Keeper Review (2026): Top-Tier Security, but Watch Out for Early Auto-Renewal Charges

Research-based review

Published

Updated

,
Keeper password generator screen (official Keeper image)
On this page

    How we reviewed this: this is a research-based review. We did not buy or test the product ourselves. We checked the official website, policies and independent customer feedback, and every fact below links to its source. Facts checked 2026-11-03. How we review · Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you.

    Quick verdict: is Keeper worth it?

    On security, Keeper is one of the strongest password managers you can buy. It holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and FIPS 140-3 validation, its government version is FedRAMP High on the official federal registry, and we found no breach of customer vault data in its history. Tom’s Guide names it the best password manager for security, and it tied for Consumer Reports’ top overall score (as reported by BGR).

    The weak spot is billing, not security. Keeper’s terms say all fees are nonrefundable, dark web monitoring (BreachWatch) costs extra, and the most common BBB complaint is a renewal charged two to three weeks before the expiration date shown in the account, with no obvious way to switch auto-renewal off yourself. Keeper usually refunds those charges once a complaint reaches the BBB, but you shouldn’t have to go that far. If you buy, use the 30-day free trial, put the renewal date in your calendar a month early, and keep reading for how to protect yourself.

    Read this before you pay:

    • Keeper’s terms of use say “all fees are nonrefundable and considered earned on receipt.”
    • The same terms ask for at least 30 days’ written notice before the renewal date if you don’t want to renew.
    • On the BBB, 23 complaints in 3 years, mostly early or unwanted renewals. Several say the site and app have no cancel or auto-renew switch.
    • The $42.99 Personal plan doesn’t include dark web monitoring. BreachWatch adds $26.99 a year.

    Pros

    • ✓ SOC 2 Type 2 (10+ years), ISO 27001/27017/27018, FIPS 140-3 validated
    • ✓ Government version is FedRAMP High on the official FedRAMP Marketplace
    • ✓ Zero-knowledge, AES-256 encryption on your device; quarterly pen tests by NCC Group and others
    • ✓ No customer vault breach found; fixed the 2025 clickjacking attack before disclosure
    • ✓ Passkeys, unlimited sharing, emergency access, apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
    • ✓ Family plan: 5 private vaults plus 10 GB file storage
    • ✓ 30-day free trial and a (very limited) free plan

    Cons

    • ✗ Fees are nonrefundable under its terms
    • ✗ BBB complaints: renewals charged weeks early, no self-serve auto-renew switch
    • ✗ Dark web monitoring is a paid add-on ($26.99/yr; $53.99 for Family)
    • ✗ Costs more than Bitwarden, and the Family plan costs more than 1Password’s
    • ✗ Free plan: 1 mobile device and 10 records only
    • ✗ Not open source; past extension bugs (2016, 2017) and a dropped 2017 lawsuit against a journalist
    • ✗ Trustpilot 3.1; Keeper doesn’t reply to negative reviews there

    Try Keeper free for 30 days →

    How much does Keeper cost?

    PlanPrice (billed yearly)What you get
    Keeper Free$01 mobile device, up to 10 records for passwords and passkeys, no sync or backup
    Personal (Keeper Unlimited)$42.99/yr ($3.58/mo)1 person, unlimited passwords and passkeys, unlimited devices and sync, unlimited sharing, emergency access, 24/7 support
    Family$91.99/yr ($7.67/mo)5 people with private vaults, shared folders, 10 GB file storage, emergency access
    BreachWatch add-on$26.99/yr (Family $53.99/yr)Dark web monitoring for your stored logins
    Secure File Storage add-onFrom $13.99/yrEncrypted file and photo storage (10 GB already included with Family)
    Concierge Service add-on$137.99/yrOne-on-one setup help and training

    Prices are from Keeper’s personal and family pricing page and personal plans page on November 3, 2026. The page shows yearly billing only and doesn’t label these as first-year prices. Some review sites and partners advertise 50% off Keeper deals, so check your checkout screen and assume renewal at the full list price unless it says otherwise. Keeper also lists separate student and military and medical pricing.

    Watch the subscription term at checkout. Keeper’s own setup guide says you can change the subscription term and add-ons on the checkout page. One BBB reviewer says they were charged for a 3-year Family term they didn’t mean to pick, so check the term and add-ons before you pay.

    The billing problem: early renewals and no refunds

    This is the part most Keeper reviews skip, so here it is plainly. Keeper’s terms of use say: “all fees are nonrefundable and considered earned on receipt.” They also say either side can choose not to renew “upon at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice before the applicable renewal date.”

