Proton Pass
A young password manager from the Proton stable, bundled with the rest of a serious privacy toolkit.
TL;DR verdict
Not quite the polish of its older rivals, but the built-in email aliasing and the Swiss jurisdiction give it a case that Bitwarden and 1Password can't quite make. Worth a real look if you already live inside Proton.
What we like
- Built-in hide-my-email aliases via SimpleLogin integration
- Swiss jurisdiction and Proton's track record on subpoenas
- Bundled into Proton Unlimited if you already pay for it
- Open-source clients with independent audits published
Where it falls short
- Younger product; some rough edges in the desktop app
- Sharing and team features lag behind the older competitors
- Best value only if you're already inside the Proton ecosystem
Proton Pass is the youngest of the vaults we recommend, and it shows in both directions. Some of the interface still feels like it's finding its shape. The security posture, the jurisdiction, and the integration with the rest of the Proton suite already put it in a small class of tools we'd trust for source-sensitive work.
What it does well
Hide-my-email is the feature that makes the pitch. Every time you sign up for something in the browser, the extension offers to generate a per-site forwarding alias in one click. The real address never touches the form. When the site inevitably leaks its user database three years from now, the exposed address is a random one that only ever received mail from that one site, and you can burn it in a second. This has been available as a standalone SimpleLogin subscription for years, and now it's just part of the vault, which is the correct place for it.
The Swiss jurisdiction is doing real work. Proton has a public record of responding to law-enforcement requests through the proper channels, and Switzerland's data protection framework is not one that trivially bends to a UK or US letter. For journalists working with sources, or for activists whose vault contents would make interesting reading to the wrong government, this matters more than a marginal difference in UI.
The clients are open-source and have been audited by Cure53. Sync between devices was quiet across a mix of platforms during testing. Passkey support is present and works.
Where it disappoints
The desktop apps are the newest part of Proton's line-up and it shows. We had a handful of small glitches, none of them destructive, all of them the kind that would irritate a daily user. Sharing features exist but are noticeably less flexible than 1Password's, and the family plan is currently more of a "shared collection" than a proper household model.
If you are not already inside the Proton ecosystem, the price-to-polish ratio is harder to defend against Bitwarden. It's the ecosystem that carries this one.
Who it's for
People who already pay for Proton Unlimited, and were previously running Bitwarden or 1Password alongside it. Journalists and activists who want their vault to sit in the same jurisdictional bucket as their mail and their VPN. Anyone who's been meaning to start using per-site email aliases but hasn't, because the workflow was too clunky. That last group in particular will get more out of switching than they expect.
Frequently asked
Is Proton Pass better than Bitwarden?
Not on the vault alone. It pulls ahead if you value the built-in email aliasing, the Swiss jurisdiction, or you already pay for Proton Unlimited and would rather not run two vendors.
What is hide-my-email and why does it matter?
It's a per-site forwarding alias, so the shopping site you sign up to never learns your real address. If they leak or sell it, you burn the alias. Proton Pass builds this into the signup flow, which is where most people would otherwise skip it.
Can I use Proton Pass without a Proton Mail account?
Yes, there's a free Pass-only tier. But most of the argument for choosing Proton over the alternatives comes from using the bundle.