Zoho Vault password manager
Zoho Vault is a business-focused online password manager, part of a business software suite that includes Zoho Projects and Zoho Books. These are all under the Zoho family of products, that started as AdventNet back in 1996. While Zoho Vault doesn’t include identity theft protection services, its third-party app integrations and granular control over user security are useful features for businesses that often share passwords between employees.
In our Zoho Vault review, we detail why we think it’s one of the best password managers for business and discuss where we think it could improve.
Features and utilities
If you need to share passwords between members of a team, Zoho Vault offers the granular control you need. Zoho Vault’s user management, permissions, and password policy features set it apart from personal password managers and you can make batch changes to passwords with ease, which is ideal for allowing a team secure access.
Zoho Vault can integrate with third-party business apps like Gmail, Dropbox, Microsoft Active Directory, and Microsoft 365. Enterprise users can use Single Sign On (SSO) with cloud apps like Salesforce and Slack, and as Zoho Vault has an API, it’s possible to integrate it with any of your own apps.
Setup
Zoho Vault has mobile apps, but it’s a browser-based password manager at heart. Signing up takes seconds. You’re asked for a memorable master password or passphrase before getting access to your dashboard. Then you add your passwords, either manually or by importing them from another password manager.
Most of your employees will interact with Zoho Vault through the browser extension for Chrome or Firefox. This functions like a bare-bones version of the full Zoho Vault dashboard, and will automatically suggest passwords from Zoho Vault when it detects relevant sites. When they add a new password, Zoho Vault will ask whether to save it to the Vault. It also has a built-in password generator to make creating unique passwords a breeze.
Interface and performance
Zoho Vault is packed with options and fine-grain controls, which is great for large businesses but overbearing for general users. For a team of 1–5 users, Zoho Vault will have far too many irrelevant features, but for large businesses that need secure password management across the workforce then Zoho Vault delivers in spades.
For example, Zoho Vault gives the option to transfer passwords, such as when someone leaves an organization, or when they get transferred to another team. This allows business passwords to be transferred to a colleague or administrator. Also, personal passwords can be exported. For a business password from an individual that left on bad terms, a super admin can “Forcefully acquire” these passwords, and also have the individual lose access to mitigate any potential damage on their departure.
Speaking of passwords, Zoho Vault handles them with ease. It can generate unique, strong ones as needed for new sign ups. Additionally, it can save these passwords, and the next time you visit that site, it can auto-login making the speed bump to productivity of having to enter login credentials at a site a thing of the past.
Security
With a system that uses a single master password, the security of that password is paramount. Only you know the Zoho Vault master password, and only an AES-256-encrypted version is stored on the Zoho servers.
Zoho Vault uses a host-proof hosting model, which means it performs all encryption in your browser. An attacker can never see your passwords as they’re never sent in plain text. Every unique user has an RSA public/private key pair, so when you share a password across a team, it can only be decrypted by those with the correct authority.
Support
Zoho Vault has one of the most impressive customer support sites we’ve seen, with extensive documentation on every aspect of the software. It includes comprehensive PDF guides, video demonstrations, FAQs, and webinars that range from basic introductions to the software to advanced functionality and best practice guides. For example, recent webinars cover “Why passwordless authentication should be your top security project for 2021,” and “World Password Day Tips: Top 10 Password Mistakes to Avoid in 2020” among a long list of topics. We like how easy and painless it is to get a new team member up to speed on Zoho Vault by sending them the relevant PDFs.
Zoho Vault also has direct support options as well. This includes 24/7 email support via a direct email address, and a customer service support line in the US, Australia, India, and the UK. There is also the option of a support portal for messaging Zoho Vault to establish contact.
Plans and pricing
Zoho Vault has four pricing plans, including a free tier. A 15-day free trial is available for all plan levels, with no credit card required. Zoho Vault Free is the only plan for personal use, with unlimited password storage and two-factor authentication (2FA). It can also generate strong passwords, supports mobile platforms, has browser extensions for the major browsers, and integrates with the other Zoho apps.
The Standard plan costs a quite affordable $0.90/user/month and includes all the features from the free plan. It adds secure password sharing between team members, centralized admin controls, cloud backup and priority technical support.
Upgrading to the $4.50/user/month Professional plan adds user groups and password groups so you can easily perform batch actions like mass password changes. It also supports folder sharing, “Break the glass” for emergency access, and user access and activity reports. At the top tier is the Enterprise plan for $7.20/user/month and adds support for Active Directory, single sign-on (SSO) for cloud apps, and password event notifications. It also has help desk integration.
All paid plans receive a 10% discount if you pay annually, and there are also volume discounts available via a custom quote.
The competition
Though Zoho Vault’s free tier for personal use is fine, free personal password managers like LastPass are more straightforward and streamlined if you don’t need to share passwords between users, and more suitable for novice and intermediate users.
For families or small teams of 5–10 members, 1Password is a valid alternative to Zoho Vault. Priced around the same as Zoho Vault, it includes secure document storage. However, as your team gets larger, Zoho Vault’s user management controls become more useful.
Final verdict
Zoho Vault has excellent security, fine control over users and passwords, and superb third-party integrations. It’s also inexpensive, and customer support is one of the best we’ve seen in a password manager service.
We don’t particularly recommend it for personal use as most of the features are geared towards teams, making the interface somewhat complex, but it’s an outstanding password manager for organizations and businesses.
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