    That 30-day rule lines up with what customers report. Keeper’s BBB profile shows an A+ rating (not accredited) but 23 complaints in the last 3 years, 7 of them in the last 12 months, and the customer reviews there average 2 out of 5 from 7 reviews. The recurring story from August 2025 to June 2026:

    • Renewal charges landing two to three weeks before the expiration date the account showed (one complainant: “billed 18 days early”).
    • No cancel button or auto-renew switch on the website or app; customers say they had to contact support to stop renewal.
    • A renewal going through even though the customer says they had turned auto-renewal off years earlier.
    • Support first refusing a refund under the terms of use, then Keeper refunding after the BBB complaint, in its words “as a one time exception” or “one-time courtesy.”

    To be fair to Keeper, all 10 of the most recent complaints on its BBB page are marked answered or resolved (8 resolved), usually with a refund. But a refund that only shows up after a formal complaint is not a refund policy you can count on.

    How to protect yourself if you buy Keeper

    1. Note the renewal date on your receipt and set a reminder at least 35 days before it.
    2. If you don’t want to renew, contact Keeper support in writing more than 30 days ahead and ask them to confirm auto-renewal is off. Keep that email.
    3. Bought through the App Store or Google Play? Cancel in your phone’s subscription settings instead.
    4. Pay with a credit card, which gives you dispute rights if you’re charged after cancelling.
    5. When a paid plan lapses, Keeper converts your account to Free (one mobile device, 10 records), and its terms say stored files can be deleted after 90 days. Export your vault before you leave.

    Is Keeper safe?

    Short answer: yes, and its security credentials are better documented than most. Here’s what we could verify:

    • Encryption: zero-knowledge design, with vault data encrypted on your device using AES-256 GCM and sent over TLS 1.3, per Keeper’s security page.
    • Certifications (Keeper’s own trust page): SOC 2 Type 2 “for over ten years,” ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018, FIPS 140-3 validated encryption, PCI DSS Level 1, plus HIPAA and GDPR compliance claims.
    • FedRAMP, independently confirmed: the official FedRAMP Marketplace lists Keeper’s government platform as FedRAMP Certified at the High impact level (as of December 18, 2025). That covers the government product, not the consumer app you’d buy, but it runs on the same zero-knowledge design.
    • Testing: Keeper says NCC Group, CyberTest and independent researchers pen-test its systems quarterly, and it runs a bug bounty through Bugcrowd.
    • Breach history: we found no breach of Keeper customer vaults in news coverage from 2017 to 2026. Keeper’s own blog says it “has never been hacked or breached.”

    The incidents worth knowing about

    • 2016 and 2017 browser-extension bugs: in December 2017, Google Project Zero researcher Tavis Ormandy found Keeper preinstalled on some Windows 10 images and a critical flaw in its browser extension that let a malicious website steal saved passwords. It was nearly identical to a bug he had reported in August 2016. Keeper fixed it in version 11.4 and said it knew of no attacks using it.
    • The lawsuit: Keeper then sued Ars Technica and its security reporter Dan Goodin for defamation over his article on the bug. After an outcry from security researchers, Keeper dropped the suit in March 2018, according to TechTarget, and later formalized its Bugcrowd disclosure program. It’s old news, but suing a reporter over a security story is worth knowing.
    • CVE-2023-36266: a medium-severity (5.5) issue where Keeper’s desktop app and browser extension could leave decrypted passwords in memory after logout. Fixed in version 17.2; Keeper disputes it, arguing any attacker who can read your computer’s memory can read any password manager.
    • 2025 clickjacking research: a DEF CON 33 researcher showed a trick that could fool 11 password manager extensions into autofilling on a malicious page. Keeper was one of five that had already put fixes in place by disclosure, while 1Password and Bitwarden had not.

    Bottom line: no password manager is risk-free, but Keeper’s security record is strong. The things to weigh are on the billing side and in how the company handled criticism in 2017, not in the encryption.

    See Keeper’s plans →

    Keeper vs 1Password vs Bitwarden

    Keeper1PasswordBitwarden
    1 person, yearly$42.99$47.88 ($35.88 first-year promo)Free, or $19.80 Premium
    Family, yearly$91.99 for 5$71.88 for 5 ($53.88 first-year promo)$47.88 for 6
    Free plan1 mobile device, 10 recordsNoYes: unlimited passwords and devices
    Free trial30 days14 days, no credit cardFamilies trial
    Breach alertsBreachWatch add-on, $26.99/yrWatchtower includedVault health reports in Premium
    Refunds“Nonrefundable” under its termsNo refunds30 days
    Open sourceNoNoYes

    Prices and features from each company’s official pricing page, plus 1Password’s refund policy and Bitwarden’s terms, all checked November 3, 2026. Keeper’s free trial details are from its pricing page FAQ.

