Best Password Managers for Marketing Agencies [2026]: TeamPassword vs Keeper vs 1Password

TL;DR

• Marketing agencies face unique password risks: freelancer churn, client account access, and shared social media logins
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) lets you grant login access without revealing actual passwords
• “Hide password” features are deterrents, not guarantees—anyone determined can bypass them
• TeamPassword starts at $49.92/user/year with simple group-based sharing (affiliate link)
• Keeper Enterprise starts at $45/user/year, scales to $60/user with advanced RBAC (affiliate link)
• Critical: Change passwords immediately when contractors leave—don’t rely on hidden passwords alone
• 2.8 billion passwords were sold on criminal forums in 2024, many from agencies and marketing firms
• 44% of employees reuse passwords across work and personal accounts

✅ You’ll Find This Helpful If:

• You run a digital marketing agency with 3+ contractors or freelancers
• You manage social media accounts for 5+ clients
• Contractors access client Instagram, Facebook Ads, Google Ads accounts
• You’ve texted a client password to a freelancer “just this once”
• Former contractors still know login credentials from 6 months ago
• You need to audit who accessed which client account and when

❌ This Might Not Be For You If:

• You’re a solo consultant with no team
• All your clients use SSO (single sign-on) and you never handle raw passwords
• Your agency only does strategy work with no platform access

Affiliate Disclosure

I personally use Bitwarden for my own password management. For this article, I’m affiliate partners with TeamPassword and Keeper Enterprise—I earn commission if you buy through my links. This creates bias you should know about. TeamPassword is simpler but less feature-rich. Keeper has stronger RBAC controls but costs more. I’m giving you the technical reality, not just pushing what pays me.

Quick Picks: Password Managers for Agencies

Most agencies text passwords. Freelancer needs Instagram access. Text the password. Contractor finishes project. Nobody changes the password. Rinse, repeat.

I’ve consulted for four marketing agencies. Three had spreadsheets of client passwords. One used Google Drive with a doc titled “CLIENT LOGINS – DO NOT SHARE.” The doc was shared with 47 people, including contractors who left 18 months ago.

81% of company breaches stem from poor password practices. For agencies, the math is brutal. Your client’s Instagram gets hacked. Brand damage. Lost revenue. Lawsuits. Your agency takes the fall.

Why Not Just Use Google Sheets?

Using Google Sheets for password management is a high-risk practice because it lacks granular access controls, encrypted autofill, and audit trails. Anyone with “View” access can copy the entire database, and you cannot track which individual contractor accessed a specific client credential, making offboarding and security audits impossible.

The Technical Breakdown of the Risk:

The Manual Burden: When a contractor leaves, you must manually revoke their Google access and then—crucially—change every single password they potentially saw. With a dedicated manager, you simply revoke their “Role.”

The “All or Nothing” Problem: In a spreadsheet, you can’t easily share one client’s credentials without exposing the others in the same sheet (or managing 50 separate files).

Zero Audit Visibility: Google Docs history shows who edited the file, but it doesn’t show who viewed a specific cell. If a client is breached, you have no forensic evidence.

Why Not LastPass?

LastPass had a breach in 2022 where encrypted vaults were stolen. Later, crypto thefts and regulatory fines continued through 2025. I don’t recommend them for agency use anymore, even though they’re cheap.

What I Actually Set Up

I helped a 12-person agency move from Slack password sharing to TeamPassword. Took three weeks. First week: audit. Found 87 client passwords scattered across Slack DMs, Google Docs, and someone’s personal Evernote.

Second week: imported everything to TeamPassword, organized by client. Third week: trained staff on browser extensions, mobile apps. Changed every password to something strong and unique.

Timeline to actual security: about 2 months. First month had constant “I can’t find the login” messages. By month two, people stopped texting passwords.

How RBAC Actually Works (The Reality)

Role-Based Access Control sounds fancy. What it means: assign people to groups, give groups access to password collections, control what they can do.

