Password Boss Review 2024: An Underdog Password Management Solution

Based on our testing, Password Boss by CyberFOX stands out because it provides a good user experience and a solid feature set at a reasonable price. We found using standard features like password sharing, password generation, and the security dashboard easy. Plus, Password Boss offers extra features like Secure Notes and Emergency Access without compromising on the basics.

But, there's a lot to be desired when it comes to synchronicity between the WebApp and the Windows desktop app, as well as the company's transparency (or lack thereof) when it comes to subscription plans. 

In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of Password Boss, a cloud-based password management solution. And if it isn’t your top pick, we recommend more of the best password managers to help you decide.

At a glance

Price	$18.33-$29.99/yr
Free version	No
Compatibility	Android, iOS, Mac, Windows
Browser extensions	Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi
Import/export tool	Yes
Password sharing	Yes
Encryption	AES-256
Password generator	Yes
Password strength report	Yes
Autofill	Yes
Digital legacy	Yes
Cloud storage	No
Learn more	Get Password Boss

Our experience

Overall, we had a mixed experience using Password Boss. Before we jump into the specifics, the main takeaway is that Password Boss works well if you don't try to use it on both the WebApp and the desktop app simultaneously. 

We first tried it on a Mac using the Chrome browser, and it performed well — staying out of the way when not needed but appearing at the right time when it was. On Mac, the browser extension is necessary to get the most out of Password Boss. Without it, you’ll have to hop into the app and copy a password every time you want to enter one. With the browser extension, you get password pop-ups and a convenient button in each username and password field to enter your details.

Our experience using Password Boss on a Windows PC was not as great. The biggest issue was the lack of synchronicity between the WebApp and the Windows desktop app. Using the service was complicated when we tried to access our account from multiple entry points. Password Boss requires two passwords to access our account: a regular password and a master password. Plus, there's a Password Boss portal, which is basically a dashboard that doesn't allow us to change any of our settings but theoretically syncs with the WebApp. 

In sum, you can access your account in three different ways (the WebApp, the browser extension, and the desktop app), not including the portal dashboard. During our testing, we tried accessing our account from all three. (We had to download the Chrome extension twice. The first time, it didn't take, even though the Password Boss icon displayed in our toolbar.) This is where the lack of synchronicity between the WebApp and the desktop app comes into play. 

We enabled 2FA via the WebApp, but according to the desktop app and portal (which reasonably is supposed to reflect the WebApp activities), the extra security is disabled. Similarly, our saved information varied depending on how we logged in. Not ideal.

As a result, we received different security scores between the WebApp and the desktop app. Not to mention that the passwords we imported via the WebApp don't appear in the desktop app. 

Additionally, the total lack of transparency regarding subscription tiers, cost, and coverage (like the number of user licenses vs. devices) leaves a lot to be desired. We were only able to ascertain the number of licenses when looking at the portal. Otherwise, there's no clear indication of how many people can actually use the service nor how much it'll cost us. You won't find this info on the website. To locate the price sheet, we had to log in to our account and navigate to Settings > Profile > Upgrade. 

Once we clicked to checkout, the pop-up let us know coverage is available for one user on unlimited devices. (This differs from the trial, which allows up to 10 licenses.) But the most confusing part is that when we clicked to upgrade, all of the plans were billed annually. There's no actual benefit to purchasing the 2-year or 3-year plans. This is a big oversight for the company and the second subscription error we've seen live this year. 

Even still, Password Boss does offer the major functionality we expect in a premium service, like data breach alerts, dark web scanning, password health reports, a password generator, and automatic password importing, to name a few. The app looks like it's from the '90s and is definitely not the sleekest software we’ve ever used, but it gets the job done. We’d call it function over form. But for the price, we think there's more value in opting for a tried-and-true company (at a lower starting price) like NordPass. 

At least Password Boss offers a no-strings 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. That means you have up to 60 days to decide if it's the right password management solution for you. As a bonus, Password Boss offers a free mobile app that can be downloaded via the Apple App Store and Google Play. We think that's classy and recommend taking the mobile app for a spin if you want good protection for your smartphone. 

Cost

Password Boss does not advertise its pricing structure, but you can view the plans once you create an account. Password Boss offers three package tiers with the same feature set — it’s just a question of how long you want to commit, with a lower price per year on longer-term plans (theoretically). 

