Proton Pass Free: Unlimited Passwords, Ten Aliases
Unlimited passwords across unlimited devices for nothing, and the aliases are the part no other free manager matches. Two vaults is where it starts to pinch.
Proton Pass free costs $0 with no card and includes unlimited logins, notes and credit cards on unlimited devices, apps for every platform, passkey support, a password generator and ten hide-my-email aliases. The free tier allows two vaults, shares them with two other people, and leaves out the built-in authenticator and file attachments.1
Most free password managers match each other on the basics and differentiate on what they charge for next. Proton Pass differentiates earlier than most, by bundling ten email aliases into a plan that costs nothing.
That one feature is the reason this review is not a straight comparison with Bitwarden.
What the free plan actually includes
| Free | Pass Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $2.99/mo billed yearly |
| Logins and notes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Devices | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Vaults | 2 | 50 |
| People you can share with | 2 | 10 |
| Email aliases | 10 | Unlimited |
| Integrated 2FA | No | Yes |
| File attachments | No | Yes |
| Dark web monitoring | No | Yes |
| Passkeys | Yes | Yes |
Pass Plus is billed at $35.88 every twelve months, displayed as $2.99 a month. There is no monthly billing option on that tier, which is worth knowing before you plan around it.
The ten aliases
An alias is a working email address that forwards to your real inbox. Sign up to a service with one, and when that service sells your address or gets breached, you disable the alias and the spam stops.
Proton builds this into the password manager, so creating an alias while creating a login is a single step. Ten is enough to compartmentalise the accounts that matter: banking, shopping, work, and the handful of services you do not trust.
The paid tiers remove the cap entirely and add a custom domain, which lets you issue unlimited aliases on your own domain and revoke any of them permanently.
Two vaults
A vault is a container for related items. Free gives you two, and they can be shared with two other people.
Two is enough for a personal setup: one private vault, one shared with a partner. It is not enough once work credentials need to sit apart from personal ones, which is the most common reason people upgrade.
Vault separation matters because sharing a vault exposes everything inside it. Being able to keep work logins in a separate container that a family member cannot see is a security feature, not an organisational nicety.
What is missing that matters
The built-in authenticator is the significant omission. Two-factor codes live inside Pass Plus, which means free users still need a separate authenticator app for their TOTP codes.
File attachments go too, so secure notes cannot carry a scanned document or a recovery key image.
Dark web monitoring and the Proton Sentinel high-security program are paid features. Neither changes the encryption, which is end-to-end on every tier and cannot be read by Proton.
If those three gaps sound familiar, KeePassXC includes TOTP and attachments for nothing, at the cost of managing your own sync.
When the free plan is enough
A single person with a normal spread of accounts, no shared work credentials, and either no need for two-factor codes or a separate authenticator they already trust.
The aliases do more for everyday privacy than most paid features elsewhere, and they cost nothing here. Anyone whose main complaint about their current manager is junk mail after sign-ups should try this first.
It is also the least painful migration in this category, because the import tools read exports from other managers and the browser extension is available for every major browser.
When it stops being enough
The first work credential, the first document to store, or the first time you want your 2FA codes in the same place as your passwords.
At $35.88 a year Pass Plus is among the cheapest paid tiers in the category, and the jump from two vaults to fifty is the largest single improvement in the lineup.
If paying anything at all is off the table, Bitwarden's free plan includes unlimited collections and TOTP without a subscription, and Proton Drive covers the encrypted-storage half of the same problem.
Frequently asked questions
Is Proton Pass free?
Yes, permanently, with unlimited logins and unlimited devices and no card required.
How many email aliases does Proton Pass Free give?
Ten. Pass Plus removes the cap and adds custom domains.
Does Proton Pass Free include two-factor authentication codes?
No. The built-in authenticator is a Pass Plus feature, so free users need a separate app.
How many vaults can I create on the free plan?
Two, shareable with two other people.
Can Proton read my Proton Pass vault?
No. Items are end-to-end encrypted and the keys never leave your device.
How much does Proton Pass Plus cost?
$2.99 a month billed yearly at $35.88. Proton Unlimited at $9.99 a month yearly bundles it with Mail, VPN, Drive and Calendar.
Free-tier allowances, vault limits and pricing verified against Proton Pass's pricing page and plan comparison on 20 October 2026.
Sources
- Proton Pass pricing: proton.me/pass/pricing. Used for: Free allowances, the 10-alias cap and Pass Plus at $35.88/yr.
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.