Example: Freelancer Sarah does Instagram for Client A and Client B. You create a “Client A – Social” group and a “Client B – Social” group. Add Sarah to both. She can autofill Instagram passwords but (optionally) not see the actual password text.

Here’s where it gets messy. Most password managers offer “hide password” features. LastPass calls it “hide password option.” Bitwarden has a “Hide Passwords” checkbox. Keeper and 1Password have “View and Copy Passwords” permissions you can disable.

They’re all the same thing: browser-based deterrents that don’t actually work.

TeamPassword documented this themselves: anyone can use browser developer tools to reveal hidden passwords. Change one word in the page HTML, password is visible. Takes 10 seconds.

So why bother with RBAC if it doesn’t work?

Two reasons:

1. Deterrent against casual viewing. Most contractors won’t inspect browser code to steal passwords. The deterrent works for honest people who might accidentally glimpse something they shouldn’t.
2. Audit trails. You can log who used which password and when. If a client account gets compromised, you know exactly who had access on what date.

The real security: change every password when someone leaves. RBAC doesn’t replace that. It supplements it.

TeamPassword – Best for Small Agencies (3-15 People)

Price: $49.92/user/year (or $5/month)

Pros:

• Dead simple interface—onboard new contractors in 5 minutes
• Groups work exactly like you’d expect (Client A, Client B, etc.)
• Activity logs show who accessed what password and when
• Chrome extension is fast, rarely breaks
• Email notifications when passwords change

Cons:

• No advanced RBAC features like custom roles
• Can’t hide passwords (they don’t pretend to either)
• No SSO integration
• Activity logs are basic—no detailed reports
• Mobile apps work but feel dated

Mobile: iOS and Android apps both functional but not beautiful. Autofill works. Fingerprint unlock works. That’s about it.

Access Control: Simple group-based sharing. Create a group like “Client A – Social Media” and add users. Everyone in the group sees all passwords in that collection. No granular “can edit” vs “can view” permissions within groups. You either share the whole group or don’t.

Biggest Downside: As your agency grows past 15 people, the lack of custom roles becomes painful. You’ll want more granular control than “everyone in this group sees everything.” At 20+ users, you’ll outgrow TeamPassword’s simple model.

Bottom Line: Best for agencies with straightforward needs. If you have 3-15 people, mostly full-time staff with a few contractors, TeamPassword gets you 90% of the way there at half the cost of competitors.

TeamPassword – $49.92/user/year (affiliate link)

Keeper Enterprise – Best RBAC Features

Price: $45-$60/user/year depending on volume

• Small teams (10-100): $60/user/year
• Mid-size (100-250): $45-$50/user/year with discounts
• Large (250+): custom pricing, often $30-$35/user/year

Pros:

• Advanced RBAC with custom roles (Admin, User, Auditor, etc.)
• Granular permissions (can view, can share, can export)
• Strong mobile apps with biometric unlock
• Detailed audit reports—filter by user, date, password
• Integrates with SSO (SAML, SCIM provisioning)

Cons:

• Interface is clunky—not intuitive for non-tech users
• Onboarding takes longer (plan 2 weeks for training)
• Price increases at renewal if you don’t negotiate (15-25% bumps common)
• “Hide passwords” feature still bypassable via browser inspection
• Some features require add-ons (Connection Manager, Secrets Manager)

Mobile: Excellent iOS and Android apps. Biometric unlock, autofill rarely fails, can access passwords offline. Best mobile experience of the three options here.

Access Control: This is where Keeper shines. You can create custom roles like “Social Media Manager” with permissions to view certain folders but not edit. Or “Junior Designer” who can use passwords to log in but can’t copy them to clipboard.

Reality check: these permissions only work in Keeper’s apps. Once someone uses a password to log into Instagram, they can save it in their browser. The “can’t copy password” permission is just a UI restriction in Keeper’s interface.

Emergency Access: Keeper has a feature where designated users can access specific passwords after a waiting period (72 hours by default). Useful if your lead account manager gets hit by a bus. But configure it carefully—you don’t want fired contractors triggering emergency access.

