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Cybersecurity · head to head

HashiCorp Boundary vs NEOGOV

HashiCorp Boundary logo

HashiCorp Boundary

Cybersecurity

Identity-aware session broker for infrastructure access without distributing credentials

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
NEOGOV logo

NEOGOV

Government

Public sector HR suite covering civil service recruiting, onboarding, training and policy management

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only HashiCorp Boundary has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: HashiCorp Boundary hashiCorp was acquired by IBM in February 2025 and Enterprise licensing now runs through IBM Passport Advantage; IBM has already retired HCP Vault Secrets, so Boundary's roadmap depends on IBM portfolio decisions rather than HashiCorp's own product strategy.; NEOGOV each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • They diverge on capability: HashiCorp Boundary covers Identity-based access, NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HashiCorp Boundary and NEOGOV actually diverge.

Attributes where HashiCorp Boundary and NEOGOV differ
AttributeHashiCorp BoundaryNEOGOV
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, WebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment

Identical on both: 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 HashiCorp Boundary

  • Identity-based access
  • Just-in-time credentials
  • Dynamic host catalogues
  • Session recording
  • Transparent sessions
  • Multi-hop workers
  • Audit logging
  • Terraform provider

Only in NEOGOV

  • Civil service recruiting
  • Veterans preference handling
  • GovernmentJobs.com posting
  • Onboarding workflows
  • Learning and training records
  • Policy management

What people use each for

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

HashiCorp Boundary

  • A platform team replacing shared SSH keys and a bastion host so that leavers lose access the moment they are removed from the identity providernot NEOGOV
  • Granting contractors time-boxed database access without ever issuing them a credential they could keepnot NEOGOV
  • An estate where autoscaling replaces hosts continuously and a static access list is always out of datenot NEOGOV
  • Producing session recordings as evidence for an audit that requires proof of who touched production and what they rannot NEOGOV

NEOGOV

  • A city or county HR department that must run scored examinations and ranked eligibility listsnot HashiCorp Boundary
  • A public safety agency needing policy acknowledgement records that stand up in litigationnot HashiCorp Boundary
  • An agency replacing a commercial applicant tracking system that cannot handle veterans preferencenot HashiCorp Boundary
  • A school district or university consolidating recruiting, onboarding and mandated training recordsnot HashiCorp Boundary

Where each one falls short

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

HashiCorp Boundary

  • HashiCorp was acquired by IBM in February 2025 and Enterprise licensing now runs through IBM Passport Advantage; IBM has already retired HCP Vault Secrets, so Boundary's roadmap depends on IBM portfolio decisions rather than HashiCorp's own product strategy.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published anywhere, and the features most organisations actually need for compliance, notably session recording, are Enterprise only, so the free community edition is rarely the version you end up buying.
  • It solves access to infrastructure, not to applications; browser-based internal tools, SaaS admin consoles and APIs need a separate control, so Boundary is one component of a zero-trust programme rather than the whole thing.
  • Running it yourself means operating controllers, worker nodes and a Postgres database in a highly available configuration, and if that control plane is down nobody can reach production, which makes it a new critical dependency.
  • It is materially easier to adopt if you already run Vault and Terraform; teams without that ecosystem face a steeper learning curve than a device-based mesh product like Tailscale, for a similar access outcome.

NEOGOV

  • Each module is shallower than the specialist product it competes with, so agencies buying the full suite for coherence accept weaker performance management and learning than they would get separately.
  • Policy management arrived through the PowerDMS acquisition rather than being built in, and the join between it and the rest of the suite still reads as two products.
  • Implementation is long and configuration heavy because the civil service rules that make the product valuable have to be encoded for your jurisdiction, and that work is billed.
  • Pricing is not published and scales with headcount, so a large agency can pay several times what a comparable one pays without knowing it unless someone reads the public contracts.
  • Private equity ownership since the Warburg Pincus investment has coincided with an acquisition led strategy, and buyers should expect further products bolted on rather than deeper integration of the existing ones.

Pricing, plan by plan

HashiCorp Boundary

Free
  • Boundary Community EditionFree
    • MPL 2.0 open source
    • Self-hosted controllers and workers
    • Identity-based target access
  • Boundary Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Session recording and playback
    • Multi-hop and transparent sessions
    • Multi-tenancy via scopes

NEOGOV

On request
  • NEOGOV Suite$undefined/year
    • Quoted per module and scaled by employee headcount
    • Implementation and data migration priced separately from the subscription
    • Available through cooperative purchasing and state term contracts

Which should you pick?

Choose HashiCorp Boundary if

  • You need identity-based access.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web.
  • You also want just-in-time credentials.
HashiCorp Boundary review

Choose NEOGOV if

  • You need civil service recruiting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want veterans preference handling.
NEOGOV review

Questions people ask

Is HashiCorp Boundary or NEOGOV better?
Neither clearly leads. HashiCorp Boundary starts at Free and NEOGOV at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HashiCorp Boundary or NEOGOV?
HashiCorp Boundary has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for HashiCorp Boundary and On request for NEOGOV.
Does HashiCorp Boundary or NEOGOV run on more platforms?
HashiCorp Boundary runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web. NEOGOV runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use HashiCorp Boundary for free?
Yes. HashiCorp Boundary has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NEOGOV starts at On request.
What is HashiCorp Boundary best used for?
HashiCorp Boundary is most often used for a platform team replacing shared ssh keys and a bastion host so that leavers lose access the moment they are removed from the identity provider, granting contractors time-boxed database access without ever issuing them a credential they could keep, an estate where autoscaling replaces hosts continuously and a static access list is always out of date, producing session recordings as evidence for an audit that requires proof of who touched production and what they ran. Of those, a platform team replacing shared ssh keys and a bastion host so that leavers lose access the moment they are removed from the identity provider and granting contractors time-boxed database access without ever issuing them a credential they could keep are not what NEOGOV is typically brought in for.
What can HashiCorp Boundary do that NEOGOV cannot?
HashiCorp Boundary covers Identity-based access, Just-in-time credentials, Dynamic host catalogues, Session recording. NEOGOV covers Civil service recruiting, Veterans preference handling, GovernmentJobs.com posting, Onboarding workflows.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HashiCorp Boundary: Is Boundary open source?

The community edition is, under MPL 2.0. Boundary Enterprise is commercial and is now sold through IBM Passport Advantage.

NEOGOV: Why not use a commercial applicant tracking system?

Because civil service rules such as ranked eligibility lists, rule of three certification and veterans preference are not expressible in commercial products, so the statutory steps end up in spreadsheets.

HashiCorp Boundary: Does it replace a VPN?

For infrastructure access, largely yes. It grants a session to a specific target rather than putting the user on a network, but it does not cover browser-based internal applications.

NEOGOV: Can I find out what other agencies pay?

Yes. These are public procurements, so executed contract values appear in council agenda packets and state term contract listings. Read several before negotiating.

HashiCorp Boundary: What does Boundary Enterprise cost?

HashiCorp does not publish Boundary pricing. It is quoted, and since the IBM acquisition it is transacted on IBM licensing paper.

NEOGOV: What did NEOGOV acquire?

PowerDMS, a policy management and accreditation product, in 2021, which is now sold as the policy module of the suite.

HashiCorp Boundary: Do I need Vault to use it?

No, but the just-in-time credential brokering that makes Boundary worthwhile depends on Vault or an equivalent secrets store.

NEOGOV: Is it only for the United States?

Effectively yes. The value is in encoding US civil service and public safety requirements.

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