Quick Answer
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AWS Secrets Manager costs Free to $0.40 per secret/month as of September 2026, with 2 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free Tier (free), and Pay-as-you-go at $0.4/secret/month. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes

AWS Secrets Manager offers 2 pricing tiers: Free Tier, Pay-as-you-go. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Pay-as-you-go at $0.4/secret/month. The Pay-as-you-go plan is production applications managing secrets at scale.

Last verified: | Sources: 3 pricing pages and reviews
Forever Free plan type

Yes, AWS Secrets Manager offers a forever free plan as of September 2026. The free tier includes 3 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $0.4/secret/month (Pay-as-you-go). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.

Forever Free

AWS Secrets Manager's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.

What's Included in the Free Plan

  • Up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits for new customers (starting July 15, 2025)
  • Free plan available for 6 months after account creation
  • Remaining credits automatically apply if you upgrade to a paid plan
Start Free at AWS Secrets Manager

What's NOT Included (Paid Only)

  • $0.40 per secret per month
  • $0.05 per 10,000 API calls
  • No charge for new secret versions created during rotation

You'll Need to Upgrade When...

  • You exceed the user limit
  • You need features like $0.40 per secret per month or $0.05 per 10,000 API calls
  • You require premium support or SLA guarantees
  • You need to remove branding or watermarks
  • You need advanced integrations or API access

Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan

  • ! AWS Secrets Manager branding may appear on your content or communications
  • ! Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
  • ! Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
  • ! API access is typically limited or not available
  • ! Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans

Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?

Free Plan is Enough If...

  • You're an individual or very small team
  • You need only basic features
  • You don't mind usage limits
  • Branding on output is acceptable
  • Community support is sufficient

Free vs Pay-as-you-go Plan Comparison

Free Tier $0
Features 3 included 3+ included
Support Community/Email Priority Support
Branding AWS Secrets Manager branding Your branding
Best For New AWS customers evaluating Secrets Manager Production applications managing secrets at scale

Frequently Asked Questions

01 Is AWS Secrets Manager free?

Yes, AWS Secrets Manager offers a forever free plan with 3 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.

02 What's included in AWS Secrets Manager's free plan?

AWS Secrets Manager's free plan includes: Up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits for new customers (starting July 15, 2025), Free plan available for 6 months after account creation, Remaining credits automatically apply if you upgrade to a paid plan. Key limits include basic usage caps.

03 What's NOT included in AWS Secrets Manager's free plan?

The free plan excludes: $0.40 per secret per month, $0.05 per 10,000 API calls, No charge for new secret versions created during rotation. You'll also have AWS Secrets Manager branding and limited support options.

04 When should I upgrade from AWS Secrets Manager's free plan?

Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like $0.40 per secret per month or $0.05 per 10,000 API calls, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $0.4/secret/month.

05 Is AWS Secrets Manager's free plan really free forever?

Yes, AWS Secrets Manager's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.

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