hands-on lab results are claimed.
- Version reviewed: Vendor pricing and help pages as read on 2026-10-20
- Author: Michael Chen · Published 2026-10-20 · Updated 2026-10-20
- Pricing: Verified 1 day(s) ago.
- Canonical page: https://topratedsoftware.net/reviews/dashlane
- Methodology: https://topratedsoftware.net/how-we-test

## At a glance

- Starting price: From $5.42/mo billed annually (Premium plan)
- Free tier: No
- Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari
- Best for: Users seeking a feature-rich password manager with strong security, cross-platform compatibility, and integrated privacy tools

## Key features

- Zero-knowledge encryption with local vault decryption
- AI-powered scam protection and real-time phishing alerts
- Passkey support for passwordless authentication
- Privacy-first VPN for public Wi-Fi protection
- Cross-platform sync across all devices and browsers
- Breach alerts and dark web monitoring

## Pros

- Vaults are encrypted and decrypted only on your devices
- AI-powered scam protection and a VPN are included in Premium
- Passkeys are saved, edited and used from the same vault as passwords
- Friends & Family covers 10 people for $8.13 a month
- Free 14-day trial available for Premium plan

## Cons

- Premium costs $5.42 a month, more than Bitwarden, LastPass or 1Password
- No free plan, only a 14-day trial of Premium
- On Friends & Family, only the plan manager gets the VPN

## Scores

| Criterion | Score (out of 5) | Weight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Privacy & Transparency | 4.6 | 1.5 |
| Security Features | 4.7 | 1.3 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5 | 1 |
| Performance Potential | 4.4 | 1 |
| Value | 4.2 | 1 |

## Pricing plans (verified 2026-10-20)

- **Premium**: $5.42 /mo billed annually — 1 member, Unlimited passwords and devices, AI-powered scam protection, VPN for public Wi-Fi, Breach alerts and dark web monitoring
- **Friends & Family**: $8.13 /mo for 10 members, billed annually — All Premium features, Private account for each member, Breach alerts for every member, VPN for the plan manager only, Dashboard for managing members

Live verified pricing: https://topratedsoftware.net/api/v1/products/dashlane/pricing

## Review

### What this review can and cannot establish

This is an expert-researched assessment, not a claim that TopRatedSoftware ran a controlled password manager laboratory. We compared Dashlane's personal pricing page, its password manager and security pages, its privacy policy, its passkey page and its October 2026 passkey adoption report, as published on October 20, 2026. We have not used Dashlane day to day ourselves, so this review describes what Dashlane documents rather than how its apps feel in use.

That distinction matters particularly for password manager reviews. A provider can document its architecture, but that does not prove how every future app build or server will behave under every condition. Our 4.5 rating reflects Dashlane's documented zero-knowledge design, passkey support, scam protection and the VPN in Premium, weighed against its price. It does not mean the product is risk-free or that a password manager will solve all of a user's security needs.

> **Research status:** Expert-researched from vendor documentation, the privacy policy, a vendor research report, and pricing pages; no TopRatedSoftware hands-on experience or testing result is claimed.

### Security features and privacy protection

Dashlane encrypts and decrypts your vault locally on your devices, and says only you hold the keys, so it can never see your credentials. Vault encryption uses AES256-CBC-HMAC for confidentiality and integrity, and keys are derived with Argon2d (3 iterations, 32 MB of memory, 2 threads). Logging in on a new device generates a unique 40-byte key, and the secrets used for vault encryption are kept separate from those used for device authentication.

Dashlane says it extends the same zero-knowledge approach to its cloud services using AWS Nitro Enclaves, which isolate data at the hardware level, and that it holds 8 patents for its zero-knowledge security with 6 more pending. Those are Dashlane's own descriptions; we did not find an independent audit report among the pages we reviewed.

The privacy policy says Dashlane cannot access your master password or decrypt the data stored in your vault. It does collect account data: an email address to create an account, IP addresses kept for 45 days, and usage data. Payment details go through third-party processors and are not kept after processing, and most data is deleted within 30 days of closing your account. Dashlane says it does not use personal data for automated decision-making or consumer profiling.

### Password management features and daily use

Dashlane stores unlimited passwords on unlimited devices and syncs them across browsers and operating systems. AI-powered Autofill signs you in without typing, the generator creates strong passwords as you sign up, and a password health check flags weak or compromised ones with suggested next steps. Secure notes come with 1GB of encrypted document storage, and the vault keeps password history.

Scam Protection analyzes sites and warns you about suspicious ones before you log in, alongside real-time phishing alerts, dark web monitoring and breach alerts. You can share logins securely with people you trust, and Premium includes a VPN for protection on public Wi-Fi. Live chat support is available on both personal plans.

### Passkeys and passwordless sign-in

Dashlane saves passkeys in the same vault as your passwords, where you can view, edit and delete them. When you sign up on a site that supports passkeys, Dashlane offers to create one, and when you enter your username on a site where you have a saved passkey, it asks whether to use it. Dashlane says it was the first password manager to demonstrate passkey support on Android and iOS, and it is a board-level member of the FIDO Alliance.

