In this RoboForm review, we’ll cover all the key details you need to know about the password manager.
The RoboForm password manager was launched in 1999, making it one of the most established products on the market. It has a rich feature set that puts it on par with the top providers today, and it offers a secure password vault, automatic form filling, and dark web monitoring to detect if your details have been compromised in a data breach.
In our comprehensive RoboForm review, we’ll cover its plans, features, and functionality and how it compares with the best password managers on the market.
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What is RoboForm?
As well as being able to store unlimited passwords, it can also be used to:
- Generate strong passwords
- Store personal details such as phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, and bookmarks
- Store secure notes
- Safely share logins
- Detect data breaches
Launched in 1999 by Siber Systems, a Virginia-based company, RoboForm started out as a form-filling tool. Its tools were later expanded to include password management, and in 2009, a business version of the product was released.
RoboForm has a reputation for security and has operated for over two decades without a data breach incident.
Is RoboForm Safe?
RoboForm is a very safe password manager, and it has an unblemished security record across its 25-year history.
The provider operates with a zero-knowledge architecture, meaning that RoboForm cannot access your data or master password. All information in your vault is encrypted. It is then unlocked locally, on your device with your password, and not on the RoboForm servers.
RoboForm has also undergone third-party security audits that confirm its security promises.
RoboForm Pricing and Plans
RoboForm has several plans, starting with its basic free plan. While its paid plans are affordable, the free version is relatively limited compared to some free alternatives, which offer features like unlimited passwords across devices, emergency access, and advanced sharing options.
Plans | Price (lowest price) | Max. Accounts and Devices | Cloud Backup | Emergency Access Permission | Support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free | Free | 1, 1 | ✅ | Receive | 24/7 email |
Premium | $2.49/month (annual) | 1, Unlimited | ✅ | Give / Receive | 24/7 priority email, live chat, phone |
Family | $3.98/month (annual) | 5, Unlimited | ✅ | Give / Receive | 24/7 priority email, live chat, phone |
Business (1-10 users) | $2.50 per user per month (5 years) | 10, Unlimited | ✅ | Give / Receive | 24/7 priority email, live chat, phone |
Is RoboForm Free? The RoboForm Free Plan
RoboForm’s free password manager plan provides basic password management functionality for free. It comes with unlimited password storage, password generation, form filling, cloud management, bookmark management, and data breach scanning.
The free plan is good if you’re looking for a basic password manager, but you’ll need to upgrade to get cross-device synchronization – with support for only one device – and you won’t be able to grant emergency access or share folders.
If you’re looking for a free RoboForm account for business, the provider offers a 14-day trial.
RoboForm Premium – $2.49/month
Upgrading to the Premium plan gives you multi-platform synchronization, secure sharing, 24/7 priority support, two-factor authentication, and full emergency access.
The Premium plan is great if you’re looking for a robust, affordable password management solution that will work across devices and platforms.
It’s also a good option for sharing logins in case of an emergency. If you’re making a RoboForm free vs paid comparison, it’s definitely worth upgrading.
RoboForm Family – $3.98/month
The RoboForm Family plan allows you to scale up and includes five accounts so everyone in your family can access RoboForm’s premium features. What’s more, this comes at a significantly reduced cost per user.
RoboForm Business Plans – $2.50 per user per year
Businesses have different needs when it comes to managing access to sensitive information and resources. The Business plan offers centralized password management, advanced user controls, secure group sharing, and dedicated customer support.
These features allow businesses to maintain smooth collaboration, high-security standards, and safe access management across departments and teams.
Plans are discounted for longer subscription durations and as you add more users, with caps at 10, 25, 100, and 1,000 users. The password manager costs $2.50 per user per month on a five-year plan for a team of one to ten users.
Is RoboForm Good For Business?
RoboForm is a strong option for businesses, especially small businesses and startups. The provider offers all the features you need for seamless business password management at an affordable price and with discounts for longer-term subscriptions and additional users.
However, it may not be enough if you’re looking for an enterprise password manager with lots of extra features and capabilities. Its access privilege features, for example, may not be sufficient for an enterprise business.
