Comparison

AWS Secrets Manager vs OpenBao

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 →OpenBao full profile →

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★AWS Secrets Manager78

OpenBao55

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	AWS Secrets ManagerLeader	OpenBao
vioscaleAI score	78 / 100medium · 72%	55 / 100low · 42%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	30	5
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Fedrampsecurity.fedramp	✓	-
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	✓	-
Iso27001security.iso27001	✓	-
Pcisecurity.pci	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	-	8.6
Soc2security.soc2	✓	-
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fopenbao%2Fopenbao%2Fapi%2Fauth%2Fgcp&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	8,417
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	21
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	MPL-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	Go
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US	-
Content
Faqcontent.faq	7 items	6 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

AWS Secrets Manager78 / 100medium · 72%

OpenBao55 / 100low · 42%

Pricing

Free tier

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Model

AWS Secrets Managerfreemium

OpenBaoopen_source

Price level

AWS Secrets Managerlow

OpenBaofree

Transparent

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Integrations

Count

AWS Secrets Manager30

OpenBao5

Security

Disclosure policy

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Fedramp

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Gdpr

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Hipaa

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Iso27001

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Pci

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Scorecard

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao8.6

Soc2

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao–

Trust center

AWS Secrets Managerhttps://aws.amazon.com/compliance/

OpenBao–

Vulnerabilities

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBaoCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fopenbao%2Fopenbao%2Fapi%2Fauth%2Fgcp&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao0

Github stars

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao8,417

Activity

Commits last 30d

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao100

Release

Cadence days

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao21

History

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBao20 items

License

Spdx

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBaoMPL-2.0

Language

Primary

AWS Secrets Manager–

OpenBaoGo

Market

Availability

AWS Secrets ManagerAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

OpenBao–

Content

Faq

AWS Secrets Manager7 items

OpenBao6 items

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Secrets Management Tools
Capability	AWS Secrets Manager	OpenBao
Core
Tool type	Secret store / engine	Secret store / engine
Dynamic (short-lived) secrets	-	✓
Deployment
Hosting	Cloud only	Cloud + self-hosted
Lifecycle
Automatic secret rotation	✓	✓
Crypto
Encryption as a service (transit)	-	✓
Compliance
FIPS 140-2/3 validated crypto	✓	-
HSM support	-	-
Access
Fine-grained / identity-based policy	✓	✓
Governance
Audit logging	✓	✓
Integration
Kubernetes native (CRD / CSI / K8s auth)	-	✓
Scope
PKI / certificate authority	-	✓
Licensing
Open-source core	-	✓
Ecosystem
CNCF maturity	-	None

Core

Tool type

AWS Secrets ManagerSecret store / engine

OpenBaoSecret store / engine

Dynamic (short-lived) secrets

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao✓

Deployment

Hosting

AWS Secrets ManagerCloud only

OpenBaoCloud + self-hosted

Lifecycle

Automatic secret rotation

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Crypto

Encryption as a service (transit)

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao✓

Compliance

FIPS 140-2/3 validated crypto

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao-

HSM support

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao-

Access

Fine-grained / identity-based policy

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Governance

Audit logging

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Integration

Kubernetes native (CRD / CSI / K8s auth)

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao✓

Scope

PKI / certificate authority

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao✓

Licensing

Open-source core

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBao✓

Ecosystem

CNCF maturity

AWS Secrets Manager-

OpenBaoNone

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

OpenBao

A centralized system for storing and managing sensitive data like API keys and database credentials, with automatic credential generation for external systems, automatic expiration after a set lease period, and identity-based access controls.

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 2026-08-01verify ↗

OpenBao

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-10-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	AWS Secrets Manager	OpenBao
WebPlatforms	✓	✗
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✗

Windows

AWS Secrets Manager✗

OpenBao✓

Linux

AWS Secrets Manager✗

OpenBao✓

CLI

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

AWS Secrets Manager✓

OpenBao✓

Self-hosted

AWS Secrets Manager✗

OpenBao✓

On-premise

AWS Secrets Manager✗

OpenBao✓

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

OpenBao

10 total

Kubernetes
PostgreSQL
AWS
S3
Flux
SOPS
Cosign
Azure KeyVault
LDAP
Kerberos

Independently observed

Still deciding?

AWS Secrets Manager or OpenBao: 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.