# HashiCorp Vault vs OpenBao

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** HashiCorp Vault

| Attribute | HashiCorp Vault | OpenBao |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 69.9 (73% (medium)) | 55.1 (42% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 8,444 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 36,339 | 8,417 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Provides secure secret storage, dynamic credential generation, encryption services, and fine-grained access control with detailed audit logging for applications and infrastructure. It is indexed under Secrets Management Tools.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","question":"What is HashiCorp Vault?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"HashiCorp Vault is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","question":"Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"HashiCorp Vault supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","question":"What platforms does HashiCorp Vault support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. HashiCorp Vault can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","question":"Can HashiCorp Vault be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for HashiCorp Vault, including AWS, SQL databases, Consul, OCI and Okta. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","question":"What does HashiCorp Vault integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR for HashiCorp Vault. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as HashiCorp Vault not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.vaultproject.io/security","question":"What security certifications does HashiCorp Vault have?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under Secrets Management Tools.","source":"https://openbao.org/","question":"What is OpenBao?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenBao is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://openbao.org/","question":"Is OpenBao free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenBao supports Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://openbao.org/","question":"What platforms does OpenBao support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. OpenBao can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://openbao.org/","question":"Can OpenBao be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for OpenBao, including Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, AWS, S3, Flux, SOPS and Cosign. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://openbao.org/","question":"What does OpenBao integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. OpenBao is published under the MPL-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao","question":"Is OpenBao open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"pki_ca":true,"hosting":"both","tool_type":"store","hsm_support":true,"audit_logging":true,"dynamic_secrets":true,"secret_rotation":true,"open_source_core":true,"fine_grained_policy":true,"encryption_as_a_service":true}` | `{"pki_ca":true,"hosting":"both","tool_type":"store","cncf_project":"none","audit_logging":true,"dynamic_secrets":true,"secret_rotation":true,"open_source_core":true,"kubernetes_native":true,"fine_grained_policy":true,"encryption_as_a_service":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | 5 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"SQL databases"},{"name":"Consul"},{"name":"OCI"},{"name":"Okta"},{"name":"Azure","native":true,"category":"cloud"},{"name":"GCP","native":true,"category":"cloud"},{"name":"Oracle Cloud","native":true,"category":"cloud"},{"name":"Nomad","native":true,"category":"orchestration"},{"name":"LDAP","native":true,"category":"directory"},{"name":"OpenLDAP","native":true,"category":"directory"},{"name":"Duo","native":true,"category":"mfa"},{"name":"GCP Secret Manager","native":true,"category":"cloud"}]` | `[{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"S3"},{"name":"Flux"},{"name":"SOPS"},{"name":"Cosign"},{"name":"Azure KeyVault","native":true},{"name":"LDAP","native":true},{"name":"Kerberos","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | - | MPL-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.vaultproject.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:24:58.948Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://openbao.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T15:09:17.746Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 22 | 21 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.1.1","date":"2026-09-16T21:04:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.1.0","date":"2026-09-01T14:37:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.4","date":"2026-08-04T18:34:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.3","date":"2026-06-17T20:23:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.2","date":"2026-06-05T16:26:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.1","date":"2026-05-19T20:57:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.0","date":"2026-04-14T20:07:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc1","date":"2026-04-03T03:01:53Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.4","date":"2026-03-05T06:37:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.3","date":"2026-03-04T22:47:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.2","date":"2026-01-07T18:09:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.1","date":"2025-11-19T17:36:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.0","date":"2025-10-22T20:29:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.21.0-rc1","date":"2025-10-10T00:53:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.21.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.4","date":"2025-09-24T20:43:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.20.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.3","date":"2025-08-28T18:21:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.20.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.2","date":"2025-08-06T04:09:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.20.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.1","date":"2025-07-24T20:10:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.20.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.0","date":"2025-06-25T13:57:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/releases/tag/v1.20.0-rc2","date":"2025-06-17T20:20:54Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.20.0-rc2"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.7.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:03:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.4","date":"2026-10-01T13:59:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.7.0","date":"2026-09-23T17:39:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.3","date":"2026-09-23T17:06:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.7.0-beta20260909","date":"2026-09-09T12:58:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.7.0-beta20260909"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.2","date":"2026-08-18T16:21:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.1","date":"2026-07-22T14:37:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.0","date":"2026-07-14T17:06:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.0-beta20260622","date":"2026-06-22T19:58:29Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.6.0-beta20260622"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.5","date":"2026-06-17T11:27:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.4","date":"2026-05-20T16:15:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.3","date":"2026-04-20T19:35:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.2","date":"2026-03-25T16:23:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.1","date":"2026-02-23T17:34:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.0","date":"2026-02-04T16:26:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.5.0-beta20251125","date":"2025-11-25T19:36:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.5.0-beta20251125"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.4.4","date":"2025-11-24T20:01:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.4.3","date":"2025-10-22T20:27:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.4.1","date":"2025-09-11T20:32:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.4.0","date":"2025-08-28T20:39:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.5 | 8.6 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.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,"max_severity":null}` | `{"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,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (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 |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T09:07:41.081Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*