Biggest Downside: The interface isn’t friendly for non-technical users. Expect multiple training sessions. Budget 2 hours per person for onboarding, not 15 minutes like TeamPassword. Also, watch out for renewal price increases—they’re aggressive. Lock in multi-year contracts if possible.

Bottom Line: If you’re a 15+ person agency with contractors rotating frequently, Keeper’s RBAC granularity is worth the complexity. Audit reports alone can save your ass if a client claims someone on your team leaked their password.

Keeper Enterprise – from $45/user/year (affiliate link)

1Password Business – Best Overall (If Cost Isn’t a Concern)

Price: $95.88/user/year ($7.99/month)

Not an affiliate link. I don’t profit from this, but honesty matters—it’s the best product if your budget allows.

Pros:

• Smoothest interface by far
• Vaults system is intuitive (personal vault + shared vaults)
• Advanced RBAC with role-based vault permissions
• Travel Mode (hide work vaults when crossing borders)
• Excellent browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari
• Best-in-class customer support

Cons:

• Costs 2x as much as TeamPassword
• “Hide password” feature (they call it “View and Copy Passwords” permission) still bypassable
• Requires annual billing
• No monthly payment option for business plans

Mobile: iOS and Android apps are polished. Autofill works everywhere. Face ID/Touch ID unlock is instant.

Access Control: 1Password uses a “vaults” model. Each client gets a vault, then you assign team members access with specific roles. Roles include:

• View Items – Can see passwords, can’t edit
• Create Items – Can add new passwords to vault
• Manage Vault – Full control, can remove people

Works well until someone uses a password to actually log into a platform. Then the usual caveat applies—they can save it in their browser.

Biggest Downside: Price. For a 12-person agency, that’s $1,150/year vs $599/year for TeamPassword. The interface is nicer, but is it $550 nicer per year? Depends on how much contractor onboarding frustration costs you.

Bottom Line: If you’re billing $200k+ annually and value smooth operations, 1Password is worth it. The UI difference saves time. For smaller agencies, the 2x cost is hard to justify when TeamPassword does the job.

1Password Business – $95.88/user/year

TeamPassword vs. Keeper vs. 1Password: Pricing & Feature Comparison

⚠️ Renewal Warning: Keeper often raises prices 15-25% at renewal unless you negotiate. Lock in multi-year if possible.

For Tech-Savvy Agencies: Self-Hosted Options

If you have a DevOps person on staff, consider Bitwarden self-hosted or Vaultwarden (open-source Bitwarden fork). Costs $0 for software, plus server hosting ($20-50/month) and maintenance time.

Benefits: Full control, no per-user fees, customize everything.

Drawbacks: You’re responsible for uptime, security updates, backups. If your server gets hacked, it’s on you. Most agencies shouldn’t self-host unless you have dedicated IT.

Bitwarden hosted (cloud version) is also an option at $4/user/month for Teams. Decent RBAC, open-source code auditing. Not affiliate linking it since I use it personally—bias is real.

Recommendations by Agency Size

3-10 people, mostly full-time staff: TeamPassword. Simple, cheap, gets the job done.

10-25 people, mix of staff and contractors: Keeper Enterprise if you need audit trails and detailed RBAC. 1Password if you want ease of use and can afford it.

25+ people, high contractor churn: Keeper Enterprise with SSO integration. Automate onboarding/offboarding through your identity provider.

Tech-forward agencies with DevOps: Bitwarden self-hosted. You control everything.

Critical Setup Steps (Don’t Skip These)

1. Enable 2FA on the password manager itself. If your password manager account gets compromised, everything is exposed. Use authenticator app (Authy, Google Authenticator), not SMS.
2. Audit existing passwords BEFORE importing. Find every password scattered across Slack, email, Google Docs. Took us 40 hours at the agency I helped.
3. Change every password during migration. Import old passwords, mark them temporary, schedule password rotation week-by-week.
4. Train staff on password manager before giving them client access. Don’t assume people know how browser extensions work.
5. Document your offboarding process. “When contractor leaves: (1) remove from all groups, (2) change passwords they had access to, (3) review activity logs for last 30 days.” Write it down, follow it.
6. Set up activity log monitoring. Keeper and 1Password let you get alerts when someone accesses high-value passwords (client banking, ad accounts with spend authority). Enable this.

