AWS Secrets Manager vs HashiCorp Vault comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and HashiCorp are both solutions in the Enterprise Password Managers category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.8, while HashiCorp is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 19.4% mindshare in EPM, compared to HashiCorp’s 12.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of HashiCorp users who would recommend it.

AWS Secrets Manager

Read 13 AWS Secrets Manager reviews

10,119 Views
9,063 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HashiCorp Vault

Read 17 HashiCorp Vault reviews

8,862 Views
6,021 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

AWS Secrets Manager

HashiCorp Vault

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

HashiCorp Vault and AWS Secrets Manager are competing in the secure management of secrets domain. Data comparisons reveal HashiCorp Vault is favored for its extensibility and support for diverse environments, while AWS Secrets Manager excels in seamless AWS integration.

Features: HashiCorp Vault offers identity-based access management, strong encryption, and broad platform integration. AWS Secrets Manager provides effortless AWS service integration, automated secrets rotation, and API-centric access control.

Room for Improvement: HashiCorp Vault could enhance its user interface and initial setup complexity while reducing the overall cost for smaller deployments. AWS Secrets Manager requires expansion beyond AWS environments and improved documentation for non-AWS integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HashiCorp Vault supports flexible deployment in hybrid cloud setups with strong community support. AWS Secrets Manager simplifies deployment via native cloud integrations, primarily for AWS environments, with extensive AWS customer service available.

Pricing and ROI: HashiCorp Vault's enterprise setup can be costly, justified by its adaptability and high ROI potential across infrastructure types. AWS Secrets Manager offers cost-effectiveness for AWS-centric applications, attractive for existing AWS users due to lower incremental expenses.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Secrets Manager vs. HashiCorp Vault Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Secrets Manager vs. HashiCorp Vault

March 2025

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Helped 842,767 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Secrets Manager

Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

HashiCorp Vault

Ranking in Enterprise Password Managers

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Password Managers category, the mindshare of AWS Secrets Manager is 19.4%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HashiCorp Vault is 12.8%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Password Managers

Q&A Highlights

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Dec 12, 2021

Which is better - HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

yet to learn both

See all answers

Featured Reviews

ManuelTorres

Cyber security senior engineer at International Airlines Group (IAG)

Simplifies and secures secret management within the AWS ecosystem, though it could enhance integration capabilities with external platforms

AWS Secrets Manager has streamlined our processes for managing secrets and their lifecycle. We typically handle everything through automation, following a predefined approach. When we undertake our developments, we seamlessly integrate the process into our workflows. Essentially, our secrets require minimal intervention; they are automatically managed by the system itself. This ensures smooth operations without the need for manual intervention. We integrate this tool with various AWS services, utilizing AWS Secrets Manager specifically for AWS resources. Any application, service, or deployment within AWS leverages Secrets Manager whenever it requires access to it.

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AKASHGUPTA3

Credit Analyst at Standard Chartered Bank

Easy to manage and maintain the password API but stability could be improved

I would advise doing a Proof of Concept first and then deciding accordingly because your use case might be simple. You can try out AWS Key Management or Azure Key Vault. They are different products. Do the POC and then decide what you need. Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten. No solution is a ten in my opinion.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The product is easy to use and is inexpensive."

"Secrets Manager helps in retrieving the enrollment variables used by the code."

"The most valuable feature is usability, as it is quite user-friendly."

"All our workloads are running on AWS, so integration with our workload is much easier on AWS Secrets Manager than going with another solution such as Thycotic."

"The most valuable feature is security."

"The most valuable feature of AWS Secrets Manager is the ability to keep data secret and assign access permissions to people to grant or restrict access."

"The most valuable feature of AWS Secrets Manager is its seamless integration with various AWS services."

"The API is fine and works well."

More AWS Secrets Manager pros

"The most valuable feature of HashiCorp Vault is version control."

"For me, the most valuable features include that it's easy to manage and maintain the password API for retrieving passwords and other things."

"We were using it because we have compliance requirements around secret management. Having a secure vault and encrypting data was an additional requirement. When we looked at it first, we were just looking for a vault, like a lockbox. The greatest benefit of HashiCorp is its ability to manage encryption on the fly. It provides encryption of data at rest, in use, in transit, on the fly, and linked with applications, which was really attractive."

"It can still be configured by a separate team other than developers. That's why I think it's more secure."

"It is an added value for our customers to have a Secrets Management workflow available that is PaaS/CaaS/KaaS Platform agnostic."

