Updated on 12.12.2019
One of the most annoying parts of the web experience is keeping track of all your passwords. It seems every account and website you use requires one nowadays. Luckily, there’s a solution for this nuisance in the form a password manager. And RoboForm is one of the best ones available today.
In this RoboForm review, we will look at the pros and cons, pricing, and technical specifications. We will also go over how to start using RoboForm and compare the service to some popular alternatives – LastPass and Dashlane.
Security and technical specifications
We will start our RoboForm review by going over its security features. RoboForm password manager uses military-grade AES-256 encryption and sends data over TLS/SSL. This means that it’s super-duper hard to decrypt your passwords.
If that wasn’t enough, your data goes through PBKDF2 hashing not once, not twice, but a few thousand times, preventing brute force attacks. And to put a safety cherry on top, RoboForm is a zero-knowledge provider and has no idea what those passwords, including the master password, look like. Therefore if you forget the latter, the only chance to regain access is via your emergency contact.
RoboForm supports the two-factor authentication, but it’s turned off by default and users might not be aware of this option because of the overloaded user interface. You can choose your email, phone, or Google Authenticator as the second factor.
RoboForm works on macOS 10.10 and up, iOS 8.0 and up, Windows Vista and up, or Android 4.1.3 and up. There are also browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge, and Internet Explorer 8+ which can act as standalone versions if the app is not installed.
RoboForm is constantly updated, with the version log showing bugfixes and new features every one or two months. There are localized versions for many languages, including Spanish, German, Russian, and Japanese among others.
Features
This service has excellent synchronization capabilities, digital inheritance, and web form filling. Importing and exporting your secrets from other password managers or a CSV is easy, and exporting your RoboForm stuff to CSV is a piece of cake.
The paid version also has a Secure Sharing feature that allows you to give access to separate entries or whole password folders to others. It means you can set a list of persons who will be able to access your account if it stays inactive for your preferred time period, ranging from twelve hours up to a month.
RoboForm has a password generator, but it’s not particularly good. While it can generate passwords of different lengths using different character types for you, a lot of other generators we have used created better passwords. Luckily, the product also has a useful Security Center that helps you identify potential weaknesses in your passwords.
The interface could also use some updates – it’s a bit overloaded and not intuitive, which might be evident for those new in password management business. It could also benefit from more buttons for simple tasks, like one for password sharing or creating a new folder, and fewer buttons for settings that mean nothing to an everyday user.
While we’ve praised the synchronization capabilities across all devices, this feature becomes available only after you get a paid version of RoboForm password manager, just like for the live chat support and account data backup.
The recent versions have greatly improved the overall performance of RoboForm, but the lack of major updates has prevented it from surpassing some of its competitors that have gone through client software overhauls.
How to use RoboForm
As with most cloud-based password managers, the first step is to create an online account. On the download page on the RoboForm website, you will see a list of different devices. Pick the device you want the product downloaded to.
The installation is very simple. Once you have it downloaded and installed, you will also find a bunch of useful video tutorials that will make the initial setup a lot simpler.
With the account created and the app installed on your device, you can import passwords and start adding new ones. You will want to turn off any password capture and password manager functions that are in your browser default settings. These can interfere with RoboForm.
Upon launching RoboForm, you will see a menu on the left with eight categories: Identities, Applications, Safenotes, Contacts, Bookmarks, Logins, All, and Shared. You can organize your stored data into folders and subfolders, as well as share and send items with recipients of your choice.
If you need some help with RoboForm and its interface, the live support (9 am-6 pm ET) is sadly for Premium clients only. There’s a starter manual that we recommend reading, but sending an email to support is fine too because they answer quite fast, even for the non-priority free account holders.
RoboForm pricing
RoboForm has a nice free version that can be enough for users with one device and no friends to add as an emergency contact. For the rest, we’d recommend the $1.99/month Everywhere plan or the $3.98/month Family version for five users, both paid annually. That’s cheaper than LastPass or Dashlane.
The Business plan starts at $3.35/month, billed once a year. There’s a 14-day money-back guarantee for up to 30 users.
Paying is possible with credit card, PayPal, and even a USD paper check or money order.
RoboForm alternatives
Two products that are similar to RoboForm are Dashlane and LastPass. Dashlane and LastPass are a little more expensive but are both highly respected password managers.
Dashlane has free versions, but it’s very limited in its features. LastPass has a free version that is a lot more functional. All three will give you top-level security. Dashlane is notably more expensive, but that’s because it comes with a VPN feature.
RoboForm vs LastPass
| RoboForm | LastPass | |
| Two-factor authentication | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic fill of web forms | Yes | Yes |
| Password strength report | Yes | Simple strength report. Security Challenge feature available |
| Secure sharing | Yes, paid version | Yes |
| Synchronization | Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS | Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
RoboForm vs Dashlane
| RoboForm | Dashlane | |
| Two-factor authentication | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic fill of web forms | Yes | Yes |
| Password strength report | Yes | Yes |
| Secure sharing | Yes, paid version | Yes |
| Synchronization | Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS | Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android |
Bottom line
RoboForm is a good choice if you are looking for an alternative to big-name password managers that is a little cheaper. It might not be everyone’s password manager, but those who like to tinker with Advanced settings will find RoboForm’s windows and tabs a playground to enjoy.
RoboForm boasts top-level security and allows users the ability to synchronize across all devices, but you will need to get the premium version to appreciate what this password manager really has to offer. And when it finally gets the much-needed user interface redesign, both LastPass and Dashlane will have a truly formidable competitor.
RoboForm is quite known online. It may be more known than LastPass, I’m not sure, but I think LastPass is better overall. If they upgrade their outdated interface maybe I will give it another try.
I’ve been using RoboForm for years and it only gets better. It’s intuitive generally works well and they often add features. Recently I tried two competitors to see if they were any better…yea no! If you are a Mac users RoboForm is by far the best one out there.
The lack of two-factor authentication and its weak password generator makes RoboForm a second class option. But as you said, it’s a decent alternative for people looking for cheaper alternatives to Dashlane.
I am excited I now have a system that will help me generate different and very strong password for my diverse accounts. This has been my key struggle with all the accounts; generating strong password.
Hmm I don’t care about the fact that it sounds like it is outdated. I would want something that looks current.