How Does RoboForm Work? RoboForm Security Features
RoboForm offers all the core password management features you need. This section of our RoboForm review will provide a detailed breakdown of how RoboForm works:
RoboForm Encryption and Infrastructure
RoboForm protects users’ data with advanced encryption and a secure infrastructure. The password manager encrypts all the data it stores with military-grade AES 256-bit encryption using the PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2) algorithm with SHA-256 to derive encryption keys from master passwords.
RoboForm also follows a zero-knowledge security model. No one in the company can access your vault, master password, or encryption key. Even if RoboForm’s servers are compromised, your data will remain encrypted and unreadable without your master password.
When syncing user data across devices, RoboForm uses end-to-end encryption to protect data in transit. The data on your device is encrypted before it is transmitted to RoboForm’s server, so even if it were intercepted, it would remain unreadable without your password.
This combination of encryption technologies has proven effective against brute-force attacks, and RoboForm has never suffered a data breach, unlike some competing password managers.
RoboForm Password Generator
RoboForm’s password generator helps users create strong, unique passwords. The password generator is readily accessible from RoboForm’s browser extensions and desktop and mobile apps.
By default, RoboForm generates passwords that are 22 characters long, exclude similar characters, and contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. However, you can easily change the character type, character count – up to 512 characters – and more from within the generator.
The generator also includes a passphrase feature, which allows you to generate strings of random words to provide more memorable passwords. You can choose if and how words are separated, whether to include capitalization, and whether to include numbers.
Form Filling
RoboForm started out as an automatic form-filling tool, and it has a strong offering in this area. You can customize the form-filling templates, which cover names, businesses, passport details, addresses, credit cards, bank accounts, cars, and custom fields.
One form-filling feature that impressed us was RoboForm’s ability to customize the templates to be country-specific, which goes beyond what rivals like Dashlane and LastPass offer. RoboForm will automatically adjust the templates for the country you selected during setup.
Password Sharing
RoboForm’s password-sharing features allow individuals, families, and teams to share passwords, notes, bookmarks, and personal details with other RoboForm users.
Free users can only send one password at a time. If you upgrade to a paid plan, though, you can share folders.
The folder feature lets you share 50 items with multiple users at once, with the capacity for two shared folders on your account. In comparison, however, competitors like 1Password give you an unlimited number of shared vaults – though providers like Dashlane don’t have any shared folder options.
There are three sharing options with RoboForm’s shared folders, enabling you to give receivers full control over the folder, permission to access and edit details, or the ability to use the credentials without being able to see them.
You can set different permissions for recipients within the same folder. The permission settings are ideal for organizations where different users need different access levels.
RoboForm Safenotes
RoboForm also has an encrypted note-taking app called Safenotes. The feature allows you to create and store notes with the added benefit of secure storage in an encrypted vault.
It’s perfect for securing sensitive information, such as ID numbers, ATM PIN codes, voucher codes, and other sensitive information.
RoboForm Authenticator
RoboForm supports email and SMS for multi-factor authentication (MFA). It also has a TOTP (Time-Based One-Time Passwords) authenticator app, so you won’t need to use other third-party tools like Google Authenticator. That said, RoboForm doesn’t support hardware-based security keys like Google Titan and YubiKey.
Master Password Emergency Access
RoboForm allows you to assign a trusted contact who can access your password vault in case of an emergency. This way, you can ensure the credentials for your online accounts remain accessible in case of your death or incapacitation or if you forget your master password.
As with LastPass and Keeper, the ability to assign a contact with the emergency access feature is only available on paid plans. Your emergency contact must have a RoboForm account, though this can be a free account.
RoboForm Security Center and Dark Web Monitoring
RoboForm’s Security Center is a simple and easy-to-use password health dashboard. It flags reused, weak, and compromised passwords and gives your vault an overall security grade.
It also includes a dark web monitoring security feature that checks if any of your passwords or personal details have been compromised and exposed online. This gives you the opportunity to change your passwords and secure your accounts in the event of a breach.
RoboForm Compatibility and Ease of Use
RoboForm is easy to use and is compatible with a range of platforms. You can use it on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and web browsers. Linux users can only run RoboForm using a browser extension.
RoboForm Windows and macOS Apps
RoboForm has a desktop app for Windows and macOS operating systems. The desktop app is simple to use and has all the password manager’s core features.
It also has advanced features like bulk password import/export and the ability to organize data into folders and categories. It’s ideal for business teams.
