1Password Has No Free Plan. The Trial Freezes.
Fourteen days, no card, full features. Then the account freezes rather than deleting itself, which is gentler than it sounds and stricter than most trials.
1Password has no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no credit card that includes every feature. When it ends without payment the account freezes to read-only: you can copy existing items but cannot add, edit or autofill. Individual is $47.88 a year and Families $71.88 for five, after a 33 percent rise in March 2026.1
A directory of free tiers has to be clear about a product that does not have one, because the search volume around it suggests people believe otherwise.
The trial is generous and the freeze afterwards is unusual. Both are worth understanding before you move a vault into it.2
What the trial actually includes
| Individual | Families | |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| Permanent free plan | None | None |
| Price after trial | $47.88/yr, $3.99/mo | $71.88/yr for 5 people |
| First-year promotion | $35.88/yr | $53.88/yr |
| Users | 1 | 5, +$12/yr each |
| At trial end | Account frozen to read-only | |
| Sharing | Yes | Shared vaults |
| Storage per person | 1GB | 1GB each, 1GB shared |
Both plans include autofill, passkey storage, Watchtower breach and reuse alerts, and apps on every platform. Nothing is held back during the trial, which is what makes it a fair evaluation.
Frozen is not deleted
When the trial lapses, 1Password does not disable the account or wipe it. It drops to a read-only state. You can open the app, read items and copy passwords out.
You cannot create or edit items, invite anyone, or fill credentials in a browser. Subscribing later unfreezes the same account with everything intact, so nothing is lost by waiting.
That is more forgiving than most trials, which simply lock the door. It is also a harder stop than a free tier, because the day-to-day use of a password manager is exactly the part that stops working.
The March 2026 price rise is the real story
On 27 March 2026, Individual went from $35.88 to $47.88 a year, a 33 percent increase, and Families from $59.88 to $71.88, a 20 percent increase.
At $47.88, 1Password costs about two and a half times Bitwarden Premium at $19.80 and buys roughly the same class of product. Bitwarden raised its own price in January 2026, so the whole category moved at once.
The promotional $2.99 a month is a first-year rate for new customers on annual billing. The renewal lands at $3.99.
The filing notice worth reading
Advertising shows the monthly promotional figure. Checkout shows the annual amount plus tax, and at least one review recorded the second number being meaningfully higher than the first.
The trial asks for no card, so the charge only happens when you actively pick a plan. That is the right way round and removes the most common trial complaint.
What 1Password does better than the free options
Passkeys and sharing are the two. Passkey support is mature across platforms, and shared vaults with per-person access work without a separate administrator.
Travel mode, which removes vaults from your devices while crossing a border and restores them after, has no equivalent in the free products.
Watchtower is also genuinely useful, not a dashboard ornament. It flags reused and breached credentials with a clear remediation path.
When the trial makes sense
You are choosing between paid managers and want to compare the real thing for two weeks. No card means no accidental conversion.
When it is the wrong choice
You want a permanent free password manager, in which case Bitwarden or KeePassXC is the answer and 1Password is not in the conversation.
You are one person with modest needs and no interest in passkeys or travel mode. Families at $71.88 for five people is the better buy if there are more of you.
Frequently asked questions
Does 1Password have a free plan?
No. There is a 14-day free trial and no permanent free tier.
What happens when the 1Password trial ends?
The account freezes to read-only. You can view and copy items but not add, edit, invite or autofill until you subscribe.
Does the 1Password trial need a credit card?
No. Card details are only entered when you choose a paid plan.
How much is 1Password now?
$47.88 a year for Individual and $71.88 for Families, after the March 2026 increase. First-year promotional rates are lower.
Is there a 1Password student discount?
Not in the form of a free plan. Students are covered by the same 14-day trial and then the standard Individual price.
Trial terms, plan prices, the March 2026 increase and the post-trial freeze verified against 1Password's own pricing and support pages on 20 October 2026.
Sources
- 1Password pricing for individuals and families: 1password.com/pricing/personal. Used for: 14-day trial, no free tier and the 2026 prices.
- 1Password support: subscription billing: support.1password.com/membership-billing-policy.
All sources are the vendor's own plan or documentation pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Plan terms change without notice, so confirm current limits before you rely on them.