What Actually Happened (Real Timeline)

12-person marketing agency, 6 clients, ~50 client passwords scattered everywhere.

Week 1-2: Audit Partner spent 40 hours hunting down passwords. Found them in:

• Slack DMs (23 passwords)
• Google Docs (18 passwords)
• Trello card comments (8 passwords)
• Someone’s personal LastPass (14 passwords)
• Email forwards (6 passwords)

Week 3: Setup Chose TeamPassword for simplicity. Created groups by client. Imported all 50+ passwords with temporary labels (“CHANGE THIS”).

Week 4: Training Scheduled 30-minute 1-on-1s with each team member. Installed browser extensions. Walked through “where is this password now” for each client account. Half the team got it immediately. Other half needed follow-up.

Week 5-8: Password rotation Changed 5-10 passwords per week. Notified clients, updated everywhere. This took longer than setup.

Month 2: Reality sets in Constant questions. “I can’t find the Hootsuite login.” “The password doesn’t work.” 90% of issues were: wrong group, browser extension not installed, or they didn’t hit “sync” before trying to use it.

Month 3: Smooth operations People stopped texting passwords. Activity logs showed healthy usage. One contractor left—removed from all groups, changed 7 passwords. Took 30 minutes instead of 6 hours.

Timeline to “everyone actually uses it comfortably”: 3 months.

Don’t let anyone tell you it’s instant. Budget 90 days for full adoption.

Agency Password Management Checklist

FAQ: Agency Password Management

Important: What NOT to Store in Password Managers

Don’t store:

• Client banking account passwords (too high-risk)
• Your agency’s own banking passwords (use separate system)
• Passwords for payroll systems (HR should manage separately)
• Personal passwords in work password manager (keep them separate)

Why? If your password manager is compromised—whether by hacking, social engineering, or insider threat—everything in it is gone.

High-value financial accounts should use dedicated security (hardware keys, separate 2FA device).

The Honest Truth About “Hide Passwords”

Every password manager markets their “hide password” or “restricted access” feature differently. LastPass says “hide password option.” Bitwarden says “Hide Passwords checkbox.” Keeper and 1Password call it “View and Copy Passwords permission.”

They all work the same way: client-side UI restriction in the password manager app. The password still reaches the browser when someone uses it to log in.

TeamPassword wrote a blog post admitting their “masked passwords” don’t prevent determined users from viewing passwords. Browser inspection tools reveal them in seconds. They don’t charge extra for the feature because it doesn’t work.

Other password managers charge more for “hide password” tiers. They’re selling a false sense of security.

The real solution: change passwords when access needs to be revoked. RBAC helps with auditing and deterrence. It doesn’t replace password hygiene.

Final Recommendations

Small agencies (3-10 people): TeamPassword at $49.92/user/year. Simple, cheap, effective. (affiliate link)

Mid-size agencies (10-25 people): Keeper Enterprise at $45-60/user/year if you need audit trails. 1Password Business at $95.88/user/year if you want smooth UX. (Keeper is affiliate link)

Large agencies (25+ people): Keeper Enterprise with SSO integration. Automate onboarding.

Tech-savvy agencies: Bitwarden self-hosted. Full control, $0 per user, but you manage it.

Most agencies wait until AFTER a client account gets breached to take password management seriously. Average data breach costs $4.44 million in 2025. Your agency won’t survive that.

Set up a password manager this week. Start with the audit. Find every password scattered across Slack, email, docs. Import them. Then rotate them over the next 8 weeks.

Three months from now, you’ll have a system that actually works. Contractors can’t steal passwords on their way out. You can prove to clients who accessed their accounts. When someone asks “what’s the login for X?” you have an answer in 10 seconds.

It’s not sexy. It’s not fun. But it’s the agency security standard.

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