U2 Secured vs Proton Pass
Proton Pass's own pricing page labels its integrated 2FA authenticator a 'Paid feature' — a dash under Free, 'Included' starting at Pass Plus. U2 Secured's TOTP is free and unlimited on every tier, in the separate U2 Secured Authenticator app, never gated behind a vault upgrade.
Both products lead with the same pitch — client-side encryption, a server that can't read your vault — so this page is about where they genuinely differ: TOTP, group access, and price. Sourced from proton.me/pass/pricing and dated.
Who U2 Secured suits
Built for a reader who wants the second factor free from day one, and an organisation that wants group-based folder control.
- Anyone who wants TOTP free and unlimited rather than paying to unlock it inside the vault, the way Proton Pass does.
- An organisation that wants group-based folder access control on Basic or Premium.
- Someone who doesn't need email aliasing and would rather compare the two products on the vault and the second factor.
What each plan actually includes
Every Proton figure below is read from proton.me/pass/pricing — the citation on each row goes straight to it. Proton's own prices render client-side, so none is quoted here.
Two products, not one — and Proton says it plainly too
Competitors sell both factors in one vault. U2 Secured sells them as two products, deliberately kept apart, because a password and its second factor in one store are not two factors.
Proton's own pricing table calls its 2FA authenticator a 'Paid feature', with a bare dash under Free and 'Included' starting at Pass Plus — Proton stating the trade-off in their own words, not this page's characterisation of it.
U2 Secured's TOTP codes live in the separate U2 Secured Authenticator app, free and unlimited on every tier of that app, never written to the password vault. Its own Premium ($14.99/yr) gates encrypted backup, device moves and web portal access — not the codes themselves.
Both products agree TOTP doesn't belong bundled into a password vault's free tier. They differ on where it lives instead: Proton keeps it in the same vault behind a paid unlock; U2 Secured keeps it in a wholly separate, free product.
Where Proton Pass is ahead
Stated once, factually.
- Free is unlimited on items, and includes 10 email aliases at no cost — a real feature U2 Secured has no equivalent of at all.
- Proton is an established, well-known privacy brand with products beyond a password manager, giving it a broader ecosystem than a single-product newcomer.
Choose U2 Secured if
- You want TOTP free and unlimited, in a separate dedicated app, rather than paying to unlock it inside the vault.
- Group-based folder access control across an organisation matters to you — available on Basic and Premium.
- You don't need email aliasing and would rather compare on the vault itself.
What Proton Pass's plans optimise for
- 10 free email aliases, at no cost, for anyone who'll actually use them.
- One account across Proton's other products, for anyone already inside that ecosystem.
- Combining TOTP with your passwords in one vault, for buyers who'd rather pay to have both in the same place.
Said out loud, not left for you to discover
- Passwords and TOTP with U2 Secured are two products, not one subscription — the vault and the free U2 Secured Authenticator app.
- A single person on Basic still pays for a full 5-user block: $60/yr for up to 5 users, whether one seat is used or five.
- No group folders on free (max_groups = 0) — group-based folder access needs Basic or Premium.
- U2 Secured is a new product with no published third-party security audit yet. Proton is an established privacy vendor with a longer track record.
Questions people actually ask
- Does U2 Secured store two-factor (TOTP) codes?
- Yes — free and unlimited, in the separate U2 Secured Authenticator app, never in the password vault. Proton Pass's own pricing table labels its integrated 2FA authenticator a 'Paid feature', unavailable on its free plan.
- Is Proton Pass cheaper than U2 Secured?
- Not verifiable either way. Proton Pass's Pass Plus and Pass Family prices render client-side on its pricing page, which carries no figure in its static HTML — so this page does not quote a number for either side of that comparison.
- Does Proton Pass include email aliases?
- Yes — 10 free hide-my-email aliases, by Proton's own description. U2 Secured has no equivalent feature; this is a genuine Proton Pass advantage.
- Are both products zero-knowledge?
- Both lead with client-side encryption in their own marketing. This page compares plan features and where TOTP lives, not the two products' cryptographic designs against each other — see U2 Secured's own security page for how its encryption works.
Sources for the Proton Pass side
Every Proton figure above was read directly from proton.me/pass/pricing on the date shown. Proton changes its site from time to time; if something has changed, its own page is the authority and this comparison is out of date.
- Proton Pass — Pricing · read 2026-09-25
Start free
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