Plan	1 Year	2 Year	3 Year
Price per year	$29.99/yr	$22.50/yr	$18.33/yr
Number of users	1	1	1
Password vault
Autofill
Password generator
Two-factor authentication
Data breach alerts
Digital legacy
Details	View Plan	View Plan	View Plan

As for the actual price itself, Password Boss is one of the more affordable password managers. But a top competitor like NordPass is cheaper at $1.69/mo (billed annually) for the annual plan. Even though NordPass has a price hike after the term period, the cost difference is comparatively marginal. All that to say, you can get more value from a well-known competitor with a better user experience (and more advanced security perks like MFA, XChaCha20 encryption, and email masking). 

Features

Password Boss covers all the basic password manager features, such as password generators, sharing, and autofill. It’s also got some nice extras, like Secure Notes and a digital legacy feature. Let’s dive deeper into each.

Importing and exporting passwords

We think any dedicated password manager worth its salt includes a streamlined way to import passwords, whether from another password manager or a browser's built-in tool. Password Boss offers several ways to import passwords to the WebApp or the desktop app. 

The desktop app was easier to navigate (even though the WebApp is clearly sleeker), but we could also directly import from a password manager with the WebApp. With the desktop app, we could only really import from a CSV file or a browser (limited to Chrome or Edge). 

The WebApp also has limitations and lists only five specific password managers to import passwords. 

Even still, the importing process was painless, and it was easy to select which passwords we wanted to import from our browser.

Password sharing

The first main function of a password manager is to secure your login info and share it with others. Password Boss makes sharing passwords, secure notes, and personal information super simple via the desktop app. (The process was not as streamlined for the WebApp, which doesn't offer a clear dropdown like the desktop app.) 

In the desktop app, just select Share Center from the sidebar and click the Share Item button. We selected multiple items to share at once, which made the process much quicker. However, note that permissions apply to a whole batch, so for more granular control, we had to share one item at a time.

We easily gave the shared batch of items a name, selected who we wanted to share it with (via email address), and assigned permissions. Each recipient can be set to “read only” with visible passwords, hidden passwords, or editing privileges. Finally, we set an end date for the sharing (though we had the option to leave it until we wanted to manually end it). Heads up — the people you’re sharing with will need a Password Boss account to access the shared items.

Sharing passwords and other items across your own devices is also easy. All you have to do is grab the Password Boss app for your device and sign into your account. There are apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and most major browsers.

Password generator

Password Boss includes a password generator to help you create and store secure passwords. It can be accessed in several ways: via the Menu Bar on a Mac, from the browser extension icon, or from the Password Boss icon that appears in password fields in your browser.

The password generator has options for the length of the password (from 4 to 40 characters). We could also toggle letters, capital letters, numbers, and symbols individually. This gave us a ton of flexibility to tailor our passwords to our needs. The default is 20 characters with all the character types enabled.

Autofill

As with most password managers, Password Boss has an autofill feature, which can store and enter a number of other pieces of information, including:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email
• Company name
• Credit card info
• Bank account info

This info can be saved to identities, and you can have as many as you like. This feature lets us easily autofill details for multiple people, addresses, and similar.

Password strength report

While a password manager’s main function is to safely store your passwords so you don’t have to remember them, many also include tools to audit your passwords to ensure they’re as secure as possible. For Password Boss, this comes in the form of the Security Dashboard.

The Security Dashboard shows several useful pieces of information:

• A password security score and a breakdown of how many passwords are duplicates, old, weak, or compromised.
• A breakdown of how many items we have stored across each category (passwords, identities, Emergency Access contacts, etc.).
• Your dark web password scan results and a button to run a new scan.
• Your dark web email scan results and a button to run a new scan.

The dark web scans will search the dark web (the part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines and is often used for illicit activities) for passwords or email addresses that have been compromised in data breaches and similar incidents. This is a super useful tool, and we recommend using it.

Overall, the Security Dashboard is simple but functional. Once we reviewed our security results, we could then take immediate action to remedy issues, such as changing compromised or weak passwords.

Emergency Access (digital legacy)

“Digital legacy” refers to the ability to pass on access to data in the event of an emergency or death. This feature can save a lot of headaches during times when you and your family probably have more important things to worry about.

Password Boss has a digital legacy feature called Emergency Access. Like most Password Boss features, it’s very easy to set up. Just head into the app’s Emergency tab to get started. However, the emergency contact will need to have a Password Boss account, and you then grant them access directly via Password Boss.

The main difference between Password Sharing and Emergency Access is that we can set a waiting period (up to 30 days) before the emergency contact gets access. Apart from that, once we send the invitation, it remains active indefinitely or until canceled. We could grant contacts access to everything in our Password Boss account or only select items — it’s up to our discretion.

It’s worth noting that Emergency Access has to be granted before the emergency happens. For that reason, it’s probably best to designate your emergency contacts when you first set up the account, just in case.

