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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Vault

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud & Infrastructure

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Vault covers Secrets management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Vault differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Vault
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20062015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Encryption
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Vault
  • Data storagenot Vault
  • Machine learningnot Vault
  • Big data analyticsnot Vault
  • Application developmentnot Vault

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Choose Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want encryption.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Vault?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Vault run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Vault cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Vault covers Secrets management, Encryption, Authentication, Authorization. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker.
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