vioscaleAI
Comparison

AWS Secrets Manager vs HashiCorp Vault

On the evidence we track, AWS Secrets Manager leads this comparison with a composite score of 78/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

AWS Secrets Manager full profile →HashiCorp Vault full profile →
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★AWS Secrets Manager78
HashiCorp Vault70
Score
vioscaleAI score
AWS Secrets Manager78 / 100medium · 72%
HashiCorp Vault70 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tier
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Model
AWS Secrets Managerfreemium
HashiCorp Vaultcommercial
Price level
AWS Secrets Managerlow
HashiCorp Vaultfree
Transparent
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Integrations
Count
AWS Secrets Manager30
HashiCorp Vault9
Security
Disclosure policy
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Fedramp
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault–
Gdpr
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Hipaa
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault–
Iso27001
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Pci
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault–
Scorecard
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault6.5
Soc2
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Trust center
AWS Secrets Managerhttps://aws.amazon.com/compliance/
HashiCorp Vault–
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault8,444
Github stars
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault36,339
Activity
Commits last 30d
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault100
Release
Cadence days
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault22
History
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp Vault20 items
Language
Primary
AWS Secrets Manager–
HashiCorp VaultGo
Market
Availability
AWS Secrets ManagerAvailable worldwide · Popular in US
HashiCorp Vault–
Content
Faq
AWS Secrets Manager7 items
HashiCorp Vault6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for secrets management tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Tool type
AWS Secrets ManagerSecret store / engine
HashiCorp VaultSecret store / engine
Dynamic (short-lived) secrets
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault✓
Deployment
Hosting
AWS Secrets ManagerCloud only
HashiCorp VaultCloud + self-hosted
Lifecycle
Automatic secret rotation
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Crypto
Encryption as a service (transit)
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault✓
Compliance
FIPS 140-2/3 validated crypto
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault-
HSM support
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault✓
Access
Fine-grained / identity-based policy
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Governance
Audit logging
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
Integration
Kubernetes native (CRD / CSI / K8s auth)
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault-
Scope
PKI / certificate authority
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault✓
Licensing
Open-source core
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault✓
Ecosystem
CNCF maturity
AWS Secrets Manager-
HashiCorp Vault-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

AWS Secrets Manager

Leader

A cloud-based service that stores and manages sensitive credentials, API keys, and other secrets for applications and services. It provides encryption at rest and in transit, fine-grained access control through IAM policies, automatic secret rotation, multi-region replication, and comprehensive audit logging.

Independently observed

HashiCorp Vault

A system for securely storing and controlling access to secrets like credentials, API keys, and certificates. It generates temporary credentials on-demand, automatically revokes expired secrets, and provides encryption without persistent storage, enabling applications to access secrets through a unified interface with comprehensive audit logging.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

AWS Secrets Manager

Leader
Usage-basedFree tier

Usage-based pricing. Free tier available for 6 months with $200 credits for new customers. No upfront costs or contracts.

  • Pay-as-you-goPay per secret stored per month and per 10,000 API calls
    • Rotate secrets automatically
    • Replicate secrets for disaster recovery
    • Fine-grained IAM access control
    • Audit and monitor secret usage
    • Integration with AWS logging and monitoring services
as of verify ↗

HashiCorp Vault

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✓
CLI
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
AWS Secrets Manager✓
HashiCorp Vault✗
Self-hosted
AWS Secrets Manager✗
HashiCorp Vault✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

AWS Secrets Manager

Leader
36 total
  • Alexa for Business
  • AWS App2Container
  • Amazon AppFlow
  • AWS AppSync
  • Amazon Athena
  • AWS CodeBuild
  • AWS Direct Connect
  • AWS Directory Service
  • Amazon DocumentDB
  • Amazon RDS
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Salesforce
  • Snowflake
  • AWS Elemental MediaLive
  • AWS Elemental MediaConnect
  • AWS Elemental MediaConvert
  • Amazon CodeGuru Reviewer
  • AWS Elemental MediaPackage
  • AWS Elemental MediaTailor
  • Amazon EMR
  • Amazon EventBridge
  • Amazon FSx
  • AWS Glue DataBrew
  • AWS Glue Studio
  • +12 more
Independently observed

HashiCorp Vault

13 total
  • AWS
  • SQL databases
  • Consul
  • OCI
  • Okta
  • Azure
  • GCP
  • Oracle Cloud
  • Nomad
  • LDAP
  • OpenLDAP
  • Duo
  • GCP Secret Manager
Independently observed
Still deciding?

AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.