Before You Switch Password Managers

Switching password managers feels stressful, but it's usually straightforward if you prepare. Based on the migration process used by thousands of password manager users, this page walks you through what to do before you start exporting anything.

Prepare
Export
Import
Verify

Your passwords don't disappear

When you export, you're making a copy. Your old manager keeps everything. You'll run both side by side until you're confident. There's no point of no return.

How Long This Takes

For most people with fewer than 200 passwords, the entire migration takes 30-60 minutes. Here's the breakdown:

Preparation: 10-15 minutes (this page)
Export: 5-10 minutes
Import: 10-20 minutes
Verification: 10-15 minutes

If you have more than 500 passwords, or share passwords with family or team members, expect this to take longer. That's normal.

What You'll Need Ready

Before starting, make sure you have:

Access to your current password manager — You'll need to log in and export. If you've forgotten your master password, see troubleshooting.
A decision about where you're going — If you haven't chosen yet, see choosing your next manager.
30-60 minutes of uninterrupted time — Don't start this during a busy workday.
Access to your email — You may need to verify accounts or reset passwords.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Go through this list before you export anything:

Open your current manager and find the total count
Do this right now. Most managers show a total somewhere in settings or the main vault view. Write that number down — you'll use it to verify nothing was lost during import.
Write down your 5 most important accounts
Banking, email, healthcare, work systems. These are the ones you'll verify first after migration. Grab a piece of paper or open a note.
Check for shared items
If you share passwords with family or colleagues, migration may affect them. Coordinate first.
Review what's in your vault
Most managers store more than passwords: secure notes, payment cards, addresses. Make sure you know what's there.
Update any critical passwords first
If any important accounts have old or weak passwords, update them before migration. You'll import the current version.

What Can Go Wrong

Most migrations complete without issues, but here are the common problems:

Not everything exports Some managers don't export secure notes, payment cards, or attachments. Check your current manager's export documentation.

Shared items may break Shared passwords often don't migrate cleanly. The person who originally shared the item may need to re-share it.

Import creates duplicates If you've used multiple managers before, you may have duplicate entries. You'll clean these up after import.

None of these are catastrophic. They're fixable. See common problems for solutions.

When to Stop and Get Help

Stop if any of these apply:

You can't log into your current password manager at all
Your current manager shows 0 passwords (data may be missing)
You're being asked to pay to export (this is unusual—verify it's legitimate)
You're migrating a team or business account and are unsure about admin permissions

If any of these apply, resolve them before proceeding. See troubleshooting or contact your manager's support.

Ready to Continue?

If you've gone through this checklist and have everything ready:

Already know where you're going?

Proceed to how to export your passwords.

Still deciding which manager to use?

See choosing your next password manager. Most people switching end up choosing between NordPass, 1Password, or Bitwarden — I cover the differences on the choosing page.