7 Password Managers That Won't Sell Your Vault to America
LastPass had a breach. 1Password is American. Dashlane got acquired. Here are the European password managers that actually keep your secrets secret.
I’m going to say something controversial: Your password manager is more sensitive than your email.
Think about it. Your email might have embarrassing subscriptions and awkward family threads. Your password manager has the keys to everything. Your bank. Your medical records. That crypto wallet you keep pretending you don’t have.
So why are you trusting it to a company in a country where the FBI can issue a National Security Letter and nobody can tell you about it?
The wake-up call: The 2022 LastPass breach exposed encrypted vaults for 25 million users. US-based. US-breached. US… your problem now.
Here are seven European alternatives that let you sleep at night.
The Quick Rankings
Don’t have time? Here’s the list:
| Rank | Manager | Country | Best For | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proton Pass | Switzerland | Privacy maximalists | Free / €24/yr |
| 2 | NordPass | Lithuania | Balance of features | €22/yr |
| 3 | pCloud Pass | Switzerland | pCloud users | €29/yr |
| 4 | Padloc | Germany | Open source fans | Free / €35/yr |
| 5 | Passbolt | Luxembourg | Teams & self-hosters | Free / €49/yr |
| 6 | Hypervault | Belgium | Business compliance | €36/yr |
| 7 | heylogin | Germany | Passwordless future | €60/yr |
Still here? Let’s get into why.
1. Proton Pass — The Privacy Purist’s Choice
If you already trust Proton with your email, this is the obvious choice.
Proton Pass launched in 2023 and immediately became the go-to for privacy enthusiasts. The pitch is simple: same Swiss jurisdiction, same zero-knowledge encryption, same “we literally cannot read your data” philosophy as ProtonMail.
The killer feature: hide-my-email aliases. Every site gets a unique email address that forwards to your real inbox. When (not if) a site gets breached, you know exactly who leaked your data.
The catch: Newer than competitors. The browser extension occasionally hiccups. Mobile apps are good but not as polished as NordPass.
Pricing: Free tier is genuinely generous. Paid (€24/year) adds advanced features and more aliases.
2. NordPass — The Polished All-Rounder
From the people who brought you NordVPN. Love them or side-eye them, they know how to build consumer software.
NordPass feels like what a password manager from Apple would be if Apple cared about privacy. Smooth animations. Intuitive interface. Everything just works.
The standout: Data breach scanner that actually works. It checks your passwords against known breach databases and nags you (helpfully) to change compromised ones.
Technical note: NordPass uses XChaCha20 encryption instead of the more common AES-256. Both are secure. XChaCha20 is newer and arguably more future-proof against certain attack vectors. In practice? You won’t notice a difference.
The catch: Not open source. You’re trusting Nord Security’s implementation. They’ve had independent audits, but transparency has limits.
Pricing: €22/year with frequent sales. The free tier is too limited to be useful.
3. pCloud Pass — The Ecosystem Play
Already using pCloud for storage? This makes sense. Otherwise… probably not.
pCloud Pass is fine. It does the job. It’s Swiss. It encrypts your stuff. But it doesn’t have the feature depth of NordPass or the privacy street cred of Proton Pass.
Why it exists: pCloud wants to be your privacy ecosystem. Storage + passwords + encryption, all Swiss, all yours.
The catch: €29/year with no free tier. For that price, Proton Pass gives you more features and open-source transparency.
4. Padloc — The Open Source Underdog
If you believe software should be auditable by anyone, Padloc is your pick.
Small team. German engineering. Everything is open source. You can read the encryption implementation. You can self-host if you’re paranoid (or cheap). You can verify that they’re doing what they claim.
The vibe: It feels like software made by people who actually use it, not a product management committee.
The catch: Smaller team means slower feature development. The interface is functional but not beautiful. No browser extension autofill in free tier.
Pricing: Free for basics, €35/year for premium features.
5. Passbolt — For Teams Who Take Security Seriously
This is not a consumer product. This is for dev teams and security-conscious organizations.
Passbolt uses actual PGP encryption. Every user has a keypair. Credentials are encrypted to specific recipients. It’s how cryptographers think password sharing should work.
Perfect for: Software teams sharing API keys, DevOps credentials, production secrets.
Not for: Your mom who needs to remember her Facebook password. The learning curve is real.
The catch: Setup is non-trivial. The UX assumes technical competence. Consumer-friendly it is not.
Pricing: Free self-hosted, €49/year for cloud hosting with business features.
6. Hypervault — The Compliance Card
When your procurement team asks “does it have SOC 2?”, Hypervault says yes.
This is password management for people who have to fill out vendor security questionnaires. GDPR compliance. Audit logs. Admin controls. The enterprise checkbox list.
Use case: You work at a European company with actual compliance requirements.
The catch: Overkill for personal use. The interface is functional but corporate. Nobody’s winning design awards here.
Pricing: €36/year personal, scales up for teams.
7. heylogin — The Future Bet
What if you didn’t have a master password at all?
heylogin uses your smartphone as the authentication device. Your phone’s biometrics (Face ID, fingerprint) unlock everything. No master password to remember. No master password to forget. No master password to be phished.
The pitch: Passwords are a fundamentally broken concept. heylogin is what comes next.
The philosophical question: Is “your phone” really more secure than “a password only you know”? Phones get stolen. Phones break. Phones run out of battery at the worst possible moment.
The catch: €60/year is steep. The “no master password” thing sounds great until you’re in an airport with a dead phone needing to log into something urgently.
Who it’s for: Early adopters who believe in passwordless future and have backup plans.
What About Bitwarden?
I know you’re wondering.
Bitwarden is excellent. Open source. Great free tier. Widely recommended.
It’s also American. Headquartered in California. Subject to US jurisdiction.
Is that a dealbreaker? For many people, no. For this list specifically about EU alternatives, yes.
If US jurisdiction doesn't bother you, Bitwarden is probably the best overall password manager. This article is for people who've decided it does bother them.
The Decision Matrix
| Priority | Choose |
|---|---|
| Privacy absolutist, already using Proton | Proton Pass |
| Best consumer experience | NordPass |
| Open source or nothing | Padloc |
| Team/developer credentials | Passbolt |
| Corporate compliance requirements | Hypervault |
| Passwordless believer | heylogin |
| Already in pCloud ecosystem | pCloud Pass |
My Personal Stack
Full transparency: I use Proton Pass for personal stuff and recommend Passbolt for team credentials.
Proton Pass because the email alias feature is genuinely life-changing, and I already trust Proton with my email.
Passbolt for team stuff because PGP-based credential sharing is the right model for sensitive infrastructure access.
Your needs might be different. That’s fine. All seven options here are better than trusting a US company with the keys to your digital life.
Quick FAQ
Can I migrate from 1Password/LastPass? Yes. All of these support importing from major password managers. Export as CSV, import to new tool. Takes 10 minutes.
What happens if the company goes bankrupt? For open source options (Proton Pass, Padloc, Passbolt): You can self-host or export. For closed source: Export regularly and have a backup plan.
Is the free tier enough? Proton Pass: Yes, genuinely. NordPass: No, too limited. Padloc: Barely. Others: Not really.
Which is most secure? They all use proper encryption. The practical security differences are minimal. Pick based on features and trust, not theoretical security margins.
Try Them
- Proton Pass — Best free tier, best for Proton users
- NordPass — Best overall UX
- Padloc — Best open source
- Passbolt — Best for teams
- Hypervault — Best for compliance
- heylogin — Most innovative approach
Related:
Last updated: January 2026