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Free-Limited
Free-Limited
Tool Comparison
HashiCorp Vault
Secure, store, and tightly control access to tokens, passwords, and certificates.
VS
AWS Secrets Manager
Rotate, manage, and retrieve AWS credentials and secrets throughout their lifecycle.
At a Glance
| Attribute | HashiCorp Vault | AWS Secrets Manager |
|---|---|---|
| License / Pricing | Free-Limited | Free-Limited |
| Type | DevOps | DevOps |
| GitHub Stars | — | — |
| Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Key Features | 6 listed | 6 listed |
| Integrations | 7 listed | 5 listed |
| Categories | SecuritySecrets Management | SecuritySecrets ManagementCloud Platform |
Key Features
HashiCorp Vault
- Dynamic secrets — generate short-lived credentials on demand for AWS, databases, and more
- All secrets have a TTL and are automatically revoked on expiry
- Multiple auth methods: Kubernetes, AWS IAM, LDAP, GitHub, and AppRole
- Transit secrets engine for encryption-as-a-service
- PKI secrets engine for automated internal TLS certificate management
- Detailed audit log for every secret access and policy change
AWS Secrets Manager
- Automatic secret rotation for RDS, Redshift, and DocumentDB credentials
- Fine-grained IAM policies for controlling who can access which secrets
- Versioning and staging labels for zero-downtime secret rotation
- Cross-account secret sharing via resource-based policies
- Audit trail via CloudTrail for every secret access
- Native integration with ECS, EKS, Lambda, and EC2
Real-World Use Cases
HashiCorp Vault
Dynamic database credentials for microservices
Configure Vault's database secrets engine with a PostgreSQL connection
Injecting secrets into Kubernetes pods
Install the Vault Agent Injector via Helm into the cluster
AWS Secrets Manager
Automatic RDS credential rotation
Store the RDS master password as a secret in Secrets Manager
Injecting secrets into ECS tasks
Store API keys and database URLs as secrets in Secrets Manager
Integrations
HashiCorp Vault
kubernetesterraformansiblejenkinsgithub-actionsaws-secrets-managerdoppler
AWS Secrets Manager
aws-codepipelineamazon-eksterraformansiblehashicorp-vault
🏆 Which should you choose?
Choose HashiCorp Vault if…
- → you're already in the Security ecosystem and prefer HashiCorp Vault's workflow
Choose AWS Secrets Manager if…
- → you're already in the Security ecosystem and prefer AWS Secrets Manager's workflow