Dashlane also publishes data on how passkeys are used. Its October 2026 Passkey Power 20 report says monthly passkey sign-ins by its users nearly doubled in a year to 2.5 million, and that 57% of its users now store at least one passkey, up from 40%. The same report shows passkeys still account for only 28% of measured Google logins, so most people will need passwords and passkeys side by side for some time.

### What independent guidance says

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) calls a password manager one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from account theft. It recommends passwords that are long (at least 16 characters), random and unique to each account, plus multifactor authentication, especially on email, social media and financial accounts.

Dashlane covers those points: its generator creates strong passwords, its health check flags weak and reused ones, and it supports 2FA. CISA's remaining advice applies to you rather than to Dashlane: protect the account with one long, memorable passphrase as your master password, because Dashlane has no access to it.

### Pricing and plan value as researched

Dashlane has two personal plans and no free plan. Premium costs $5.42 a month, billed annually, and covers one person with unlimited passwords and devices, scam protection, phishing and breach alerts, dark web monitoring, secure sharing and the VPN. You can try Premium free for 14 days.

Friends & Family costs $8.13 a month for 10 members, billed annually. Each member gets a private account with their own phishing protection and breach alerts, and the plan manager gets a dashboard for managing members. The VPN is limited to the plan manager. Per person, Friends & Family works out to well under a dollar a month, which is where Dashlane's pricing is most competitive.

### Who should choose Dashlane

Choose Dashlane if you want scam protection, passkeys and a VPN in one subscription, or if you are paying for a household: Friends & Family covers 10 people for $8.13 a month. Its documented zero-knowledge design, with vaults decrypted only on your devices, suits people who want the provider unable to read their data.

Look elsewhere if price matters most. Premium costs $5.42 a month, against $1.65 for Bitwarden Premium and $3.00 for LastPass Premium, and Dashlane has no free plan. If you already pay for a VPN, much of Premium's extra value is something you have elsewhere.

## Verdict

Dashlane earns its rating with a documented zero-knowledge design, passkeys stored next to passwords, AI-powered scam protection and a VPN in Premium. It has no free plan and Premium costs more than its rivals, so it makes most sense for households on Friends & Family or for people who want the VPN included.

## Alternatives

- [Bitwarden](https://topratedsoftware.net/reviews/bitwarden) (4.8/5): Free plan, and Premium costs $1.65 a month
- [LastPass](https://topratedsoftware.net/reviews/lastpass) (4.2/5): Free plan for one device type; Premium from $3 a month
- [1Password](https://topratedsoftware.net/reviews/1password) (4.7/5): SOC 2 Type 2 certified, with developer tools for SSH keys and secrets

## FAQs

**Did TopRatedSoftware test Dashlane hands-on?**

No. This is an expert-researched review built from the vendor documentation, pricing pages and independent sources listed below, not from our own tests.

**Does Dashlane offer a free plan?**

No. Dashlane offers a 14-day free trial of Premium, but there is no permanent free plan. Premium then costs $5.42 a month, billed annually.

**What makes Dashlane's security different?**

Dashlane uses a zero-knowledge architecture where only users hold the keys to their data. No user credentials or personal information can be accessed by Dashlane itself, with encryption occurring locally on devices.

## Sources

- [Dashlane Premium pricing](https://www.dashlane.com/pricing-personal) — Vendor pricing page showing Premium plan costs $5.42/mo annual billing and includes features like import passwords, auto-login, phishing protection, breach alerts, and VPN.
- [Dashlane password manager features](https://www.dashlane.com/personal-password-manager) — Vendor documentation describing core features including real-time scam protection, cross-platform sync, AI-powered Autofill, and password generator capabilities.
- [Dashlane security architecture](https://www.dashlane.com/security) — Technical details about zero-knowledge encryption, AWS Nitro Enclaves for cloud protection, vault encryption using AES256-CBC-HMAC, key derivation using Argon2d, and confidential computing for secure processing.
- [Dashlane privacy policy](https://www.dashlane.com/privacy) — Vendor privacy documentation describing data collection practices, IP address retention, usage data handling, and how encryption keys remain with users rather than being accessible by Dashlane.
- [CISA: use strong passwords](https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/use-strong-passwords) — US government guidance on password managers, 16-character passwords and multifactor authentication.
- [Dashlane passkeys](https://www.dashlane.com/passkeys) — How Dashlane creates, stores and uses passkeys, and its FIDO Alliance membership.
- [Dashlane Passkey Power 20 report](https://www.dashlane.com/press-releases/dashlane-passkey-power-20-report-adoption-gap-emerges) — October 2026 vendor report on passkey adoption among Dashlane users and at major services.

## Disclosure and citation

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No screenshots published yet. We do not substitute stock photos or vendor marketing images.

Cite as: Dashlane review — TopRatedSoftware (https://topratedsoftware.net/reviews/dashlane)

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