Passwords are an important part of having an online presence. I always tell friends and family that you should never ever have the same password for all of your accounts. (Do they listen? Probably not.) Either way, having the same password means if someone gets hold of one of your accounts, they could potentially have [...]1Password vs. DataVault for iPhone: Fight! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
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Passwords are an important part of having an online presence. I always tell friends and family that you should never ever have the same password for all of your accounts. (Do they listen? Probably not.) Either way, having the same password means if someone gets hold of one of your accounts, they could potentially have access to all of them. Having separate passwords is the best idea but then comes keeping track of all of them. Apps like 1Password and DataVault set out to solve that problem.
I took a look at both of these popular password management apps and pitted them against each other. Follow along to see which one came out on top!
Management & Syncing
When it comes to password management, I want to have easy access to my passwords regardless where I’m at. Both of these apps seem to provide that. Both 1Password and DataVault have iOS apps, desktop apps, and syncing services. So if you need to reinstall your desktop client or iOS client, you won’t have to re-enter all your passwords.
I’ll have to give the edge to DataVault on this one simply for the fact that they offer many more ways to sync your data than 1Password does. 1Password currently offers wifi syncing and syncing with Dropbox. DataVault offers the same but also offers syncing with MobileMe, iTunes file sharing, ad-hoc, and sync servers such as Box.net. So if you don’t feel comfortable syncing with Dropbox or over wifi, DataVault may be a good option.
Features and control
Both apps have tons of features. You can create any kind of entry imaginable from logins, credit card accounts, bank accounts, and more. The desktop clients also offer a ton of profile options to auto-fill forms. Even though we are talking about the iOS version of these apps, I think it’s still important to talk about their desktop counterparts since they do work together for one single solution.
In my testing, both seemed efficient and did their job well. Feature-wise they’re about even.
Interface and ease of use
I’m the type of person that doesn’t want to spend an hour learning to use an app before actually being able to utilize it. (I’m a Mac user for a reason!) I somewhat felt this way while using DataVault. The interface felt uncoordinated and clunky. I had to figure out what exactly I was supposed to put in each field and a lot of times, I was entering things in the wrong fields. DataVault is definitely a powerful application but I just felt as though entering information was a task in itself.
1Password seems a lot simpler. Entering a login or password is easy and doesn’t require much work. I also like that I can set two passwords. One being a 4 digit number and the other being a master. I can easily require a master on sensitive passwords and only a 4 digit code for passwords that aren’t so sensitive. I use the 4 digit code option on things like forum passwords or membership passwords that don’t have any financial data attached. It allows me to access those passwords much quicker.
From a user experience standpoint, I much prefer using 1Password.
Pricing
DataVault and 1Password for the iPhone are both $9.99 at regular price. The desktop clients will vary. As of now, DataVault for Mac and Windows is on sale for $9.95 (regular price is $19.95). 1Password for Mac and Windows is a bit steeper as it starts at $39.99 and goes up from there if you’d like to purchase bulk or family licenses. The setup was a bit easier on the desktop version of 1Password opposed to DataVault.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, DataVault may be a cheaper all-in-one solution if you want a complete password management solution but 1Password is definitely just as appealing. For me, I prefer the ease of use of 1Password over DataVault. Some users may want to save the $20 difference on the desktop client and spring for DataVault. The features and syncing capabilities are present in both apps. I do wish 1Password would add MobileMe syncing but for now, Dropbox syncing has always worked just fine. Since Dropbox is free, I somewhat consider it a non-issue for most.
If you decide to try one of these apps out (or already use one or the other), let us know which you prefer. If you prefer a different password management app, let us know why in the comments! Also check out the gallery below for more screenshots of both applications!
DataVault for iPhone – iTunes Link
1Password for iPhone – iTunes Link
1Password vs. DataVault for iPhone: Fight! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Lily Allen
Nadine Velazquez
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