RoboForm Android and iOS Mobile Apps
RoboForm also has Android and iOS mobile apps. The mobile experience is intuitive and has a very similar implementation to the full app – and may actually be even more polished.
Key features like the Security Center and Safenotes are all available with the RoboForm app, and there are unique mobile features like fingerprint login. There’s also an auto-logout feature and a toggle to block screenshots while on the mobile app.
RoboForm Browser Extensions
RoboForm offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge to provide easy access to your credentials. The extensions allow you to access and generate passwords and log in with a single click.
The extensions are also useful for Linux and Chromebook users, as these operating systems don’t have dedicated RoboForm apps.
How Does RoboForm Compare Against Other Password Managers?
While RoboForm is close to being best in class, it faces competition from other premium password managers. Here’s a quick summary of the major differences between various password managers.
Password Manager | Price (lowest price) | Free Version | Free Trial Period | Max Devices | Password Generator |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
RoboForm | $2.49/month (annual) | ✅ | 14 days | Unlimited | ✅ |
1Password | $2.99/month (annual) | ❌ | 14 days | Unlimited | ✅ |
NordPass | $1.79/month (two years) | ✅ | 14 days | Unlimited | ✅ |
Dashlane | $4.99/month (annual) | ✅ (25 passwords) | 14 days | Unlimited | ✅ |
Bitwarden | $0.83/month (annual) | ✅ | 7 days | Unlimited | ✅ |
RoboForm vs 1Password
RoboForm and 1Password both have a fair share of features, including secure storage, password importing, and a password generator. However, RoboForm has an edge with its affordable plans and a free-for-life version, and users have noted the 1Password form-filling feature is slightly harder to use.
NordPass vs RoboForm
While RoboForm might have a reputation as a reliable password manager, it’s been overtaken by NordVPN’s NordPass, which now has a higher number of active users.
Many users praise NordPass’s user-friendly interface, robust security, and excellent customer support. NordPass also raises the bar by using XChaCha20 encryption. It also comes in somewhat cheaper than RoboForm.
Dashlane vs RoboForm
Dashlane and RoboForm both offer advanced encryption and a range of features to secure your vault. However, Dashlane is fairly pricey and some may not like its web-first focus. It also has a very limited free plan, capped at 25 passwords, which is a downside in comparison with RoboForm for new users.
RoboForm vs Bitwarden
RoboForm and Bitwarden are heavyweight password managers that both boast strong security, a range of features, and affordable pricing. The two also both have free versions you can use before committing to a paid plan.
While Bitwarden is a definite bargain, RoboForm comes ahead with its smoother interfaces and superior support.
How to Set Up RoboForm Password Manager
You can set up RoboForm on your browser, smartphone, or PC. The process of setting it up on PC is fairly straightforward.
Go to RoboForm and download the password manager
Head to RoboForm’s site. Set up an account and download the app.Begin the setup process
Once you’ve downloaded the software, click to begin the setup process.Install the RoboForm browser extension
RoboForm will then prompt you to install the browser extension. Follow the prompts. Once you’ve added it to your browser, pin the extension.Log in to your account
The setup wizard will then bring you to the Robo Form Start Page. Log into your account. If you don’t have one, create one by hitting the “Sign Up” button.Set up your master password
Enter your email and create a master password that you’ll remember to secure your account. You can now get started with the password manager and start storing your passwords securely.
Customer Support and RoboForm Reviews from Users
All plans have free support via the Help Center and Manual pages. You’ll find support articles online organized into categories like Web Access, Emergency Access, and Security.
Users can also contact the support team by email, and paying subscribers can get priority help by email, live chat, and phone during business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
RoboForm customer reviews are generally positive, with an “Excellent” 4.7/5 overall score on TrustPilot and strong results on other third-party review sites.
Many users note that the password manager is among the most comprehensive on the internet.
Others note how the password manager has simplified their online life.
One negative that some users have reported is that RoboForm doesn’t work on certain sites, meaning you have to enter credentials manually. However, we haven’t seen this issue during testing, and it may have been addressed already by RoboForm updates.
Our Other Password Manager Guides
Our team of cybersecurity experts have created a wide range of resources on antiviruses, VPNs, and password managers. Some of our related guides and resources include:
- Best Password Managers
- Best Password Managers for Android
- Best Password Managers for iPhone
- The Best Free Password Manager
- Best Chrome Password Managers