When comparing LastPass vs Dropbox, the Slant community recommends LastPass for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to transmit sensitive information over the Internet?” LastPass is ranked 15th while Dropbox is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose LastPass is:
LastPass keeps an encrypted copy of all passwords locally as well as an encrypted copy on their servers. That way, passwords can be accessed locally while offline, or through their server while online from any machine.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Automatic cloud backup and cross-device sync
LastPass keeps an encrypted copy of all passwords locally as well as an encrypted copy on their servers. That way, passwords can be accessed locally while offline, or through their server while online from any machine.
Pro Multifactor authentication
LastPass offers multiple multifactor authentication options, including Google Authenticator, Grid Multifactor Authentication, Microsoft Authenticator App, Toopher Authentication, Duo Security Authentication, Transakt Authentication, Sesame Multifactor Authentication, Smart Card Authentication and Yubikey Multifactor Authentication.
Pro All encryption and decryption is done locally
All the encryption and decryption is done by the client (JS/App) so even LastPass doesn't have access to passwords.
Pro Seamless autofill and password generator via plugins for all popular browsers
All common browsers, including Opera, have plugins that allow automatically filling in forms and generating passwords. All form fill information syncs across all platforms, devices and browsers. Password generator can be adjusted to use or exclude certain characters and patterns.
Pro Automatic security monitoring
LastPass will check for re-used and unsafe passwords.
Pro Fingerprint verification
Some fingerprint readers, like TouchID on iOS, Samsung, Sony Xperia, or LG Mobile devices, can be set up to be used to access LastPass instead of a master password.
Pro Allows sharing passwords with one person or a group of people
LastPass allows sharing login data for a site with another user of LastPass without exposing the password. Great for allowing friends, family or coworkers access a site.
Pro Clean and intuitive UI
Since version 3.0 the LastPass interface is clean and easy to navigate on all platforms.
Pro Offers multiple export options
LastPass can dump the whole database as a .csv file or an encrypted file that can then be decrypted using LastPass Pocket as well as separately export Wi-Fi passwords and autofill information. Additional export options are available on a per-browser basis.
Pro Works with portable versions of Chrome and Firefox
Firefox 2+ on Windows, Mac & Linux as well as Chrome 4+ on Windows and Linux support a portable version of LastPass. Great for securely accessing LastPass Vault from public or untrusted computers.
Pro Works on Linux
LastPass alongside KeePassX are the only cloud-syncing password managers that work on Linux.
Pro Does not require a standalone app
While many password managers require a standalone app to be installed on the system, LastPass does not and can function via browser plugins.
Pro Military grade encryption
Lastpass has 256-bit AES encryption implemented in C++ and JavaScript with one-way salted hashes.
Pro Password one-click change
LastPass is able to change your password automagically.
Pro Yubikey support
LastPass offers multifactor authentication via Yubikey.
Pro Password security check up
Gives score based on password use and strength. Score is bad on other LastPass users and denotes where you fall in that group.
Pro Can create one-time passwords for accessing the Vault
LastPass allows creating passwords for accessing the LastPass Vault that can only be used once. Great for accessing the Vault in public or untrusted places.
Pro Vetted by Steve Gibson
Steve Gibson is a well established security researcher best know for his work with Apple and Atari systems as well as founding Gibson Research Corporation. He was given access to LastPass' source code and confirmed that it's safe to trust its security.
Pro Allows downloading an encrypted database backup that can only be decrypted with LastPass Pocket
LastPass Pocket is a standalone personal database decrypter. It's a portable executable, meaning it does not need to be installed, that is used to decrypt a local encrypted copy of the password database.
Pro Has native integration via app for Android
Fills in passwords in android apps without loading into LastPass directly.
Pro Works even with browsers that don't support plugins
Via a clever use of bookmarklets, LastPass works on browsers that don't inherently support bookmarklets, like Opera or Safari on iOS.
Pro Credit monitoring in US
LastPass can be set to notify if a user's credit report suddenly changes.
Pro Great free features
A large amount of features for the free version.
Pro Works with Windows applications with native app
Can record the steps and use it to login to native Windows apps.
Pro Full integration on iOS
Along with apple’s own key manager, LastPass is the only password manager on iOS with full, complete, subsystem access.
Fill passwords in any web browser.
Full passwords in most apps.
Pro Easy to use
You can use Dropbox via website, by installing a desktop client that creates a folder that you simply drag and drop files into, or with their mobile app. Everything synchronizes across all devices used and cloud storage. And Dropbox offers easy methods of sharing whatever is within it.
Pro Cross-platform desktop and mobile
Dropbox is available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, OS X and Linux. By having a client for so many OS's pretty much anyone is covered no matter what kind of device or OS they are using.
Pro Allows sharing a folder
Using a desktop client: right click on the folder you want to share and select Dropbox > Share This Folder, then enter the e-mail addressees of people you want to share the folder with.
Pro Smart updates to big files
If a small portion of the file is changed it sends/receives only the differences (not the whole file), which is fast and bandwidth-efficient.
Pro Allows sharing a single file via link
Whether using desktop client or web interface, simply right click on the file you want to share and select Dropbox > Share link, then send the link to the people you want to share the file with. The recipient does not require a Dropbox account.
Pro Up to 18GB of free storage space
Dropbox personal accounts start out free, with 2GB of space, but users can get extra space by recommending the site to friends, or taking part in events like "Dropquest", where users can win extra space by solving puzzles.
Pro Linux support
Dropbox offers native Linux support, integrates with Nautilus file manager.