Bonus features

In addition to the above features, Password Boss has a Secure Notes function that can be really beneficial for storing private information and keeping it that way. We head to the Secure Notes tab to get started. We could choose from various specific information types to store, such as a driver’s license or prescription details, or we could just do a basic note. It’s a handy feature to keep secure information accessible but still locked down tight.

Privacy policy

It probably goes without saying, but privacy is really important in a password manager. You’re essentially trusting this company with some of the most important personal data you have, so you want to make sure that the password manager you choose won’t misuse or misplace your information.

Password Boss has a fairly comprehensive privacy policy that the company keeps updated (as of this writing, the last update was in February 2023). The policy outlines all the details of how Password Boss can store and/or use your data, and your rights around it. As far as the policy itself, it’s pretty standard — we don’t see anything out of place.

And, as we’ll get into below, all your data is encrypted anyway, so there’s not a whole lot the company could do with your data, even if it wanted to (encryption should be an absolutely mandatory requirement for any password manager you choose, by the way).

Password Boss third-party audits

Third-party audits involve an independent company reviewing a password manager’s privacy policy to ensure it’s actually doing what it says it does. We could not find any record of Password Boss having a third-party audit performed. This doesn’t mean that the company is shady or anything like that — it just means they haven’t had an audit done. Take that for what you will.

Is Password Boss safe to use?

Yes, Password Boss seems safe to us. We’re not aware of any data breaches it’s been involved in, and the privacy policy and encryption are solid. This password manager actually has a pretty strong lean toward business customers, so it’s definitely in its best interest to ensure security and safety for its users. And it’s almost certainly safer than Google Password Manager or similar solutions that are tied to other accounts.

Two-factor authentication

Password Boss offers two-factor authentication (2FA). This is an excellent way to enhance security — it effectively means someone would have to possess one of your other devices in order to get into your Password Boss account.

To use 2FA with Password Boss, you’ll need a third-party app like Google Authenticator or Authy. Both apps are free. To get started, we head into the Password Boss app and navigate to Settings > Security tab > 2-Step Verification. From there, we could set up our authenticator app. We could also mark a device as a Trusted Device. We only had to enter an authenticator code once every 30 days on Trusted Devices — good for a personal computer or phone. Unfortunately, there is no passwordless authentication.

There are also a couple of options for backup access. We could add our phone number, so if we didn't have access to the authenticator app, we can get a code via text message. We could also receive a single-use backup code that we saved somewhere safe. This code can be used as a last resort to get into an account, but using it will deactivate 2FA, and we'd have to go through the setup process again.

Customer service

Password Boss has a few customer service options available. Of course, there’s the usual blog and support documentation, which we found very useful when getting Password Boss up and running. There’s also a support email address: support@passwordboss.com but no phone or chatbot options to report issues.

Our overall customer service experience was fine. We found the articles useful, and it was easy to find the information we needed. However, we will say that the support site is a bit odd. The search bar disappears until you scroll down, so it can be a little fiddly if you’re looking up multiple topics. Otherwise, everything we tried was fine.

Compatibility

Password Boss covers pretty much all the bases when it comes to compatibility, with apps for all the major operating systems, plus most major browsers.

It’s available on these operating systems:

• Windows
• Mac
• iOS
• Android

It’s available on these browsers:

• Chrome
• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Safari
• Microsoft Edge
• Brave
• Vivaldi

Top alternatives

If you’re looking to safely create, store, and manage passwords across devices, Password Boss is far from the only game in town. There are several very strong alternatives, all of which will do the job. Here are three of our top-tested favorites:

NordPass is one of our favorite password managers. It’s affordable, has a free version, and is easy to use. The free version is limited to only one device, though, and you have to commit to a 2-year plan to get the best price. RoboForm password manager has all the standard features you need from a password manager, like autofill and military-grade encryption, but its price range — Free–$2.66/mo — is one of the most affordable we’ve seen. Keeper offers a ton of useful features and very wide compatibility. We’re big fans. However, it’s quite a bit more expensive than Password Boss, and the browser extensions can be a little finicky.

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Password Boss good?

Password Boss is a solid password manager that offers a straightforward but useful feature set. It’s got apps for all the major platforms you might want to use, and the price is very competitive. Although there's a lack of synchronicity between the WebApp and the desktop app, either works great if you stick to one. 

Overall, we think Password Boss is best suited for users who want an affordable, no-frills password manager. It won’t win any design awards, and it won’t wow with excessive fancy features. However, it gets the job done with minimal fuss, and sometimes that’s all you need. But if you’re looking for more bells and whistles, consider more of the best password managers.