Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Vault
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Vault
Cloud & Infrastructure
Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; 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: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Vault covers Secrets management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Vault actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lambda (AWS Serverless) | Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | open-source |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud |
| Founded | 2014 | 2015 |
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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Function-as-a-Service
- Event-driven execution
- Auto-scaling
- Pay-per-use
- Multiple languages
- Concurrency limits
- Dead Letter Queues
- Environment variables
Only in Vault
- Secrets management
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Audit logging
- API access
- High availability
- Replication
- Kubernetes
Both cover
- Encryption
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Event-driven functions without managing serversnot Vault
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot Vault
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Vault
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Vault
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Vault
Vault
- Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
- Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
- Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
- VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top
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
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
Vault
Free- Open SourceFree
- Secrets management
- Encryption as a service
- Identity management
- EnterpriseFree
- Advanced features
- Premium support
- Dedicated updates
Which should you pick?
Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if
- You need function-as-a-service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want event-driven execution.
Choose Vault if
- You need secrets management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- You also want authentication.
Questions people ask
- Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Vault better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) 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, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Vault?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Vault at Free.
- Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Vault run on more platforms?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
- Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
- What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Vault cannot?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Vault covers Secrets management, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment.