It is built around credentials
Logins, passkeys, Wi-Fi and verification codes, and it does those well. A payment card, a bank account number, a passport detail or a software licence has no proper home in it.
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Explore apps Zen Passwords · reviewed
An Apple Passwords alternative for everything that is not a login
For a lot of people the built-in one is already enough, and this page will tell you if you are one of them. Apple Passwords is free, it is already on your phone, and it handles everyday logins, passkeys, Wi-Fi and verification codes well. Here is the specific line where that stops being true.
why people look
Where the built-in one runs out
If none of these describes you, save your money and stay where you are.
So the rest of it scatters
What people actually do is put the card in a note, the bank details in another note, and a photo of a document in the camera roll. That scattering is the security problem, not how strong anybody makes the encryption.
One vault, one lock, one search
Zen Passwords holds logins, passkeys, one-time codes, payment cards, bank details, Wi-Fi, software licences and secure notes together, searchable, with the same lock over all of it.
the honest part
Stay with Apple Passwords if
This is the honest answer for a large share of the people who land on this page.
- What you keep is website logins and the codes that go with them. That is exactly what it is for, it is free, and it is already set up.
- You want a way back in if you forget. Apple can help you recover. We cannot, because we hold nothing that would let us.
- You value having zero extra apps more than you value having one place for everything.
Nothing below changes any of that. If the list above is you, close this page and turn on iCloud Keychain instead.
side by side
What is actually different
Zen Passwords and Apple Passwords, side by side. Checked on the review date below.
| What is being compared | Zen Passwords | Apple Passwords |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | iPhone, iPad and Mac | Apple devices, with a Windows companion |
| What it stores | Logins, passkeys, authenticator codes, payment cards, bank details, Wi-Fi, software licences and secure notes | Logins, passkeys, verification codes and Wi-Fi |
| Filling logins | AutoFill for logins, one-time codes and passkeys in Safari and other apps, on iPhone, iPad and Mac, plus save-password prompts | Built into the system, with nothing to switch on |
| Account | None. You never create one | Your Apple ID |
| Sync | Optional, through your own private iCloud under your Apple ID | iCloud Keychain, under your Apple ID |
| Unlock | Master password, with optional Face ID, Touch ID or Optic ID | Your device passcode and biometrics |
| If you lose access | Nobody can reset your master password, including us, because we never receive it | Apple account recovery can get you back in |
| Price | Free for up to five active items, then Zen Premium for unlimited items. Apple shows the price and the billing terms before you buy. | Free, and already installed |
Facts about Apple Passwords were checked on against their own site. Products change, so check theirs before you decide.
the handover
Moving across, or running both
Plenty of people keep Apple Passwords for website logins and use Zen Passwords for everything else. That is a reasonable setup, not a failure to choose.
01
Decide what you actually want in one place
Write the list before you move anything. For most people it is cards, bank details, a passport, a couple of licences and the notes they have been keeping in the wrong app.
02
Start with the scattered things, not the logins
The value arrives the moment those leave your notes app and your camera roll. Logins can follow later, or never.
03
Bring your logins over if you want them together
Apple Passwords can export to a file you then import. Delete that file as soon as the import is checked.
04
Pick your master password with some care
This is the one nobody can reset for you. Long, memorable and written down somewhere physical is better advice than clever.
questions
Zen Passwords and Apple Passwords
Is Apple Passwords good enough on its own?
For website logins, passkeys, Wi-Fi and verification codes, yes. It is free, it is built in, and it works across your Apple devices. The reason to add anything is that you also want cards, bank details, licences and secure notes under the same lock.
Can I use both?
Yes, and many people do. Keep Apple Passwords doing what it does well, and use Zen Passwords for the things that currently live in a note or a photo.
If I move, do I lose the automatic filling?
No. Zen Passwords registers as an AutoFill provider on iPhone, iPad and Mac, so logins, one-time codes and passkeys are offered in Safari and in other apps in the same way. The difference is that you switch it on yourself in Settings, where the built-in one is already on.
What is the catch with a vault nobody can unlock for me?
The catch is exactly that. Apple can help you recover your keychain because Apple holds a way in. We cannot help you recover your vault because we hold nothing. That protects you from us and from anyone reaching our systems, and it means a forgotten master password is final. Keep it somewhere you will still find it in five years.
Does it cost anything to try?
No. Up to five active items are free, and that is the real app rather than a trial that expires. Zen Premium unlocks unlimited items, and Apple shows the price and billing terms before you buy.
Get the app
Zen Passwords
A private vault for logins, cards, bank details, codes and notes on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Free for up to five active items.
Download on the App Storekeep comparing
Other ways people arrive here
1Password
No account, an Apple only vault, and the three cases where you should stay put.
Read the comparisonBitwarden
Open source and everywhere, against one platform built natively.
Read the comparisonNot decided yet?
This page assumes you are leaving Apple Passwords. If you are still weighing the two up, the verdict page answers that instead.
Zen Passwords vs Apple PasswordsZen Passwords
Every feature, the screenshots, the privacy detail and the questions people ask most often.
Open the product pagehow this page is written
Everything claimed about Zen Passwords here is what the app does today. Everything claimed about Apple Passwords is limited to things that have been true of it for years, with no prices, because a price on a page nobody re-checks goes wrong in public. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.