We all come to it multiple times a day: The two-factor authentication request. If we’re not clicking on squares that have bridges or bicycles on them or manipulating a puzzle piece for a CAPTCHA, then we’re having to field tons of texts with codes to input just to prove we are who we are.

There’s a less clunky way. Two-factor authentication (2FA) apps are free and fast, and because their codes constantly cycle and change every minute or so, they’re particularly secure.

They’re all free, so you have the pick of the litter when it comes time to choose one.

the lead 2FA apps

Proton Authenticator is my current favorite. From the makers of one of my favorite VPNs and the most complete suite of privacy apps that I’m aware of, Proton’s 2FA app is my current favorite for secure storage that I can trust. The Swiss company has built a reputation on transparency, ensuring that it’s not leaking or sharing customer information with anyone.

Proton’s 2FA app is relatively new, having come out on July 31, 2025. Given my esteem for Proton, I began testing it out shortly after, and it works like a charm. Granted, 2FA apps aren’t known for being overly complicated, and I personally haven’t run into many that are buggy.

Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator are two peas in a pod. Deciding to use either one comes down to how bothered (or unbothered) you are about trusting a large corporation or how much business you want to give them. Yes, any halfway decent 2FA such as these is free. But you’re still giving them business by using it, in a way.

Both the Google and Microsoft Authenticators are stable and straightforward to use, even for somebody far from a techie. I’ve used both heavily for years, and I can’t recall either ever crashing on me or failing to function.

Of the two, I give the nod to Google. Only slightly. It seems just a bit quicker to navigate. Just as Microsoft Authenticator meshes nicely with Microsoft apps, Google Authenticator works especially well with the myriad of Google apps and accounts out there.

If you primarily use Outlook for email or Microsoft Teams for work, then standardize on Microsoft Authenticator. If we’re dead set on using one of the big corporate 2FA apps, then the rest of us are better served by choosing Google Authenticator, if only because Gmail, YouTube, and Google Assistant are inescapable facets of daily life for darn near all of us.

Given the choice, though, I find myself tossing my chips in with Proton’s Authenticator more and more these days, as I simply prefer its brand ethos of transparency.