Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Infisical vs Vault

Infisical logo

Infisical

Cybersecurity

Security infrastructure for developers and AI agents

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: Infisical free tier limited to 5 identities, suitable only for small teams or evaluation; 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: Infisical covers Certificate management, Vault covers Encryption.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Infisical and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Infisical and Vault differ
AttributeInfisicalVault
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
PlatformsWeb, CLI, Cloud, Self-HostedLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityCloud
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Infisical

  • Certificate management
  • Privileged access management
  • Secret versioning
  • Dynamic secrets
  • SAML SSO
  • Open-source core
  • Secrets scanning

Only in Vault

  • Encryption
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication
  • Kubernetes

Both cover

  • Secrets management

What people use each for

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

Infisical

  • Managing secrets across Kubernetes clustersnot Vault
  • Automating certificate lifecycle for internal PKInot Vault
  • Providing privileged database access with audit trailsnot Vault
  • Securing credentials for AI agents at runtimenot Vault

Vault

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

Where each one falls short

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

Infisical

  • Free tier limited to 5 identities, suitable only for small teams or evaluation
  • Pricing tiers are per-identity, which scales costs with team size
  • Certificate management requires Enterprise plan for advanced features like wildcards
  • Privileged access tier is separate billing from secrets management

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

Infisical

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 identities
    • Unlimited projects
    • 3 environments
  • Pro - Secrets$20/month
    • Per-identity pricing
    • Unlimited identities
    • SAML SSO
  • Pro - Secrets (Annual)$20/year
    • Annual discount available
    • Unlimited identities
    • SAML SSO
  • Advanced - Secrets$40/month
    • Per-identity pricing
    • Dynamic secrets
    • Gateways

Vault

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Infisical if

  • You need certificate management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, Cloud, Self-Hosted.
  • You also want privileged access management.
Infisical review

Choose Vault if

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

Questions people ask

Is Infisical or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Infisical 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, Infisical or Vault?
Infisical starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Infisical or Vault run on more platforms?
Infisical runs on Web, CLI, Cloud, Self-Hosted. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Infisical for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Infisical best used for?
Infisical is most often used for managing secrets across kubernetes clusters, automating certificate lifecycle for internal pki, providing privileged database access with audit trails, securing credentials for ai agents at runtime. Of those, managing secrets across kubernetes clusters and automating certificate lifecycle for internal pki are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Infisical do that Vault cannot?
Infisical covers Certificate management, Privileged access management, Secret versioning, Dynamic secrets. Vault covers Encryption, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Secrets management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Infisical: How is pricing calculated for Secrets Management?

Pricing is per-identity per month. Free tier includes 5 identities. Pro tier is $20/identity/month, Advanced is $40/identity/month. All pricing in USD.

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
Infisical: Can I self-host Infisical?

Yes, Infisical's core is open-source under the MIT license and can be self-hosted. The managed cloud service is also available with additional features.

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
Infisical: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise plan includes SCIM, LDAP, approval workflows, external KMS/HSM support, and 99.99% SLA. Pricing is custom and determined by annual commitment.

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 Infisical

More on Vault

Keep looking

Other head to heads