Comparison

HashiCorp Vault vs OpenBao

On the evidence we track, HashiCorp Vault leads this comparison with a composite score of 70/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

HashiCorp Vault full profile →OpenBao full profile →

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★HashiCorp Vault70

OpenBao55

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	HashiCorp VaultLeader	OpenBao
vioscaleAI score	70 / 100medium · 73%	55 / 100low · 42%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	9	5
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Iso27001security.iso27001	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	6.5	8.6
Soc2security.soc2	✓	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fhashicorp%2Fvault%2Fapi&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	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	8,444	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	36,339	8,417
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	22	21
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	MPL-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Go	Go
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	6 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

HashiCorp Vault70 / 100medium · 73%

OpenBao55 / 100low · 42%

Pricing

Free tier

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Model

HashiCorp Vaultcommercial

OpenBaoopen_source

Price level

HashiCorp Vaultfree

OpenBaofree

Transparent

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Integrations

Count

HashiCorp Vault9

OpenBao5

Security

Disclosure policy

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao–

Gdpr

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao–

Iso27001

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao–

Scorecard

HashiCorp Vault6.5

OpenBao8.6

Soc2

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao–

Vulnerabilities

HashiCorp VaultCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fhashicorp%2Fvault%2Fapi&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

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

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

HashiCorp Vault8,444

OpenBao0

Github stars

HashiCorp Vault36,339

OpenBao8,417

Activity

Commits last 30d

HashiCorp Vault100

OpenBao100

Release

Cadence days

HashiCorp Vault22

OpenBao21

History

HashiCorp Vault20 items

OpenBao20 items

License

Spdx

HashiCorp Vault–

OpenBaoMPL-2.0

Language

Primary

HashiCorp VaultGo

OpenBaoGo

Content

Faq

HashiCorp Vault6 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	HashiCorp Vault	OpenBao
Core
Tool type	Secret store / engine	Secret store / engine
Dynamic (short-lived) secrets	✓	✓
Deployment
Hosting	Cloud + self-hosted	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

HashiCorp VaultSecret store / engine

OpenBaoSecret store / engine

Dynamic (short-lived) secrets

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Deployment

Hosting

HashiCorp VaultCloud + self-hosted

OpenBaoCloud + self-hosted

Lifecycle

Automatic secret rotation

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Crypto

Encryption as a service (transit)

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Compliance

FIPS 140-2/3 validated crypto

HashiCorp Vault-

OpenBao-

HSM support

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao-

Access

Fine-grained / identity-based policy

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Governance

Audit logging

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Integration

Kubernetes native (CRD / CSI / K8s auth)

HashiCorp Vault-

OpenBao✓

Scope

PKI / certificate authority

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Licensing

Open-source core

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

Ecosystem

CNCF maturity

HashiCorp Vault-

OpenBaoNone

What each one is

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

HashiCorp Vault

Leader

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

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.

HashiCorp Vault

Leader

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

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	HashiCorp Vault	OpenBao
WebPlatforms	✓	✗
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✗

Windows

HashiCorp Vault✗

OpenBao✓

Linux

HashiCorp Vault✗

OpenBao✓

CLI

HashiCorp Vault✗

OpenBao✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

HashiCorp Vault✗

OpenBao✓

Self-hosted

HashiCorp Vault✓

OpenBao✓

On-premise

HashiCorp Vault✗

OpenBao✓

Integrations

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

In common (2)

AWS
LDAP

HashiCorp Vault

Leader

13 total - 11 not shared

SQL databases
Consul
OCI
Okta
Azure
GCP
Oracle Cloud
Nomad
OpenLDAP
Duo
GCP Secret Manager

Independently observed

OpenBao

10 total - 8 not shared

Kubernetes
PostgreSQL
S3
Flux
SOPS
Cosign
Azure KeyVault
Kerberos

Independently observed

Still deciding?

HashiCorp Vault 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.