Pro Reliable
Pro Desktop client has no file size limit
As long as you have enough storage available, you can upload files of any size using Dropbox desktop client.
Pro Folders can be downloaded compressed to save bandwidth
To save bandwidth and download speed you can choose to compress a folder into a zip archive for download.
Pro Adjustable bandwidth use
To not slow down the network or save traffic you can limit the upload and download speeds of Dropbox.
Pro Lots of addons and integrations
There are official and third-party Dropbox add-ons that extend the functionality of the service and add ease of use of existing features.
Additionally, Dropbox can be integrated with existing applications to bring its functionality to other apps.
Pro 30-day version control
Dropbox keeps deleted and earlier versions of files for a month.
Pro Instant disaster recovery
Your files always synced online means instant disaster recovery. When your hard drive becomes unbootable, pick up another laptop and just carry on with your life from where you last saved.
Pro Available free storage can be increased with referrals
You get extra free space for you and your friend if they sign up.
Pro Fast sync speed
Cons
Con Forced cloud backup
The is no way to opt-out of saving all of passwords on LastPass servers.
Con Has been hacked before
And becomes extra bad as you are forced to have everything at one central cloud place.
Con Recently doubled annual subscription rates
This applies even if you're a re-subscribing customer.
Con Somewhat poor customer service
LastPass maintains a support forum which they mostly ignore, labeling it "mostly peer-to-peer support" leaving only their e-mail ticket system to turn to.
Con Not free/libre
This application is proprietary, and thus cannot be modified, freely distributed, or trusted to be secure.
Con History of bad support for the company behind LastPass
You never know how much you will pay for it because LogMeIn did the same with Hamachi product. Support will be bad.
Con Rates are ridiculous for one user
They cut services and increased prices after they were purchased by LogMeIn.
Con Doesn't Encrypt URL
Lastpass doesn't encrypt the links stored in the vault, which can be accessed by hackers. Encryption ONLY applies to Password and Username.
Con Very bad UX for sharing passwords with other people (in free version)
When on lastpass.com you update the contents of a password file, it gets updated only on your side, not on the side of people it is shared with (and the UI does not tell you anything about this).
Also, when you want to share a password file with someone, they often have trouble accessing it (bugs in registration or acceptation of the shared document).
Con No longer free
Least expensive plan is $2/month. Formerly, the lowest paid tier allowed sharing with family members. Now there's a family plan for $4/month.
Con Poor Email Support
Email support is slow and just offers canned responses that are not anymore helpful then their documentation.
Con Forgets to ask "add new site?" on some websites
So you are forced to add a new site manually, which takes too long (relatively speaking).
Con Clutzy configuration to have multiple URLs for one credential
LP does not have a single place to view or edit all URLs related to a given credential. It has the main one then the rest on an "equivalent URL" configuration page.
Con Cross-browser/client single login breaks all-the-time!
Spend lots of time trying to make it work and another day it's just broken again. Very frustrating.
Con During login, application loads for a very long time
Con Domain & path matching is overly complex
I want simple "this domain (along with its subdomain) should match these". There are features for that - "Equivalent Domains" & "URL Rules". But still I can't get it working for certain items, so that I have to duplicate them.
Con When generating passwords, LastPass tends to put the wrong info in forms
For forms with both an email address and username, LastPass tends to mix up and overwrite information.
Con Randomly loses custom/extra fields/passwords
Sometimes they get wiped. Don't forget to copy them into the notes section in the first place, which seems to be generally stable.
Con Can't start on mobile
Apparently you have to start with their web interface and/or browser extension. Can't just start on mobile.
Con Autofill glitchy
Hit and miss with autofill either filling or being able to submit.
Con Inconsistent categories
They get shuffled around. E.g. once a top level "_None" category was introduced by itself. Still couldn't get the hang of it.
Con Doesn't always log out when idle
This issue is especially common with the mobile app.
Con Mobile apps are not intuitive
There are large differences between iOS and Android; as well as from the base desktop and cloud interfaces. Option A doesn’t correspond to the same thing across platforms. Functions have different names on different platforms, and under different settings.
Con Too little free space
There is just too little of free space available comparing to the competition.
Con Not secure
They don't apply end-to-end encryption, files are visible to admins, governments, etc..
Con No privacy
Extensive collecting and distribution of user data to commercial third parties.
Con Consumes a lot of CPU resources when syncing many files
Con All-or-nothing (non-selective) upload
Uploading generated contents (cache, compiled code, etc.) is prone to conflicts, wastes bandwidth and free space.
Con Low bandwidth
Con Dropbox keeps deleting features, chasing customers away
For instance, all photo albums got deleted. It used to be very easy to share a couple og photos, now it's PAINFUL and must be done file by file.
Con Nocive development model
Takes a lot of decisions that usually damage community, from deleting features to making impossible to use with other filesystems than ext4 because they decided without a plausible reason (they said it was about xattrs, but all modern linux filesystems supports xattrs, so it's bs.)(they remove this later, but it's too late).
Con Problems when synching between Linux and Windows devices (unconfirmed)
This summer I lost thousands of files due to this problem on older projects which subsequently needed revising and had to be rebuilt as tons of the source was gone.
Con Restricted only to 3 devices for FREE accounts
Recently dropbox decreased the number of linked devices to 3, so you can't have more than 3 linked devices. This is problematic if you use Dropbox to sync between your computers.
Con Can unintentionally delete your files if you reinstall your OS without closing Dropbox
If you reinstall the operation system for your PC and you do not close Dropbox, it will delete all files.