"The most valuable feature of HashiCorp Vault is the management of tickets in the pipeline."

"The most valuable feature of HashiCorp Vault is that it's an open source solution. Second, it's cloud agnostic, so it's very easy to maintain and control, which is why we prefer HashiCorp."

"The interface is very simple to navigate."

More HashiCorp Vault pros

Cons

"If you add one more layer of security to AWS Secrets Manager, even the programmer will not be able to see the secrets."

"The sidecar feature has room for improvement."

"There is room for improvement in terms of integrating with certain other platforms."

"We occasionally have problems with rate limits, although that is a problem more generally with AWS."

"If you don't have enterprise support, then you will not be able to get through to them to get the help. It is not only applicable to AWS Secrets Manager. It is also applicable to any service on AWS."

"The solution's initial setup process is complicated."

"It would be good if the AWS Secrets Manager were more customizable."

"An area for improvement in AWS Secrets Manager could be expanding integration options beyond AWS services."

More AWS Secrets Manager cons

"We could use more documentation, primarily to do with integrations."

"I don't think there are any major improvements required—so far, so good. However, I think that having more training materials, such as videos, and documentation available would be helpful. I would prefer to have more videos available either on the official site or on YouTube."

"The technical support was hard to get a hold of and lacking in service."

"A drawback for some clients who have to be PCI compliant is that they still need to use and subscribe to an HSM (Hardware Security Module) solution."

"In my opinion, HashiCorp Vault could improve its user interface. Right now, they don't offer much in terms of a graphical interface, which means you usually have to manage things manually through API calls. I think CyberArk has a better approach because it provides a UI that integrates features across all its components, making it easier, especially for new users or those from organizations with strict licensing policies."

"I would rate the stability a six out of ten. There are some bugs and glitches. We are in touch with the vendor to resolve them."

"It would be helpful to have more advanced features."

"The product needs to improve its customization. It should be also more like easy to plug and play."

More HashiCorp Vault cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't believe there is a license cost for the solution."

"The cost is somewhat high."

"We purchase a monthly license for the product."

"We've observed that AWS Secrets Manager pricing is based on a per-secret-per-month model. As a result, we prefer to divide our secrets into individual pieces to increase security and grant specific access permissions to certain secrets, systems, or individuals. However, this approach results in higher costs. Therefore, we have been exploring ways to combine our secrets into groups to reduce expenses and simplify management. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that this issue may not be related to the secret manager's functionality."

"The solution is expensive."

"The AWS version is much cheaper than HashiCorp Vault."

"The solution's cost is reasonable."

"It could do everything we wanted it to do and it is brilliant, but it is super pricey. To be fair to HashiCorp, we drove the price up with our requirements around resiliency. Because of the nature of our company, we don't really operate in the cloud."

"I am using the open-source version of Vault and I would have to buy a license if I want to get support."

"The product is expensive."

"In my case, the open-source version works well. It's advisable for small to medium-scale organizations, but for large-scale organizations, you should go with the enterprise version."

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Answers from the Community

Netanya Carmi

Content Manager at PeerSpot

Dec 12, 2021

Which is better - HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

See 2 answers

Kmk Kan

Works at Zerto

Nov 23, 2021

yet to learn both

Read full answer

Dovid Gelber

Tech blogger

Dec 12, 2021

HashiCorp Vault was designed with your needs in mind. One of the features that makes this evident is its ability to work as both a cloud-agnostic and a multi-cloud solution. As a cloud-agnostic solution, HashiCorp Vault allows you to be flexible in the cloud infrastructure that you choose to use. It is completely compatible and integratable with a myriad of different platforms. You can determine what you want to use and HashiCorp Vault will function without issue, regardless of what you choose. If you are using HashiCorp Vault as a multi-cloud solution, then you have an even greater number of platform options. You will be able to mix and match which cloud platforms you like to use to customize your data protection. The only limits on your customization will end up being your imagination. HashiCorp Vault’s user interface is simple for you to both use and navigate. The UI was designed to be basic enough for users to manage without forcing an organization to spend a great deal of time and resources having to train employees in its use. It might be a little confusing for employees when they start using it. However, once they have used it for a little while they will be proficient in its use. Should an organization choose to invest in training employees in the use of this UI, the required investment will be minimal. AWS Secrets Manager is an extremely user-friendly solution. It is intuitive in its design, which makes it a valuable product. However, AWS Secrets Manager lacks the level of cloud flexibility that HashiCorp Vault offers. Conclusion: While AWS Secrets Manager is a fairly competent product, we found HashiCorp Vault to be superior. HashiCorp Vault‘s greater flexibility and integration capabilities make it the more robust solution.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Azure Key Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

Azure Key Vault is a SaaS solution. You can easily store passwords and secrets securely and encrypt them. Azure Key Vault is a great solution to ensure you are compliant with security and governanc...

