A big part of choosing any online tool, in addition to the list of supported features, is value for money. Fortunately, pCloud Pass is easy to recommend on this front, especially for users who don’t need access to their passwords on multiple devices, since it’s free. Even Premium versions cost as little as one cup of coffee per month, and the option to buy it with a one-time fee.
pCloud Pass: Plans and Pricing
Prices for pCloud Pass are particularly attractive given that for one active device you will end up paying nothing. This gives you access to all of the password manager’s features, making it an incredibly powerful tool if, for example, you only want to use it on your computer.
If you need access to pCloud Pass on multiple devices, you’ll need a Premium account, currently on sale for £29 ($29) per year, or a one-off payment of £149 ($149). These both unlock access to an unlimited number of devices linked to the account, and you can choose to pay £2.99 ($2.99) per month if you prefer to spread the cost (and pay a little more for convenience).
Pricing couldn’t be simpler, especially given that all features are included in all plans. The structure suggests the company relies on users paying a fee to access data from multiple devices, though we think even the free version makes for a tempting proposition.
pCloud Pass: Features
pCloud Pass functions primarily as a password management tool, so it’s no surprise that the simple one-click storage of passwords is central to the company’s list of included features. It’s also capable of generating complex passwords to help users increase security, and a handy import/export tool allows users to bring in passwords from another (perhaps more expensive) tool they’re using, or leave them if they wish.
In addition to this, users can choose to save payment card details and even secure notes, which can be useful for keeping passport and driver’s license details at hand. pCloud promises to work on document storage, which could cover scanned copies of such documents, but for now it’s still in the pipeline and not something we can base this review on.
The wider company also offers a few other things, including cloud storage and a free file transfer tool for files up to 5GB, with optional encryption. Cloud storage prices are on par with other competitors, so if you want to have everything under one roof, it might make sense to consider what else pCloud offers.
pCloud Pass: Interface and in use
pCloud Pass has a very clean interface that mainly revolves around the web portal, where you can view, edit and add passwords and other supported information. There’s also a browser extension that works with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and privacy-oriented Brave.
While there are promises of an upcoming Safari extension, which could appeal to a wider audience of macOS and iOS users, it doesn’t exist at the time of writing, so it should be discounted until it ships. Nevertheless, the iOS and macOS apps integrate well, although iPad users will have to make do with a scaled-up version of the iPhone app, rather than one designed specifically for use with the iPad’s larger screen.
We installed the Chrome extension, which worked just like any other password manager extension you might have used from another vendor, offering a popup to save your password or autofill saved passwords. It really doesn’t get much easier.
A little digging in our online dashboard revealed a free 3GB of storage in the my pCloud area, which is fine for files that don’t need the ultimate protection.
pCloud Pass: Support
Unless you’re happy with the online FAQs, which don’t go far enough to troubleshoot common errors, you’ll have to resort to an email or ticket-based system. While this would typically be a disadvantage compared to rivals that offer real-time phone and online chat contact channels, these are arguably less important to a password management system, thus increasing costs, which will inevitably be passed on to the consumer. .
pCloud Pass: Security
Passwords cover every aspect of our lives and can often reveal some of our most sensitive data, so it’s crucial that where they’re stored is as secure as it can be. pCloud Pass promises to encrypt all information as it is transferred from your device to its servers, where it rests “in a highly secure data storage area,” in at least three locations.
There’s also the option to subscribe to pCloud Crypto, which encrypts and password-protects your most important files. This uses client-side encryption, which means the user will be responsible for the key, and if it is lost, pCloud can do very little to recover lost data. This is an additional £49.99 per year (or £150 as a one-off payment).
Accounts are protected by a master password, which, if lost, can be reset using a combination of security word (provided to you at registration) and email address. Biometrics can also replace the master password on supported devices for easier and faster access.
The competition
In isolation, pCloud Pass is an incredibly slick, easy-to-use, appealing tool that’s fairly cheap (or free) and, along with the other more expensive services, is made even better. The problem it faces is the challenges of other password managers, all of which have their own pros and cons.
iCloud Keychain, for example, forms part of the wider iCloud ecosystem built into every iPhone or Mac owner’s device, and includes file storage and much more. Other companies, such as Dashlane and NordPass, offer VPN services, while some have a more extensive support network.
Final judgment
Password managers are usually fairly simple ecosystems with limited purposes, so there isn’t often much to tell them apart. That said, what pCloud Pass does, it does well. Unless you’re looking for a service with a bundled VPN (you can always get one of these separately, or bundled in another web tools package), or you want to keep things at home with a tool like iCloud Keychain, then pCloud Pass is very much worthy of your consideration .