    Keeper vs 1Password

    For one person, Keeper ($42.99) is slightly cheaper than 1Password’s list price ($47.88), but 1Password includes breach alerts that Keeper sells as a $26.99 add-on, so with monitoring Keeper costs more. For families, 1Password is cheaper ($71.88 vs $91.99 for five) and is the more common top pick at review outlets (Wirecutter, Tom’s Guide and Zapier). Neither gives refunds. Keeper’s edge is its certification list and a free plan, even if that free plan is tiny. Read our full 1Password review.

    Keeper vs Bitwarden

    Bitwarden wins on price by a mile: its free plan covers unlimited passwords on unlimited devices, Premium is $19.80 a year and a six-person family plan is $47.88. It’s open source and offers a 30-day refund. Keeper is the more polished pick for people who want phone support, emergency access and file storage in one place, but if cost matters most, start with Bitwarden.

    See Bitwarden’s plans (we don’t earn a commission from them) →

    Keeper vs LastPass

    If you’re leaving LastPass, Keeper is a reasonable place to land. LastPass’s 2022 breach let attackers copy encrypted customer vaults, and we’d skip it (details in our password manager roundup). Keeper has no comparable breach on record. Just turn off auto-renewal on the old LastPass account and note your new Keeper renewal date.

    What customers say

    On Trustpilot, Keeper has a TrustScore of 3.1 from 3,174 reviews. That looks odd next to its star split (76% five-star, 6% one-star) until you notice Trustpilot weights recent reviews more, and recent ones are rougher. Trustpilot also notes Keeper hasn’t asked customers for reviews recently and hasn’t replied to negative ones. The complaints repeat the BBB themes, auto-renewal and unexpected charges, plus frequent logouts and autofill that works inconsistently in the browser. Happy reviewers praise how easy it is to keep passwords organized across devices.

    Review outlets are kinder: Tom’s Guide calls it the best for security, PCMag (3.5 out of 5) and TechRadar name it the best for sharing passwords, and CNET picks it for small businesses. Most of those outlets earn commissions too, as do we.

    Who should buy Keeper, and who should skip it

    • Good fit: people who want the most certified, audited option, households that want separate private vaults with shared folders and file storage, and anyone who values 24/7 phone and chat support and is organized enough to manage a renewal date.
    • Skip it if: you want free (Bitwarden or your phone’s built-in manager), you want dark web monitoring included in the price (1Password), you want a refund window (Bitwarden gives 30 days), or you know you’ll forget a renewal date.

    Start Keeper’s 30-day free trial →

    FAQ

    Is Keeper safe?

    Yes. Keeper uses zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption on your device, holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and FIPS 140-3 validation, and its government platform is FedRAMP High on the official FedRAMP Marketplace. We found no breach of customer vault data. Its past issues were browser-extension bugs in 2016 and 2017, fixed quickly, and a disputed 2023 memory issue fixed in version 17.2.

    Keeper vs 1Password: which is better?

    For security, both are strong. 1Password is cheaper for families ($71.88 vs $91.99 a year for five) and includes breach alerts, which Keeper charges $26.99 a year for. Keeper is slightly cheaper for one person without monitoring and has a limited free plan. Neither offers refunds.

    Is Keeper free?

    There’s a Keeper Free plan, but it’s limited to one mobile device and 10 records for passwords and passkeys, with no sync or backup. Paid plans come with a 30-day free trial. Personal is $42.99 a year and Family is $91.99 a year (prices checked November 3, 2026).

    Does Keeper give refunds?

    Officially no. Keeper’s terms of use say “all fees are nonrefundable and considered earned on receipt.” BBB records show Keeper has refunded some early renewal charges after complaints, calling them one-time exceptions.

    How do I stop Keeper from auto-renewing?

    We couldn’t find an official self-serve guide, and BBB complainants say the website and app have no switch for it. Contact Keeper support in writing more than 30 days before your renewal date (its terms ask for 30 days’ notice) and get confirmation. If you bought through the App Store or Google Play, cancel there.

    Keeper vs Bitwarden: which should I pick?

    Bitwarden if price matters: it’s free, or $19.80 a year for Premium, open source and has a 30-day refund. Keeper if you want a more polished app with phone support, emergency access and built-in family file storage, and don’t mind paying more.

    Related reviews

    Sources