See all answers

Which is better - HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?

See all answers

What do you like most about AWS Secrets Manager?

The most valuable feature of AWS Secrets Manager is its seamless integration with various AWS services.

See all answers

What do you like most about HashiCorp Vault?

The feature I find most beneficial in HashiCorp Vault is the secret engine. It integrates smoothly with many applications, making it easy to set up and implement quickly. This allows you to test it...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HashiCorp Vault?

If I were to set it up in AWS Secret Management, I would have to manage it, pay, and create secrets without being cloud agnostic. The advantage with Vault is that it is cloud agnostic. I can deploy...

See all answers

What needs improvement with HashiCorp Vault?

An improvement needed is the ability for auto-initialization. There should be an inbuilt option for automatic initialization rather than running it manually.

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Key Vault vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 71% of the time

1Password vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 6% of the time

Delinea Secret Server vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 3% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 2% of the time

Bitwarden vs AWS Secrets Manager

Compared 2% of the time

More AWS Secrets Manager Competitors

Bitwarden vs HashiCorp Vault

Compared 21% of the time

Azure Key Vault vs HashiCorp Vault

Compared 13% of the time

Keeper vs HashiCorp Vault

Compared 11% of the time

Delinea Secret Server vs HashiCorp Vault

Compared 9% of the time

1Password vs HashiCorp Vault

Compared 6% of the time

More HashiCorp Vault Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Password Managers

March 2025

Download AWS Secrets Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

HashiCorp Vault

March 2025

Download HashiCorp Vault product report

Overview

AWS Secrets Manager helps you protect secrets needed to access your applications, services, and IT resources. The service enables you to easily rotate, manage, and retrieve database credentials, API keys, and other secrets throughout their lifecycle.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

HashiCorp Vault is a cloud-agnostic solution used for security and secret management. Its valuable features include integration with other HashiCorp tools, token sharing, open source nature, cloud agnosticism, and on-the-fly encryption management.

The solution provides encryption of data at rest, in use, in transit, on the fly, and linked with applications. It is free to use, and the interface is simple to navigate. HashiCorp Vault has helped organizations with its multiple authentication methods and RESTful API.

HashiCorp Vault Features

Data encryption: The solution is capable of encrypting and decrypting data, and will not store it. Organizations’ security personnel define their own encryption protocols; developers can store the encrypted data where they choose and are not obligated to design specific encryption processes.
Robust secrets: For systems such as AWS or SQL databases, Vault is able to generate secrets automatically. HashiCorp Vault is able to generate AWS keypairs with all the appropriate permissions when necessary, and when the approved time expires, will nullify them.
Secure secret storage: Any type of value or key secrets can be stored in the Vault. The Vault automatically encrypts the desired secrets before recording them into persistent storage, keeping them safe and secure. Users can record data using HCP Vault’s Consul service or disk, or choose from other options.
Nullification: Vault is able to nullify single secrets or all secrets from a particular group or specific user. This process is integral in securing systems in the event of an attack or inappropriate access.

Reviews from Real Users

“The greatest benefit of HashiCorp is its ability to manage encryption on the fly. It provides encryption of data at rest, in use, in transit, on the fly, and linked with applications, which was really attractive. The lifecycle of a key is so easy to manage in terms of rotating, revoking, and issuing. They have different auth methods, and I tried all different auth methods. It is seamless.”- Project Manager at a comms service provider.

“The most valuable feature of HashiCorp Vault is that it's an open source solution. Second, it's cloud-agnostic, so it's very easy to maintain and control, which is why we prefer HashiCorp. “ - Mohamed A., Lead DevOps Engineer at Etisalat.

HashiCorp

Sample Customers

Autodesk, Clevy, Stackery

Adobe, SAP Ariba, Citadel, Spaceflight, Cruise

Buyer's Guide

AWS Secrets Manager vs. HashiCorp Vault

March 2025

Free Report: AWS Secrets Manager vs. HashiCorp Vault

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