Most Common Passwords in 2025: ‘123456’ and ‘Admin’ Tops the List, Research Says

Most Common Passwords in 2025: In the digital age, if one thread connects every single Internet user, it is password management. Nearly everyone has either once struggled or continues to struggle with handling multiple online accounts and an ever-growing list of passwords. And that leads to people simplifying the process by keeping easy-to-remember passwords. So, it was no surprise when a new research revealed that the most common password in 2025 was found to be “123456.” However, this trend does raise cybersecurity concerns.

What Are the Most Common Passwords in 2025

NordPass, a password manager platform and a subsidiary of NordVPN, released the seventh edition of its annual “Top 200 Most Common Passwords” research. The company stated that it has identified the most popular passwords both globally as well as in 44 different countries, including India.

Globally, the top five most popular passwords are:

• 123456
• admin
• 12345678
• 123456789
• 12345

In comparison, the most common passwords in India in 2025 are:

• 123456
• Pass@123
• admin
• 12345678
• 12345

Some other common passwords that made it to the top 200 in India include “password,” “Abcd@1234,” “Kumar@123,” “India@123,” and “Welcome@123.”

Highlighting some trends around the data, NordPass claimed that in every age bracket, “123456” and “12345” appeared as the top choice for passwords, highlighting that younger Internet users, who are digital natives, showcase the same password behaviours as someone older with less Internet fluency and awareness of the risks.

One key difference between the older generation and Gen Z is said to be that older generation users are likely to use names in their passwords, while younger users do not use names in their passwords, and prefer using number combinations or meme words such as “skibidi.”

A positive change observed in the research was that compared to last year, this year, more passwords use special characters (up 32 from last year's six). However, they are still said to be guessable, such as “P@ssw0rd,” “Admin@123,” or “Abcd@1234.”

Password Safety Tips

NordPass also shared several password safety tips that individuals should opt for. A weak or guessable password is at a higher risk of being breached during a cyberattack and can lead to financial and personal data theft.

The research suggests keeping a strong password with at least 20 characters and a random combination of numbers, letters, and special characters. NordPass also recommends not reusing passwords, regularly changing passwords, and turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA).