How to Switch Password Managers Safely (2026 Guide)
A ranked, price-checked guide to password manager migration on Android and iOS. Import, verify, and pick the right vault for your family.
Google's Android team published a short post last year arguing that switching password managers is easy and safe on Android. They are right about the mechanics. They are quiet about the part that actually keeps people trapped: the 40 minutes of dread before you tap "export."
We have moved three households and two small teams off legacy vaults in the past 18 months. Nobody lost a password. The friction was almost entirely psychological, plus one genuinely annoying afternoon with a family sharing group. So here is the best how to do a password manager migration without gambling your logins, ranked by what we would actually install in 2026.
## The problem nobody names
Your current manager holds the keys to your email, which holds the reset link to everything else. That is the whole anxiety in one sentence. Export files are plaintext CSV, which feels like carrying cash through an airport. And family plans add a second fear: what happens to the shared vault when one person leaves.
The fix is boring. Export, import, verify, delete. Do it on a desktop browser where you can see what you are doing, keep the CSV on an encrypted volume, and shred it when the import checks out. Mobile apps are for verification, not surgery.
## How we ranked these
Four criteria, weighted in this order:
1. **Import fidelity.** Does it read a 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass or Chrome CSV without mangling TOTP seeds, notes and custom fields?
2. **Cross-platform parity.** Android and iOS must be first-class, not ports. Our readers split roughly 55/45 between the two.
3. **Family and sharing model.** Shared vaults, emergency access, and what a departing member can still see.
4. **Price per year, in USD, for the tier a normal person needs.** Not the free tier marketing, the tier you would actually run.
If a manager fails criterion one, it does not matter how pretty the app is.
## The ranked options
### 1. 1Password. The one to buy.
**Price:** $35.88/year individual, $59.88/year for Families (up to five people), billed in USD. Roughly £2.50/month in the UK and around 3 EUR/month in the Eurozone at current rates.
1Password's importer is the best in the business. It handles 1Password 7 and 8 archives, Bitwarden JSON, LastPass CSV, Dashlane, KeePass and generic CSVs, and it preserves TOTP seeds and secure notes. The family plan is the strongest for shared vaults: you can put the Netflix login in a shared vault and keep your bank cards in a private one, and a removed member loses access to shared items on next sync.
**Skip it if** you refuse to pay a subscription, or you want a fully self-hosted vault. Also skip the individual plan if you have a partner; Families is cheaper per person and solves the "what is our Wi-Fi password" text thread permanently.
### 2. Bitwarden. The value pick.
**Price:** Free tier is genuinely usable. Premium is $10/year. Families is $40/year for six users.
Bitwarden is open source, audited, and the free tier covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices, which no other credible manager does. Premium adds TOTP, file attachments and emergency access for the price of two coffees. Families adds shared collections and a admin console.
The tradeoff is polish. Autofill on iOS is better than it was in 2023 but still a step behind 1Password. The web vault looks like a tool, not a product.
**Skip it if** you want zero setup decisions, or you are migrating a non-technical relative who will call you when the browser extension asks which vault to use.
### 3. Proton Pass. The one to watch, not yet the one to buy.
**Price:** Free tier, Plus at $47.88/year, Family at $95.88/year. Bundles with Proton Unlimited at $119.88/year if you already pay for Proton Mail and Drive.
Proton Pass has improved fast. Aliasing (hide-my-email) is built in and excellent, which matters if you are trying to reduce the blast radius of [future breaches](/tech/blog/2026-data-breaches-a-practical-privacy-checklist-for-tech-users). The family plan covers six users with separate logins.
The catch is migration maturity. Importing from 1Password works, but custom fields and some TOTP entries need manual cleanup. If you are on Proton Unlimited already, the marginal cost is near zero and it is worth a look. If you are switching cold, wait another year.
**Skip it if** you need a flawless import today, or you use a lot of custom fields and secure notes.
### 4. Dashlane. The one to avoid.
**Price:** Advanced at $59.88/year, Friends and Family at $89.88/year for up to 10 users.
Dashlane is not a bad product. It is a bad migration target. Its importer is fussier than the others, its free tier no longer exists, and the price sits above 1Password Families while offering a weaker sharing model. We have seen two migrations into Dashlane need manual repair on TOTP entries.
**Skip it** unless your employer pays for it and you have no choice.
| Manager | Individual | Family | Import quality | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password | $35.88/yr | $59.88/yr (5) | Excellent | Buy |
| Bitwarden | Free / $10/yr | $40/yr (6) | Very good | Value pick |
| Proton Pass | Free / $47.88/yr | $95.88/yr (6) | Improving | Wait |
| Dashlane | $59.88/yr | $89.88/yr (10) | Weak | Avoid |
## The migration checklist
Do this on a laptop. Budget 30 minutes.
1. **Export from the old manager.** Save the CSV to an encrypted disk image (macOS) or a VeraCrypt container (Windows). Never leave it in Downloads.
2. **Import into the new manager.** Import as a separate vault or folder first, not directly into your main vault. This makes cleanup reversible.
3. **Spot-check ten logins.** Pick your bank, your email, your phone carrier, your most-used shopping site, and six others. Log in on the phone, not the desktop.
4. **Verify TOTP.** If you used the old manager for 2FA codes, confirm they still generate. If not, re-scan from your backup codes.
5. **Set up autofill on both phones.** On iOS, enable the extension in Settings, Passwords, AutoFill. On Android, set the manager as your autofill service in Settings, System, Languages and input.
6. **Invite family members.** Send the invite, have them accept, then move shared items into the shared vault one at a time.
7. **Wait a week.** Keep the old manager installed but logged out. If nothing breaks, delete the account and the export file.
## Our take
Buy 1Password Families at $59.88/year. It is the only option where the import, the mobile apps and the sharing model are all good at the same time, and the family tier costs less than a single streaming subscription per person.
If $60 is not happening this year, take [Bitwarden Families](/tech/blog/stop-paying-for-password-managers-the-best-free-and-open-source-picks-for-2026) at $40. You give up polish, not security.
Avoid Dashlane as a destination. It is fine as a starting point you are leaving.
## FAQ
**Is it safe to export my passwords to a CSV?**
Yes, if you treat the file like cash. Keep it on an encrypted volume, import within the hour, and delete it. The risk is not the export, it is a CSV sitting in your Downloads folder for three months.
**Will my 2FA codes survive the switch?**
They survive if your old manager exported TOTP seeds and your new one imports them. 1Password and Bitwarden handle this well. Test before you delete anything.
**What happens to a shared vault when someone leaves the family plan?**
On 1Password and Bitwarden, they lose access to shared items at the next sync. Their private vault goes with them. Move anything sensitive out of shared vaults before you remove a member.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to export my passwords to a CSV?
Yes, if you treat the file like cash. Keep it on an encrypted volume, import within the hour, and delete it. The risk is not the export, it is a CSV sitting in your Downloads folder for three months.
Will my 2FA codes survive the switch?
They survive if your old manager exported TOTP seeds and your new one imports them. 1Password and Bitwarden handle this well. Test before you delete anything.
What happens to a shared vault when someone leaves the family plan?
On 1Password and Bitwarden, they lose access to shared items at the next sync. Their private vault goes with them. Move anything sensitive out of shared vaults before you remove a member.
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