AWS Secrets Manager vs HashiCorp Vault Pricing (2026)
Compare / AWS Secrets Manager vs HashiCorp Vault
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Team size
25 seats

AWS Secrets Manager vs HashiCorp Vault

Secrets Management pricing comparison · 2026

AWS Secrets Manager pricing ranges from $0–$0.4/secret/month, while HashiCorp Vault ranges from $0–$6870/month. These products use different pricing models (Per-seat subscription vs ), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

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Compare
2 products · Secrets Management
Side-by-side · live
AWS Secrets Manager
Secrets Management pricing intelligence
verified 7w ago
$450 $2.8K
View pricing →
HashiCorp Vault
HashiCorp Vault is free as an open-source self-hosted tool.
verified 6w ago
$450 $2.8K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
AWS saves $2.4K vs HashiCorp · 25 seats
Cheapest $450
Spread 84%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Per-Secret Pricing
$120/yr
year 1 license · $0/seat
HCP Vault Dedicated — Essentials
$346K/yr
year 1 license · $1.2K/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$450/yr
Vendr · n=6 · limited data
Median annual
$2.8K/yr
Vendr · n=3 · limited data
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 12 sourced facts
10 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 8 sourced facts
6 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for CMK
    $1.00 per month per key, plus $0.03 per 10,000 KMS API calls
    1 source
  • KMS CMK Automatic Key Rotation
    $1.00 per month per newly generated backing key
    1 source
  • AWS Lambda for Secret Rotation
    less than $0.01 per month
    1 source
  • CloudWatch Logs for Rotation Functions
    less than $0.10 per month
    1 source
  • Data Transfer Out of AWS/Between Regions
    1 source
5 documented
  • Operational Complexity and Dedicated Staff
    $15,000–$40,000/year
    1 source
  • Infrastructure Requirements
    1 source
  • Hardware Security Modules (HSM)
    $10,000–$50,000+ per unit
    1 source
  • Professional Services and Consulting
    1 source
  • Training Costs
    $9.99 to $120
    1 source
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
G2
4.5out of 5 (18)
Best for
New AWS customers evaluating Secrets Manager
Watch out
Challenges in correctly configuring permissions.
TrustRadius
8.9out of 5 (26)
Best for
Developers and teams who can self-manage infrastructure
Watch out
Complexity and Steep Learning Curve
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit AWS pricing
Discount programs →
Visit HashiCorp pricing
Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Secrets Management

AWS Secrets Manager

$0–$0.4
/secret/month
2 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Secrets Management

HashiCorp Vault

$0–$6870
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — AWS Secrets Manager uses Per-seat subscription pricing while HashiCorp Vault uses pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Per-seat subscription

AWS Secrets Manager

$0–$0.4 / secret/month
See full AWS Secrets Manager pricing →
vs

HashiCorp Vault

$0–$6870 / month
See full HashiCorp Vault pricing →

AWS Secrets Manager and HashiCorp Vault both operate in the secrets management category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan AWS Secrets Manager HashiCorp Vault
Free Plan Free /user/month Free /free
Per-Secret Pricing $0.40 /user/month $450 /per cluster/month
HCP Vault Dedicated — Essentials — $1.2K /per cluster/month (Small), plus $72.92/client/mo
HCP Vault Dedicated — Standard — $1.3K /per cluster/month (Small), plus $72.92/client/mo
Vault Enterprise (self-hosted) — Custom

Market Intelligence

AWS Secrets Manager

Median annual cost
$450
Based on
6 deals

HashiCorp Vault

Median annual cost
$2,800
Based on
3 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

AWS Secrets Manager 10 hidden costs

medium
AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for CMK $1.00 per month per key, plus $0.03 per 10,000 KMS API calls
low
KMS CMK Automatic Key Rotation $1.00 per month per newly generated backing key
low
AWS Lambda for Secret Rotation less than $0.01 per month
low
CloudWatch Logs for Rotation Functions less than $0.10 per month
medium
Data Transfer Out of AWS/Between Regions
See all AWS Secrets Manager hidden costs →

HashiCorp Vault 6 hidden costs

high
Operational Complexity and Dedicated Staff $15,000–$40,000/year
high
Infrastructure Requirements
medium
Hardware Security Modules (HSM) $10,000–$50,000+ per unit
medium
Professional Services and Consulting
low
Training Costs $9.99 to $120
See all HashiCorp Vault hidden costs →

Continue researching

AWS Secrets Manager

HashiCorp Vault

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