Softwr

Networking · head to head

Consul vs Vault

Consul logo

Consul

Networking

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only; 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: Consul covers Service discovery, Vault covers Secrets management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Consul and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Consul and Vault differ
AttributeConsulVault
CategoryNetworkingCloud
Founded20142015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

Only in Vault

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

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Docker
  • TLS
  • Encryption
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment
  • Hybrid deployment

What people use each for

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

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Vault
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Vault
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot Vault

Vault

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

Where each one falls short

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

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

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

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

Vault

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

Choose Vault if

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

Questions people ask

Is Consul or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Consul 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, Consul or Vault?
Consul starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Consul or Vault run on more platforms?
Both run on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Consul for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Consul best used for?
Consul is most often used for service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure, running a service mesh with mutual tls between services, distributed key value configuration storage for applications. Of those, service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure and running a service mesh with mutual tls between services are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Consul do that Vault cannot?
Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Vault covers Secrets management, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker, TLS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Consul: How much does Consul cost?

Consul does not publish specific pricing. The open source Community edition is free. HashiCorp also offers a Consul Enterprise edition, but pricing details are not disclosed publicly and must be obtained by contacting HashiCorp sales.

Source
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

Source
Consul: Is Consul open source?

Consul includes a free, open source Community edition. HashiCorp also offers a proprietary Enterprise edition for organizations requiring advanced features, but no public pricing is available for the Enterprise version.

Source
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

Source
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

Source
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Consul

More on Vault

Keep looking

Other head to heads